Boys’ varsity basketball defeated Hillsdale High School 56-49 to clinch a Central Coast Section (CCS) playoff berth on Wednesday, Feb. 12.
Coming off a senior night win last Friday versus Jefferson, where the team honored seniors Marcus Tapia, Anthony Friis, Pilot Eis, Arjun Gupta, and Luke Levitt — the Panthers entered their final game of the regular season with a 5-6 record in league play, needing a victory against the Knights to keep their season alive.
Since it was Hillsdale’s senior night, the atmosphere was especially electric, with cheerleaders, students, and parents from both teams in the stands bringing energy and excitement to the pivotal contest.
The Knights jumped out to an early 21-12 advantage, but the Panthers chipped away at the lead. At the end of the third quarter, Hillsdale led 41-39, but two big three-pointers by senior Pilot Eis and junior Jean-Luc Uharriet gave Burlingame the 45-41 edge.
With about three minutes left in the game, freshman Lucca Maher hit a corner three to extend the lead to six.
“My favorite play was probably when I came down the baseline on the right side and I saw one of my buddies Lucca Maher getting a pin down screen by [Rowan Maher]. I looked to the wing. I threw it to the corner. He was wide open,” sophomore David Parrot said.
Junior Rowan Maher, who came off the bench and made two massive blocks late in the game, helped seal the victory for the Panthers, along with clutch free throws from multiple players.
“I think it definitely started on the defensive end, 100%, just stepping up, especially getting those offensive rebounds and just running in transition, getting those stops, it just became easy for us,” Uharriet said.
With the win, the Panthers earned a trip to the CCS playoffs. Regardless of their success going forward, the team is simply excited to extend their season.
“I think definitely this year we faced a lot of adversity, especially being a younger team, so just knowing that every day is a battle, we’ve had this mindset…we’re super excited to keep going,” Uharriet said.
Despite the high stakes and emotion during the game, Burlingame, with the help of coaches and teammates, kept their composure.
“The overall environment was loud…some of my leaders, especially [senior] Luke Levitt really helped a lot by keeping my composure,” Parrot said.
The playoff-clinching victory versus the Knights was a team effort, as Uharriet thought every player on the court had a positive impact on the outcome of the game.
“Rowan Maher, but we could go down the list. Everyone who got in today had a great impact. Think [Eis] also had a really good second half, hitting some clutch shots that really pushed us over that hump and got us the lead,” Uharriet said.
With the regular season complete, the Panthers will now await their CCS playoff opponent. No matter who they play, Uharriet is confident the squad can advance deep into the postseason and exceed expectations.
“We’ve been counted out all year, all season, just people sleeping on us. So it’s time for us to wake them up,” Uharriet said.
