| | Published March 13th, 2013
| Cougars Surprise in CIF Tournament
| | By Caitlin Graveson |  | | Matt McCue#45 Photo Andy Scheck
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The Campolindo boys' high school basketball team has taken advantage of its second opportunity. After falling in the quarterfinals of the NCS tournament, the Cougars' season was seemingly over. However, Campolindo was able to qualify for the CIF State tournament after Bishop O'Dowd was pulled up to the Open Division. The No. 10 seed Campolindo upset No. 7 Burlingame and No. 2 El Cerrito in overtime to advance to the semifinals on March 12.
But even getting selected wasn't as easy as it could have been. NCS Commissioner Gil Lemmon initially gave the tournament berth to Miramonte, which caused quite a stir with the Mats' cross town rivals. After realizing the mistake, the commissioner replaced Miramonte with Campolindo in the Division III bracket.
"Obviously there was quite a bit of confusion," said Campolindo head coach Matt Watson. "I felt really bad for Miramonte to get their hopes up."
The Cougars took advantage of their early NCS exit, getting some much needed rest before the start of the tournament. "Taking a couple days off was good for these guys," Watson explained. "It was good to heal up a little bit."
Campolindo faced off against a tough Burlingame team on March 6. Burlingame was riding a 12-0 win streak that included the Central Coast Championship. Keeping their composure late in the game, the Cougars pulled out a 58-50 win to advance to play El Cerrito.
Having defeated El Cerrito 63-48 on the road during preseason, the Cougars were confident they could upset the favorite. "Our guys feel like they can win this game," Watson noted before the match-up. "Our confidence is there."
Still, Watson expected a tough game since the Gauchos would be out for revenge and it would be a packed house. He said that the team was prepared to play in the tough environment. "Our whole preseason we were on the road. This is what we were prepping for," Watson explained. The Cougars held on to earn a 69-65 overtime win.
"We have had a tremendous season," Watson said. "I couldn't be more proud of what they have accomplished."
Campolindo played on March 12 against Enterprise of Redding after our press deadline. Check lamorindaweekly.com for results.
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA