ATHERTON, Calif. — Come playoff time, scouting reports are so thorough and opponents are so well-prepared that a single star player isn’t enough to win a game.
Yes, King-Njhsanni Wilhite scored 24 points in Wednesday’s CCS Open Division Pool Play game, a de facto semifinal, but when Sacred Heart Prep put the clamps on the Riordan star down the stretch, he passed the torch to his teammates to push the Crusaders to a 60-58 overtime win and into their second consecutive Open Division Championship Game.
“I trust my guys,” the 6-foot-1 junior said. “I may be the leading scorer, but I don’t win without these guys.”
The Gators limited Wilhite to four points in the fourth quarter and shut him out in overtime, but the increased focus on Wilhite freed his teammates up to hit clutch shots. Zachary Jones, who was tasked with slowing SHP’s Aidan Braccia in the fourth quarter, hit a clutch 3-pointer to give third-seeded Riordan a 52-50 lead with 50 seconds left in regulation, and Marcellus Edwards scored off a Quinton Bundage feed with 1:09 remaining in the extra period to put the Crusaders in front for good.
Edwards’ offensive rebound off a missed free throw with 6.9 seconds to play in overtime all but sealed the game for Riordan (19-8). After grabbing the ball in the lane, he started a passing sequence with Bundage, Jones and Wilhite that finally ended when Christian Wise was fouled with 0.9 on the clock. Wise banked in the first free throw, and when he missed the second, all Sacred Heart Prep (23-4) could muster was a heave that didn’t even reach the free throw line, earning the Crusaders another shot at Mitty in a rematch of last season’s championship.
“We’re very excited to get another crack at them,” Edwards said. “Hopefully we get ‘em this time.”
Though Wilhite did end up deferring to his teammates down the stretch, he still had his share of big moments to keep his team close while Braccia, a Belmont commit, paced the Gators. Braccia led all scorers with 26 points, fueled by seven 3-pointers, hitting two at the end of the shot clock in the second quarter and four more in the final four minutes of the third quarter.
“Him hitting shots on me, me hitting shots on him, the crowd going crazy, I have fun with it,” Wilhite said.
Wilhite scored seven of his team’s first nine points to help Riordan take a 16-13 lead after a quarter, but SHP opened the second on a 9-0 run, with seven points coming from junior center Sam Norris. The only non-senior in the Gator starting lineup, Norris finished with 12 points and seven rebounds. The Crusaders tied the game at 26 after four straight points from Wilhite, but Braccia drained a three at the end of the shot clock to put the hosts back on top and sank another in the final seconds of the first half to take second-seeded SHP into the break with a 34-30 lead. A Wilhite 3-pointer and putbacks by Wise and Edwards gave Riordan a brief 37-36 advantage, but Braccia outscored the Crusaders 12-7 over the final four minutes of the period, sending his team into the fourth up 48-44.
“I just knew, if we could withstand that run that (Braccia) had, we’d be all right,” Riordan head coach Joey Curtin said.
With Jones assigned to Braccia and Edwards matched up with Emmer Nichols, Riordan’s defense took over in the fourth quarter, holding the Gators to a single made field goal in the final eight minutes of regulation. SHP extended the lead to 50-47 on Nichols’ first points of the game with 3:24 to go and Wise scored on a putback but missed the ensuing free throw with 1:51 left, leaving the Crusaders down by 1. Wilhite fed Jones in the corner for the lead with 50 seconds remaining. Jones fouled Braccia on his way up the court with 43.3 left, and he sank both free throws to tie the game.
Both teams had chances to win in the final moments of regulation. Braccia intercepted a pass intended for Jones, but his momentum carried him out of bounds. The referees concluded that he had possession before going out of bounds, constituting a turnover and giving Riordan a chance for the last shot and the win. Wilhite’s elbow jumper missed, Nichols grabbed the rebound and signaled for timeout with 2.9 left. SHP called a timeout and ran a play to perfection to give Kevin Carney a chance to win the game from the volleyball line, a spot where he had scored against St. Francis in Monday’s game, but his shot hit the backboard and the back of the rim.
