Half Moon Bay rallies to beat Menlo-Atherton in overtime

ATHERTON — Gio Garduno Martin didn’t make his first shot of the game until late in the third quarter, a 3-pointer that cut Menlo-Atherton’s lead to five.

He was just getting started.

By the time the game was over, Garduno Martin had knocked down four more 3-pointers and scored 18 points to lead Half Moon Bay to a come-from-behind 52-48 victory in overtime over M-A.

“He got hot at the right time,” Half Moon Bay coach John Parsons said. “He makes big shots so it was really no surprise. He does his best shooting when the game is on the line.”

Menlo-Atherton jumped out to an 11-2 lead and led all the way until Garduno Martin’s 3-pointer with 35 seconds left tied it 45-45 and sent the game to overtime.

He hit another 3 to initiate the scoring in the overtime period, a shot that gave HMB its first lead of the game, and capped a run of 13 consecutive points by the 6-foot-1 sophomore left-hander.

“He can heat up in a hurry, has a short memory when it comes to the misses,” Parsons said. “He puts in a ton of work and when the game’s on the line we want him shooting the ball.”

Following Garduno Martin’s 3 at the start of overtime, Owen Perez made a backdoor layup off an inbounds pass and the Cougars were in control with a five-point lead

Garduno Martin played a key role as a freshman last year when Half Moon Bay went on a stunning postseason run that culminated in a NorCal championship. In the offseason the Cougars suffered what seemed like a big blow when 6-8 Jaeden Hutchins transferred to Prolific Prep. But here they are after sweeping M-A home-and-home, in first place, 15-4 overall and 6-0 in the Peninsula Athletic League’s Bay Division.

“It’s our teamwork, we all trust each other,” Garduno Martin said. “We all grew up together. Since third grade we’ve always played hoops together. Our chemistry is unmatched, we’re like family.”