Westmont holds off San Mateo to reach CCS D-II championship game

HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL

Westmont junior center Gabe Mathiesen, who had a game-high 21 points, shoots over San Mateo’s Cameron Palma in a CCS Division-II semifinal. SHAE HAMMOND — STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

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By Christian Babcock

cbabcock@bayareanewsgroup.com

CAMPBELL >> Westmont boys basketball is in a Central Coast Section championship game for the first time in 29 years.

This year’s Warriors, who moved up to the Blossom Valley Athletic League’s Mt. Hamilton Division after winning the Santa Teresa-West last year, have gone further than any team from the Campbell school has in nearly three decades.

It wasn’t easy. No. 2 Westmont built a 14-point lead late in the first half that visiting No. 3 San Mateo shrank to one on multiple occasions in the second half.

But when the clock ran out after Zidane Auzarang’s 3-pointer brought San Mateo within a point, Westmont had earned a 48-47 win, a ticket to the CIF NorCal tournament and a spot in the CCS Division II title matchup tonight against Christopher at Santa Clara High.

“We controlled the game pretty well, except for that third quarter,” Westmont coach John Franza said. “Really happy for our kids. We have 10 seniors, and most of them have played together since sixth grade. This is a special group.”

The Warriors (20-7) took control of the game after San Mateo (20-6) started out on a 8-2 run. From there, Westmont steadily extended its edge until it reached double digits.

But the Bearcats once again came out of the locker room with a vengeance. The Warriors’ 11-point halftime lead quickly dwindled to six points, then four, then one.

Yet Westmont never lost the lead. And with 10.2 seconds remaining and a 46-44 lead, junior center Gabe Mathiesen sank two free throws to clinch the Warriors’ spot in the D-II championship.

Mathiesen led Westmont with 21 points. Seth Reese chipped in 10 points for the Warriors.

“We were pretty good in the B league last year,” Franza said. “I thought we could have success in the A league. I don’t want to say we ran through the league, but we were pretty successful. These kids play well together. We like to run set plays, and we’re pretty successful with them. They challenged us, but we never lost control.”

San Mateo was led in scoring by Auzarang, who had 17 points. Grant Wolfgram added 16 points for the Bearcats.

Now, Westmont can set its sights on Division II top seed Christopher, a team it knows very well. The teams have met three times this season.

In early December, Christopher won 67-55 in the championship game of a tournament at Westmont. In league play on Jan. 22 in Campbell, the Cougars beat the Warriors 61-59 in overtime. On Feb. 14 in Gilroy, Christopher triumphed 54-41.

Can Westmont author a different ending in the fourth edition?

“It’s going to be tough,” Franza said. “They’ve got good players, we’ve got good players. They’re so tough, well-coached.”

Franza would know. He graduated from Westmont in 1976. The Warriors won section titles in 1987 (Division II) and 1989 (Division III).

It’s been a bit of a wait for the next championship. But Franza says this team has the goods to get it done.

“We’ve been building this up since I came back in 2018,” said Franza, who coached Westmont not long after his graduation before stepping away for some time. “We won the B league, moved up to the A league. This group is very connected. I’m looking forward to them now getting a chance to compete for a CCS title.”