LOS ALTOS HILLS, Calif. - Mitty High School's basketball programs swept the West Catholic Athletic League playoffs on Saturday night at Foothill College, defeating a pair of upset-minded and determined schools from San Francisco.
For the third time in three tries,
Archbishop Mitty's boys (San Jose) pulled out a humdinger of a game with
Sacred Heart Cathedral (San Francisco), this time 50-47.
File photo by Todd Shurtleff
Aaron Gordon scored 17 of his
game-high 24 in second half.
Once again, the WCAL's Player of the Year and one of the nation's top juniors
Aaron Gordon was the difference with 24 points, 14 rebounds and five blocks.
The 6-foot-8 post, scored 17 of his game-high total in the second half helping the third-ranked Monarchs (24-3) overcome a 28-22 deficit.
Mitty also got some clutch play from
Neil Vranicar (remarkable hustle play),
Jordan White (two free throws with 12.8 seconds left) and
Connor Peterson (three huge second-half buckets).
It was a similar formula for Mitty's two other wins over fifth-ranked Sacred Heart Cathedral (22-5), 62-59 and 60-58 in overtime.
The big difference in this game is Sacred Heart Cathedral did it without leading scorer and team leader
Joshua Fox, who sprained his left ankle in the first quarter and never returned. He didn't score a point.
The Irish made up for it with a remarkably gritty effort, led
Tyler Petroni (11 points), along with
Taylor Johns and
Khalil James who tallied 10 each.
To play tooth-and-nail with the defending state Division II champs without Fox was more the credible, but it was no moral victory for coach Darrell Barbour.
"Hell and no," was how he responded if he considered a moral victory. "That's not what our program is all about. … That said, our effort was off the hook. I'm so proud how they fought."
A 3-point play by Gordon gave Mitty its first lead 39-36 since the first quarter, but the Irish fought right back with a jumper by James and a 3-pointer and driving layup from
Herman Pratt to go up 43-39.
A up-and-under layup from Peterson gave Mitty the lead for good 47-46 with 2:01 left. From there, the Irish, coming off an emotional win at Serra Friday night, run out of gas.
Mitty (Division II), ranked sixth in the state by MaxPreps.com, and Sacred Heart Cathedral (Division III), ranked No. 14, will be overwhelming favorites to win Central Coast Section titles.
"I wish we could play them five more times," Gordon said. "It's a great competition and great games and I'm so proud of our guys for finding a way to win these games."
Mitty 50, Sacred Heart Cathedral 47SACRED HEART CATHEDRAL (22-5)James 4 0-0 10, Johns 3 4-6 10, Pratt 3 0-0 7, Petroni 3 4-4 11, O'Reilly 3 0-0 6, Otis 1 0-0 2. Totals 17 9-10 47.
MITTY (24-3)White 1 4-6 6, Vranicar 1 1-2 3, Peters 3 0-0 7, Gordon 10 3-7 24, Biebel 1 0-0 2, Farrell 1 0-0 2, Peterson 3 0-0 6. Totals 20 8-15 47.
Sacred Heart Cathedral 10 18 6 13 - 47
Mitty 13 9 12 16 - 50
3-point goals: James 2, Pratt, Petroni, Peters, Gordon.
Fouled out: none.
MITTY GIRLS 63, ST. IGNATIUS 47When Mitty – the gold standard for Central Coast Section girls basketball – is hitting on all cylinders, you better make your shots and free throws.
Unfortunately for St. Ignatius – in the middle of one of its greatest seasons – it did neither early and couldn't recover in a 63-47 WCAL playoffs.
The fourth-ranked Wildcats (23-4) missed their first eight shots and five straight free throws in the second quarter and never recovered in this rubber match between two state powers.
Sixth-ranked Mitty (21-5) got 19 points from
Kelli Hayes, one of the top sophomores in the state, and 16 from slick junior point guard
Vanessa Garner to break a St. Ignatius 10-game win streak.
WCAL Player of the Year
Maria Kemiji-McDonald and
Kaitlyn Crawley had 10 points each for the Wildcats, while freshmen
Sydney Raggio and
Josie Little added nine apiece.
"Our effort was there, we never gave up, but we just missed shots we normally make," said St. Ignatius coach Mike Mulkerrins. "That said, Mitty is a great, great team and program and when its playing like that you have to be at your best. We weren't tonight."
Unlike the last meeting, a 55-49 St. Ignatius win, Mitty got the game at a fast pace early and many contributors.
Emily Dinger came off the bench to score eight of her 11 in the first quarter and
Amanda Lovely, a 6-foot-2 forward, also was active and finished with 11 points.
"I thought it was a complete game by us, no doubt," said Mitty coach Sue Phillips, who has helped Mitty to four state and seven Northern California titles. "This is the start of a hopefully long run for us. We might very well see (St. Ignatius again)."
The two will likely meet again for the CCS Division II championship and perhaps meet again in the Northern California playoffs.
"I love my team and wouldn't trade them for any team in the state," Mulkerrins said. "We'll bounce back."
Mitty 63, St. Ignatius 47ST. IGNATIUS (23-4)Kemiji-McDonald 5 0-1 10, Crawley 4 2-5 10, Little 3 3-8 9, Gong 2 0-0 4, Ward 2 0-0 5, Raggio 4 1-1 9. Totals 20 6-15 47.
MITTY (21-5)Garner 7 0-0 16, Lovely 5 0-0 11, Hayes 6 7-10 19, Simon 1 0-0 2, Dinger 4 0-0 11, Lisowski 1 0-0 2, Galipeau 1 0-0 2. Totals 25 7-10 63.
St. Ignatius 12 8 11 16 - 47
Mitty 19 15 15 14 - 63
3-point goals: Ward, Dinger 3, Garner 2, Lovely.
Fouled out: none.