A Strong Start

Photo Credit: Kelly Foster

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Written by Trent Bastian

Potentially one of Menlo-Atherton’s biggest preseason games came against the Sacred Heart Gators Thursday night. It ended in victories for both the M-A basketball team and Menlo-Atherton 6^th man club. The M-A Bears jumped out to a 19-14 lead after the first quarter, courtesy of Jeff Keller’s three baskets from beyond the arc and Michael Culhane’s eight points. The Bears only scored seven points in the second quarter to leave the fans nervous at halftime as the score was 28-26 favoring the enemy. However the Bears outscored the Gators 34-24 in the second half as the Bears shot 70% from the line down the stretch.

Only five Bears scored Thursday night, Christian Perkins (7), Michael Culhane (9), Jeff Keller (26), Nils Gilberston (16) and Myles Brewer (2). The Bears did a great job containing the three McConnell brothers, who combined for 34 points. Sophomore Christian Perkins was assigned to leading-scorer Reed McConnell, restricting his abilities especially late in the game and held him to 38% from the field. Jeff Keller went five for eight long-range which contributed to his second-straight 20-point game. Although Keller was the second leading scorer last year, he never recorded a 20-point game; he has proven to be the clear leader on this year’s team also accumulating 3.5 assists per game and 4 rebounds per game.

The Menlo-Atherton’s 6^th man showed up in very impressive numbers and far outshined Sacred Heart’s “Gator Nation” by mocking the school in overly preppy clothing. The Bears are looking forward to the Los Gatos Basketball tournament which puts the Bears against the Willow Glen Rams in the first round and could possibly feature two more games leading to the championship and a fancy trophy. Expect the Menlo-Atherton 6^th man to be just as impressive as the team itself.