Senior George Geha had a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds while MVHS out-rebounded Santa Clara High School 35-16 to win 52-45 on Feb. 3. Video by Dickson Tsai. Music: “Fhantom Surfer (Abstract Audio Mix)” by spinningmerkaba (ft. Abstract Audio aka Citizen_XO) licensed under CC-BY-NC-3.0.
On Feb. 3 MVHS (10-11, 4-5) beat Santa Clara High School (16-4, 6-3) 52-45 after a close game in which Santa Clara repeatedly caught up to the Matadors. Senior George Geha had a double-double, scoring 16 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.
Neither team scored in the first couple minutes of play before Geha broke the scoreless streak, and the Matadors continued the quarter with consistent scoring, leading Santa Clara 12-0 with a minute left. At 50 seconds left, Santa Clara sophomore Ronaq Virdi made a three-point shot, and the first quarter ended 14-3.
As Santa Clara picked up their offense, the Matadors subbed out their entire team. Although MVHS held a comfortable lead, Santa Clara soon caught up and ended the quarter with two baskets in a row — 5 points in the last 40 seconds — making the score 25-22.
Santa Clara tied the game 25-25 with seven minutes left in the third quarter. MVHS picked up their pace as seniors Thomas Jennings and Mihir Chavan scored soon after, and at 2:47, a three-point play by Chavan created a seven point lead for MVHS. Santa Clara junior R.J. Pamintuan scored a three-pointer in the last second of the third quarter, though they still remained eight points behind the Matadors at 39-31.
Santa Clara started the last quarter strong with back-to-back three-point shots. The score was now a close 39-37, and MVHS struggled to create more than a four point gap during the next several minutes. After calling a timeout with 50 seconds left in the game, the Matadors regained their lead with Jennings’ shot and Geha’s layup to close out the game 52-45.
The Matadors lost to Wilcox High School 34-42 on Feb. 8 and now have a 10-12, 4-6 record. Their next home game will be senior night at 7:45 p.m. on Feb. 10.
