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One day after achieving the rare feat of scoring 100 points in a 32-minute high school basketball game, Sacred Heart Prep was at it again Tuesday.
The Gators came out of the locker room hot with a 25-point first quarter that put them on pace for another hundred. They came back to earth a little but still pulled away easily for a 76-53 victory over next-door neighbor and rival Menlo School.
Kevin Carney was a one-man wrecking crew early, knocking down six 3-pointers in the first quarter and a half.
“This team is fun to coach and even more fun to watch,” SHP coach Tony Martinelli said.”You almost forget that these guys are kids. For him to do it at such a high level in front of a packed house is very impressive to me. I wasn’t that kind of player.”
Carney finished with 23 points. Aidan Braccia, the team’s leading scorer on the season, had 14 while Emmer Nichols scored 13 and dominated the boards.
“He’s 6-6 and as strong as they come,” Martinelli said of Nichols. “The best defensive player I’ve ever coached. He guards whoever the best player is on the other team. He has Division I defensive skills.”
Sacred Heart Prep (16-3, 9-0) led 25-12 after one quarter and 46-26 at halftime and has now opened a three-game lead in the West Bay Athletic League standings over The King’s Academy (5-2) and Priory (6-3). The game scheduled for Tuesday between those two teams was postponed due to a power outage.
The way SHP is playing it’s giving the 2015 team a run for best in program history. That 2015 team went 24-5 and became the first non-West Catholic Athletic League team to win a game in the Central Coast Section Open Division playoffs.
The current team is averaging 70.5 points per game. The 2015 team, with Corbin Koch, Connor Moses, Mason Randall and Andrew Daschbach, averaged 70.5 points per game.
“Both teams had a little bit of everything,” Martinelli said. “This team has more guys who play just basketball. That made this team stronger earlier and gave them confidence after beating some good teams at the start of the season.”
Lucas Vogel scored 15 points and Danny Solomon had 11 for Menlo (11-6, 5-3). The Knights had impressive early-season non-league wins over Menlo-Atherton and Los Altos and an Artesia of Lakewood team that is now 20-5, but has lost three of its last five.
Eastside Prep fell to Harker 49-45 in another WBAL game while Pinewood beat Crystal Springs Uplands 62-46. Andrew McDowell scored 22 points and Jaden Norwood added 20.