“The shot looked good from where I was,” Gators head coach Tony Martinelli said. “I was getting ready to celebrate.”
Riordan never trailed in overtime, riding the usual combination of Edwards and Wilhite accompanied by Bundage, Jones and Wise. Bundage drained a long jumper after an Edwards offensive rebound, but Norris tied the game at 54 with 2:38 to go off a Braccia stretch pass. Edwards’ and-1 put the Crusaders back on top, though the Gators drew even after Nichols made a pair of free throws and Norris made one of two. The Crusaders got a stop after Edwards’ go-ahead basket, but Nichols’ third block of the game set SHP off in transition, and Wilhite committed his fourth foul on Braccia with 11.2 on the clock. He made the first free throw but missed the one that would have tied the game, and the Gators never got into the frontcourt again.
Wilhite finished with seven rebounds, matching his high on the year, while Edwards recorded the first double-double of his career with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Wise, playing by far his most minutes in a game since gaining eligibility in January, finished with nine points and 13 boards.
“After watching film and practice yesterday, I told the coaches, ‘I’m rolling with Christian tomorrow,’ and he made me look good,” Curtin said of the Heritage transfer.
No. 1 Mitty 62, No. 4 St. Ignatius 46
The Mitty Monarchs will be playing in the CCS Open Division Championship for the third year in a row and seventh time in the 10 years since the tournament was created after beating St. Ignatius, 62-46.
Top-seeded Mitty (23-4) outscored the Wildcats 16-5 in the third quarter, taking a 20-point lead on Derek Sangster’s pull-up 3-pointer in the final seconds of the period. Sangster scored 15 and was one of four Monarchs in double figures. Isaiah Cabebe scored a game-high 19, Aidan Burke had 13 points and 12 rebounds and sophomore Tyler Jones scored 10.
John Squire led fourth-seeded St. Ignatius (20-7) with 14 points and eight rebounds. Ryan Conroy scored 12 and GC Toledo Rivera had all eight of his points in the second quarter. The Wildcats are just one of two WCAL teams to have never reached the championship game.
No. 7 Bellarmine 54, No. 6 St. Francis 42
Despite losing both regular season meetings, Bellarmine topped a shorthanded St. Francis team to close out CCS Open Division Pool Play on Wednesday night, 54-42.
The Bells took a 15-point lead after opening the third quarter on an 8-0 run, getting threes from Nate Teresi and Brody Pearson and a layup from Nick Corbett, all off Tariq Weiser assists. Weiser finished with seven assists, a new personal best.
Corbett led Bellarmine (12-14) with 12 points and 11 rebounds, Pearson scored 11 points and Teresi finished with nine. Both Pearson and Teresi connected on a trio of 3-pointers on a night where the Bells hit 11 shots from deep in all. Weiser and Gino Cresci each finished with eight points.
The Lancers played without both Isaiah Kerr and Harlan Banks. Tim Netane led St. Francis (15-12) with eight points. Wednesday marked the fourth time in the last seven seasons the Lancers and Bells met in the postseason. The last three of those meetings have gone to Bellarmine; St. Francis hasn’t beaten the Bells three times in the same season since 2016.
No. 5 Serra 43, No. 8 Valley Christian 41
Lucas Kramer’s been quietly plugging away for the Serra Padres all season, and he finally got his moment in the spotlight on Wednesday night.
His tip-in as the final second ticked off the clock secured a 43-41 Serra victory over Valley Christian and sent the Padres into the CIF State Tournament on a high note.
Serra (16-10) was able to hold for the final shot after the Warriors got called for an offensive foul with 28.2 seconds left. Miles Klapper’s shot missed, as did Garret Keyhani’s putback attempt, but Kramer directed the ball into the basket with 0.9 left and was mobbed by his teammates after time expired.
Valley Christian (8-19) had gone on a 10-0 run, tying the game on Pasha Goodarzi’s 3-pointer with 2:49 remaining. Goodarzi led the Warriors with 13 points, while Nico D’Augusta scored 10, all in the second half. Brady Smith scored a game-high 16 for the Padres, while Klapper chipped in 10.
