HALF MOON BAY, Calif. — As the University Red Devils have found their form, winning five of six games ahead of league play, the constant has been strong play from their two returning starters.
With point guard Christian Heng running a tireless dribble drive offense and Charlie Kennedy taking over as a leader, University got out to a 16-point advantage in the second quarter and held on for a 53-48 road win over the Half Moon Bay Cougars on Saturday afternoon at the CUSD Event Center.
“We really figured out our offense over the last two weeks,” Kennedy said. “It wasn’t just me getting buckets; it was the result of the team playing really well. We got the movement going, we got the open spots on the floor, the dump-downs, everything. The collective growth of our team has really helped me as a leader.”
That offense flowed throughout the second quarter as University (9-5) outscored the Cougars 15-6 to take a 31-19 lead in the break, holding their largest advantage of the game before the hosts got the final four points of the quarter.
“We were playing what we call Runnin’ Red Devils basketball,” head coach Randy Bessolo said. “We really got in a groove, and the game’s a lot of fun when you get in a zone like that.”
That cushion held up the rest of the way despite a strong charge from Half Moon Bay (7-4) in the second half. The Cougars trailed by 15 after Joey Kennedy, Charlie’s freshman brother, split a pair of free throws with 2:45 left in the third, but closed the gap to 42-31 by the end of the quarter with a Sean Kennedy three and Zeke Syme and-1. A three-point play by Mykola Ediger, who scored a game-high 26, cut the gap to six with 6:36 remaining, but Kennedy would earn trips to the line on consecutive possessions and make both free throws each time. Sean Ediger would hit two free throws with 4:34 left and Mykola would get HMB back to within six on a putback, but sophomore Grant Lyon hit his third and final 3-pointer from the wing to put the Red Devils back in control.
“Al McGuire used to say that the best thing about freshmen is that they become sophomores,” Bessolo said. “The best thing about JV players is that they become varsity vets. We’ve seen that out of them before, but it was great to see it in big moments today.”
Two more Mykola free throws would cut the lead to 51-46 with 1:55 left, but the Cougars wouldn’t score again until a Sean Ediger basket with 6.4 left.
Kennedy and Whitner Reichman each scored 10 to lead the Red Devils, who will open up BCL West play on Tuesday with a trip to Marin Academy (5-7). Half Moon Bay will be back on the court at the CUSD Event Center on Wednesday, opening PAL North play against South San Francisco (3-5).
