Foul trouble plagued the Red-Tailed Hawks boys basketball team as they dropped their Marin County Athletic League (MCAL) opener against Redwood by a score of 70-53. Both schools brought fierce student sections, lighting each other up with vicious chants. On the court, you could tell there was no love between these two teams, resulting in a physical game. The referees, trying to keep this fierce rivalry at bay, blew the whistle at any sort of contact, causing plenty of groans from both sides. Two starters for the Hawks came out early in the second half with four fouls, seniors Porthos Oliveira and Ashton Sadow. That was the beginning of the end for the Hawks who had led for most of the first half. “We came out jazzed and punched them hard in the first half, but we weren’t prepared when they punched us back,” Sadow said.
Redwood went on an early run in the third quarter, while Hawks starters watched from the sidelines. After empty possessions, including poor passes and unrealistic shot attempts, the Giants jumped out to a swift double digit lead. Defensively, Redwood came out of halftime with a swarming full court press and the Hawks struggled to break it. There was a glimmer of hope early in the fourth when the Hawks had back to back possessions of press-breaking outlet passes that led to a couple free buckets, but it wasn’t enough to keep up with the stamina of Redwood. Free throws were also a struggle for the Hawks, and it seemed like the chants from the Giants’ student section were playing a factor. Henry Bennett and Porthos Oliveira led the way scoring with 15 and 14 points, respectively.