Aptos High’s boys basketball team has pieced together three-game win streaks during preseason play often over the years, but none like it compiled over the past three days at Kaiser Permanente Arena, home of the NBA G League’s Santa Cruz Warriors.

The tenacious, defensive-minded Mariners overcame an eight-point deficit with a stellar second half and rallied past Half Moon Bay 52-47 to claim the its first Aptos/Santa Cruz Warriors NorCal Invitational championship on Saturday night.

“This was our biggest one of the year,” Mariners coach Brian Bowyer said. “I’m overjoyed. We’ll get back to it on Monday, Let’s enjoy it for a couple of days. We’ve been sitting in the gym for many hours, three days in a row. It’s nice to get a win out of this thing. It was awesome. I’m so proud of the guys, the way they played and the way they battled. we beat some good teams and we just played well.”

It was the 11th edition of the tournament. On consecutive days, the Mariners (9-3 overall) beat Pioneer, defending Central Coast Section Division I champion Los Gatos, and HMB, one of two public schools to qualify for the CCS’s prestigious Open Division playoffs last season.

Senior Isaiah Ackerman had 22 points, 12 rebounds, and three steals for Mariners in the final. He finished with 64 points over three games and was named the tournament MVP.

“It’s huge, really,” said Ackerman, whose father, Tony, was a basketball standout at HMB and is a member of the school’s Hall of Fame. “They’re a really good team. It was really fun. It means a lot to me because my dad played there and all that. Yeah, it was a lot of fun.”

Aptos is 9-0 when it has holds opponents to 50 points or less this season.

“This team can play with anybody as long as we play to our potential,” Ackerman said.

Aptos’ Owen Warmerdam, a 6-foot-8 senior center, was named to the all-tournament team. He made all six of his free-throw attempts and finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds against the Cougars.

The Mariners finished 13 of 14 from the free-throw line.

“We needed every single one of them,” Bowyer said. “We did what we had to do to win.”

The Cougars (7-2) made three of their first four 3-point attempts to jump out to a 15-8 lead, but they finished 8-of-31 shooting (26%) from beyond the arc.

“They made the plays down the stretch and we didn’t make enough plays,” said HMB coach John Parsons, a member of the school’s Hall of Fame. “They play hard out there. They’ve got good length, they’ve got good size. To be honest, I liked the shots we got, we just didn’t shoot the ball very well. We usually shoot the ball better than that, but credit to them.”

Aptos had trouble penetrating HMB’s zone defense early on, but shifted personnel around and found greater success.

The Mariners thrived behind their hounding press and man-to-man defense, which limited the Cougars to two field goals over an eight-minute stretch spanning from mid-second quarter to mid-third quarter. During that time, the Mariners went on an 11-3 run to turn a 27-19 deficit into a 30-all game.

Senior wing Nick Tovani made two of his three 3-pointers in the second half and finished with 17 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals for Aptos. One of his 3s knotted the score at 35-all late in the third quarter, and another staked the Mariners to a 40-38 lead.

Guard Ryan Solorio, who played with an ongoing shoulder injury, was the only other Mariner to score. He made a 3-pointer in the third quarter.

Diego Mejia, Levi Race, and Caden Bogle also saw action in the Mariners’ win.

“We have those three guys, me, Nick, and Owen, but those role players, you don’t see the little things they do, like loose balls, rebounds, all that; they’re out there just being dawgs. And it’s important to have those type of guys,” Ackerman said.

Warmerdam’s four free throws in the fourth quarter were massive. His final two makes from the charity line gave Aptos the lead for good, 44-42, with 5:39 remaining.

“Owen, since he came out from football, he has improved like no other,” Ackerman said. “He’s just progressing every day. I’m so happy to have him on my team. He’s amazing.”

Aptos made its first field goal in the fourth quarter, a Warmedam layup, with 3:22 remaining. Ackerman and Tovani made clutch layups down the stretch. Ackerman made a pair of free throws with 21.5 seconds left to put the win on ice.

HMB missed a pair of 3-point attempts to close the game.

Senior guard/forward Rahul Keshav scored 15 points for HMB. Wing Asher Meighen and guard Paxton Lewis, both seniors, each scored nine points. Lewis made three 3s.

