| Home / College Guide / Boys basketball: Shapiro leading resurgent San Rafael into MCAL |
| Posted on Saturday, January 10 @ 00:00:49 PST |
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Luke Shapiro saw the resurgence of San Rafael High boys basketball beginning as a junior last season with the end of the team’s playoff victory drought.
Shapiro, now a senior leader, hopes to continue the program’s upward trend from last season.
“I’ve put a lot of work in since last season over the summer and fall. We’re pushing to get back to the playoffs,” Shapiro said.
Shapiro scored 11 points, most coming in a third-quarter surge, during the Bulldogs’ 56-41 victory over Piner in the opening round of the NCS Division III playoffs last season, San Rafael’s first postseason win in seven years.
San Rafael (11-7) began its MCAL slate Friday against Archie Williams (11-3), the team that eliminated the Bulldogs from the league playoffs last year.
“We’re facing some adversity after we lost two seniors from last year’s team,” Shapiro said. “But we keep grinding. There are no easy games.”
The Bulldogs, who finished sixth in the MCAL in the regular season last year, face three of last season’s top four MCAL teams right off the bat, with games against Archie Williams, Redwood and Marin Catholic.
Shapiro, who broke the 1,000-point mark in his career with a 36-point night in a 58-45 victory over Sonoma Valley on Dec.
9, is one of the MCAL’s premier scoring threats. He scored a season-high 41 points in the Bulldogs’ 89-63 victory over Maria Carrillo on Nov. 26.
He has continued a steady scoring pace into the new year, averaging more than 25 points per game. He scored 32 points in the Bulldogs’ 62-49 victory over St. Vincent de Paul on Monday.
Shapiro has stepped up to fill the scoring role left by Gio Brovelli, who is now averaging 12 points per game as a freshman at De Anza College.
“Shapiro is one of the best players in the league,” said Tam head coach Tim Morgan after the Red-tailed Hawks survived a 30-point effort from Shapiro for a 64-61 victory on Dec. 20.
With Shapiro and the junior duo of Jax Aguillon and Wyatt Tornello, and backed by junior Kannon Wood, the Bulldogs have grabbed their share of the spotlight, and are ranked third among NCS Division II teams, behind Livermore and El Cerrito, respectively.
“The work that I’ve put in since my freshman season to now, shows the commitment I have to this team,” Shapiro said. “I take my role with this team seriously, and I want us to be the best we can. I think we can be as good as anyone in the league.”
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