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Sports

BOYS BASKETBALL: Cap Controls San Mateo

Mustangs move closer to PAL Lake Division crown with 13-point win at Peninsula; San Mateo still making strides despite frustrations of losing season.

The Score: Capuchino 49, San Mateo 36.

The Star: Adrian Macareag scored 14 points to lead Capuchino to the Peninsula Athletic League Lake Division victory at Peninsula High.

The Turning Point: Capuchino outscored San Mateo 12-5 in the second quarter to take a 24-15 lead at the break.

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The Quote: "If they handle the pressure, they have the chance to win. They definitely have the players." -- San Mateo coach Julian Hudson, on Capuchino's prospects come the postseason.

What's Next? Capuchino plays Westmoor at Burlingame and San Mateo plays at Oceana on Friday. Both games are scheduled for 7:45 p.m.

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The Bottom Line: Capuchino entered the season as the PAL Lake Division’s favorite and the Mustangs haven't done anything to question that, going 6-0 so far.

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The Capuchino High School boys basketball team opened the second half of Peninsula Athletic League Lake Division play on Wednesday night the same way the Mustangs opened the first half – by beating San Mateo.

Wednesday's game was played at Peninsula High School as Capuchino's gymnasium is being rebuilt. No matter, the Mustangs enjoyed the “home” court advantage anyway in a 49-36 win. Capuchino broke the game open with a 12-5 second quarter, then controlled the game in the second half.

“What we tried to do is tighten up our mistakes we had in the first half,” Mustangs coach Doug Fountain said. “I thought San Mateo did a great job of pressuring the ball and they did a great job of going to the basket and attacking the boards. That's something at halftime that we had to improve on.

"Also we had to penetrate and get to the gaps more. I thought we took too many 3-point shots in the first half. We wanted to be a little bit more balanced and go inside.”

Adrian Macareag led Capuchino with 14 points. Mark Luttrell added 13 points. The Mustangs didn't play many players, using six for most of the night. But there was good balance among the six, with each scoring at least four points in what was a low-scoring game.

Capuchino (15-5, 6-0 PAL Lake) held a 12-10 edge after one quarter before taking control. In the second half, San Mateo (3-18, 2-5) couldn't mount a rally, never cutting the deficit to less than eight points.

It's been a struggle for San Mateo this year, to say the least. Coach Julian Hudson was clearly frustrated with his team's play on Wednesday.

“We don't make good decisions,” he said. “We have a 6-2 guy trying to score against a guy that's 6-7, rather than staying with what was working well for us. The bottom line is we need to make better decisions coming down the stretch.”

Hudson said he just wants his players to play hard and finish strong in the final weeks of the season.

“As long as they don't quit and stay together,” he said. “The last couple of games, we've made strides. It's late in the season to be making them. But they have made the strides coming together. It's a lot better than it was in the beginning of the season.”

Jordan Wong led the Bearcats with 11 points, including three 3-pointers.

It's another story for Capuchino.

“We were favored to win the Lake,” Fountain said. “And that was our goal -- to win the league championship. So 6-0, 15-5 overall, I think that prepares us for the playoffs. But also the fact we're doing a lot of road games. The away games will prepare us for PAL playoffs and CCS. I want to see a little more continuity and a little more consistency in what we're doing.”

Said Hudson, “If they handle the pressure, they have the chance to win. They definitely have the players.”

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Capuchino 49, San Mateo 36

SM -- 10 5 11 10 -- 36

C -- 12 12 9 16 – 49

SM: Washington 2 1-2 6, Wong 4 0-0 11, Trujilla 0 0-0 0, Leung 0 0-0 0, Fong 2 0-1 4, Strathearn 2 1-4 5, Skelton 3 0-3 6, Talwar 0 2-4 2, Collins 1 0-0 2. Totals: 14 4-14 36.

C: Macareag 6 0-0 14, Baker 4 0-0 9, Luttrell 6 1-2 13, Alva 2 1-2 5, Afeaki 0 4-4 4, Khotz 1 2-2 4. Totals: 19 8-10 49.

3-point goals: SM – Wong 3, Washington. Totals: 4. CAP – Macareag 2, Baker. Totals: 3.

Fouled out: None. Technicals: None.

Records: Capuchino 15-5, 6-0 PAL Lake. San Mateo 3-18, 2-5.

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