Aptos returns to action on Thursday at 7 p.m., when it takes on host Carmel in a rescheduled game.

The Mariners edged the Padres, the defending CCS D-IV champion, 50-47 in the semifinals of the 76th annual Carmel Invitational on Dec. 20.

Soquel 74, North Monterey County 44 >> Nico Ramirez made four 3-pointers and scored 17 points, and the Knights took seventh place at the Aptos/Santa Cruz Warriors NorCal Invitational at KP Arena on Saturday.

Nolen Westfall scored 12 points for the Knights (5-7), who had 13 players score and led 30-28 at the half.

Kenji Mellin scored 13 points to lead the Condors (5-5).

Soquel play at Branham (4-5) on Jan. 6 at 7 p.m.

St. Francis 66, at Harbor 50 >> Senior Nash Horton record his second triple-double of the week, and the Sharks won their nonleague game Saturday.

Horton finished with 24 points, 16 rebounds, and 10 steals for the Sharks (8-3). Robert Gomez had 20 points, four assists, and two steals, and Jacob Jimenez had 12 points, 10 rebounds, and two steals.

Senior guard Miles Dix made four 3-pointers and scored 16 points to lead the Pirates (4-4). Sophomore forward Holden Spencer scored eight points.

Harbor hosts Greenfield (5-4) on Thursday at 12:30 p.m. St. Francis hosts Gilroy (3-8) on Friday at 7 p.m.

Santa Cruz 74, James Logan 67 >> DeMarco Hunter had 39 points, 12 rebounds, and two blocks to lead the Cardinals to their first win in three attempts at the Damian Lillard Classic at Oakland High on Saturday.

LJ Legan scored 12 points for Santa Cruz, and Liam Jones scored 11 points.

Santa Cruz (4-7) plays Oakland’s AIMS College Prep (5-7) at Dublin High on Monday at 10:35 a.m.

Girls basketball

Watsonville 59, McDermitt 29 >> Senior Brianna Leon had 12 points, three steals, and three assists, and the Wildcatz won their Pearl Division semifinal at the 24th annual West Coast Jamboree at Dublin High on Saturday.

Senior Hailey Brooks had 11 points and three steals for the Wildcatz (10-1), and junior Itzury Vazquez had six points, six rebounds, and four steals.

It was the first loss for the Bulldogs (9-1), the defending Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association Class 1A East League state champion.

The Wildcatz play host Dublin (6-0) for the Pearl Division title on Monday at 4:30 p.m.

At St. Francis 43, MVC 30 >> Liliana Whitmeyer scored 21 points, and the host Shark won their consolation semifinal at the Lady Shark Shootout on Saturday.

The Sharks (5-2) were held scoreless in the first quarter, but rallied from their 11-point deficit to take a 19-14 lead into the half.

Keira Grio made three 3-pointers in the second quarter and finished with nine points for St. Francis. Maya Calfee scored eight points.

Sophia Cortes made six free throws and scored 17 points to lead the Mustangs (3-8), and Amya Tellez made a pair of 3s and scored eight points.

On Monday, MVC plays Pajaro Valley (1-6) for seventh place at 1:30 p.m., and St. Francis plays Monterey (3-3) in the consolation championship at 3 p.m.

Monterey 52, Pajaro Valley 10 >> Olivia Contreras scored five points for the Grizzlies in the consolation semifinals of the Lady Shark Shootout at St. Francis High on Saturday.

Sophomore guard Kalaya Bledsoe made four 3s and scored 14 points for the Toreadores (3-3). Senior center Brooklynn Choates and sophomore guard Jeanine Williams each scored 12 points.

On Monday, Pajaro Valley (1-6) plays MVC (3-8) for seventh place at 1:30 p.m., and Monterey plays St. Francis (5-2) in the consolation championship at 3 p.m.

At James Lick 28, Harbor 25 >> Sophomore Julianne Sanguinetti had 12 points and 10 rebounds, but the Pirates fell short in their nonleague battle in San Jose on Saturday.

Harbor led 13-11 at the half, and James Lick led 19-17 after three quarters.

Senior Masah Kikhia with 13 points to lead the Comets (2-7).

Harbor (1-8) hosts University Prep Academy (4-1) of San Jose on Jan. 4 at 1:30 p.m.