Ryan Von Thaden became the latest basketball star under coach Tony Martinelli, who seems to get the most out of a different player every night.
Senior Eric DeBrine leads the Gators (8-9, 6-1) with a 12.5 scoring average. But he's missed four games and hasn't been as consistently good as he was through the first seven games, in which he scored at a 16.0 pace.
He also averages 6.8 rebounds a game. Senior post Evan Nichols leads SHP with 7.4 rebounds a game.
Martinelli has employed a scorer-by-committee approach and it has been paying dividends in WBAL play. Six players average between 5.1 and 6.5 points a game and each has been the team's scoring leader at least once.
Von Thaden, a sophomore, stepped up with a career-high 14 points, his first double-digit performance, as the Gators, on a season-best three-game winning streak, steadily increased their lead against the Eagles.
Sacred Heart Prep, winners of four out of its last five, remains a game behind Menlo in the league standings and two games up on third-place Pinewood.
The Gators host The King's Academy (11-6, 3-4) on Friday at 6:30 p.m. in what could turn out to be a key game for postseason purposes.
TKA is among three teams tied for fourth, with Priory and Eastside Prep, which beat Crystal Springs Uplands, 76-38, on Tuesday night.