As of Thursday, Aptos was one of four teams in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties that remained alive in the California Interscholastic Federation State boys basketball championships.
The No. 9 seed Mariners play at top seeded The King’s Academy—both representing the Central Coast Section—in the second round of the NorCal Regionals Division III playoffs in Sunnyvale on Thursday night at 7pm.
CCS representative and No. 7 seed Carmel also advanced into the second round of the D-III playoffs. They will take a trek to Sacramento to play at No. 2 Christian Brothers out of the Sac-Joaquin Section.
In the D-IV playoffs, No. 4 seed Palma will host No. 5 Berkeley out of the North Coast Section, while No. 3 Santa Cruz will host No. 6 St. Patrick-St. Vincent (Vallejo) also of the NCS. Both games are scheduled for 7pm.
Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League champion Aptos tipped off NorCal Regionals action Tuesday evening in San Anselmo with a 67-54 victory over No. 8 San Domenico out of the NCS.
It was a nice way to rebound after losing to league-rival Santa Cruz, 47-44, in the Central Coast Section D-III finals at Mission College in Santa Clara on March 1.
“They shouldn’t let it take away from the season they’ve had,” Aptos head coach Brian Bowyer said. “I was proud of them for how hard they played, coming back, not giving up. On that last play where DeMarco [Hunter] hit that 3-pointer, it was deep in the clock. We played great defense.”
The gym was evenly packed with Aptos and Santa Cruz supporters in what was the fourth meeting between both teams this season, and twice at a neutral site.
Going into last week’s CCS championship game, the Mariners beat the Cardinals twice in league play and then the league tournament final.
However, a big 3-pointer from senior DeMarco Hunter late in the game helped Santa Cruz steal the fourth game to avoid the sweep. They also brought home the program’s third CCS championship.
“We’ve made it here multiple times, and finally winning means a lot to me and this team,” Hunter said. “Making that last shot for us really meant a lot.”
Hunter finished with a game-best 21 points to go along with 14 rebounds, while teammate L.J. Legan added 13 points and five rebounds.
After trailing for most of the contest, senior Isaiah Ackerman and the Mariners rallied to tie the game at 44-all with a little more than one minute remaining in the contest.
Aptos’ defense did everything it could to stop Santa Cruz on its final possession, but Hunter sent a dagger from the top of the key for the go-ahead bucket.
The Mariners had one last chance to force overtime, but players had trouble finding an open shot from long range until senior Demian Matlow launched a prayer that initially looked good. But the ball bounced off the front of the rim as time expired.
All they could do was watch the Cardinals’ bench rush their teammates on the court to celebrate with hugs and plenty of high-fives.
“Santa Cruz won the biggest one out of all four of them,” Bowyer said. “Every game has been like this. I think we had the momentum there at the end. [Hunter] made a great shot…We finally started shooting the ball with confidence. We were going in the right direction, just ran out of time.”
Ackerman finished with a team-best 20 points, six rebounds and three blocks. In the semifinals, he blew up for 29 points in a 65-43 win over No. 4 Sacred Heart Cathedral—the defending D-III champion.
“We always believed that if we play to our potential we’re able to play with anybody,” Ackerman said after the win against SHC. “We felt confident.”
He also had eight rebounds, four assists, five blocks and three steals in what he believed to be a statement win against a Fightin’ Irish team out of the West Catholic Athletic League.
Teammate senior Nick Tovani added 18 points, three rebounds and three assists.
Senior Owen Warmerdam, a 6-foot-8 center, contributed six points and five rebounds for Aptos, which used a combination of man-to-man and zone defenses to force the Fightin’ Irish to drive to the rim for most of the evening. It worked marvelously.
“They’re a big driving team,” Ackerman said. “We were OK with that since we have Owen [Warmerdam] and me. Tonight, we allowed them to shoot some outside shots, and fortunately they didn’t go in.”
Any time SHC attempted to gain momentum, the Mariners responded right back with a huge block or a steal. Ackerman scored 19 points in the first half for Aptos, which had a 30-18 lead going into halftime.
Coming out of the break, the Mariners went on a 12-3 run to begin the third quarter and led by as many as 29 points, 58-29, in the final stanza.
By advancing into the CCS D-III finals, Aptos automatically qualified for the CIF NorCal Regionals. They’ll be looking to extend their season against The King’s Academy on Thursday evening in Sunnyvale.
The winner will advance to the semifinals against either No. 5 Carlmont (Belmont) of the CCS or No. 4 University (San Francisco) out of the NCS.
“Proud of them how they played,” Bowyer said after the loss to Santa Cruz in the CCS finals. “It’s not over. We still got more games and let’s get back on Monday, and keep on working on it.”
