League play is in full swing all around the Central Coast Section, headlined by the Bruce-Mahoney Game. Fans that couldn’t get tickets to the prestigious rivalry game, set for 8 p.m. Tuesday at USF, will have plenty of options to tide them over in a week jam-packed with big games.
Bruce-Mahoney Game: No. 9 Sacred Heart Cathedral (10-2, 1-1 WCAL) vs. #2 St. Ignatius (8-4, 1-1), Tuesday, 8 p.m. at USF
Thanks to a 21-14 football victory on September 22, the Fightin’ Irish have the opportunity to win the Bruce-Mahoney Trophy for the first time since 2012. Both teams own tight wins over Mitty and lost to Bellarmine in the opening week of league play, but did so in entirely different fashion. St. Ignatius needed two late free throws by Darrion Trammell after squandering an 18-point lead to the Monarchs, while SHC held a slim lead over Mitty throughout the game.
Against Bellarmine, the Wildcats came back from down 11 in the fourth quarter to force overtime, while the Bells led Sacred Heart Cathedral by nine at half and blew the game open with 50 second-half points for an 86-55 win. The matchup at point guard between Darrion Trammell and Bryce Monroe should be excellent. The biggest issue for SHC is figuring out who can match up with Teddy Snyder in the post. The 6’4 senior has scored 16 points in each of SI’s first two league games.
No. 24 Jefferson (7-5) at No. 14 Half Moon Bay (8-4), Tuesday, 5:30 p.m. at CUSD Event Center
The PAL North opener should be a thriller as Jefferson tries to snap HMB’s 24-game league win streak. The Grizzlies are a different team than they were in December with the addition of Westmoor transfer Marquez Costiniano. In Costiniano’s first two games, Jefferson pushed a one-loss Lick-Wilmerding team to overtime and beat San Mateo by 30.
Half Moon Bay is also at full strength with Gavin Tomberlin and Hayden Von Almen returning from football three weeks ago. Jefferson is one of the only teams with the size to battle Ethan Menzies (19.4 ppg, 11.8 rpg). Menzies and Rodney Lawrence should make for an intriguing matchup in the paint, while Costiniano and Daniel Benjamin will square off with Tomberlin and Sam Treanor at guard. Half Moon Bay has a variety of depth players who can step up, and John Parsons will need one to do so to contend with Jefferson’s versatile sparkplug, J.P. Johnson.
No. 13 Mitty (2-10, 0-2 WCAL) at No. 1 Bellarmine (10-2, 2-0), Tuesday, 7:30 pm
Intrigue and emotions will run high when the Bells and Monarchs meet Tuesday night in a CCS Open Division Championship rematch. Bellarmine crushed Mitty in both WCAL meetings last year before the Monarchs stunned Bellarmine in overtime to win the Open Division. The current season hadn’t been so kind to Mitty, with a pair of tight losses to open WCAL play as a continuation of the Monarchs’ December struggles. Mitty lost to SHC and St. Ignatius, teams that Bellarmine owns wins over. Time is running low for Mitty to work out of this early-season rut, with a .500 league record needed to reach the postseason.
No. 7 Serra (9-3, 1-1 WCAL) at No. 8 Riordan (10-2, 1-1), Tuesday, 7:30 p.m.
Serra’s flypaper-like defense and Riordan’s high-flying offense should make for a fun contrast in play styles. Both teams had one excellent offensive performance and one stinker last week. Should the two teams remain in the middle of the pack in the WCAL, they’ll be jostling for a chance at an Open Division seed throughout the season.
Serra has won the last six meetings with the Crusaders. Both teams have found success as a result of depth scoring. For the Padres, that’s been from players like Diyar Yuksel and Dillon Macaraig, while Riordan has gotten crucial points from Donte Henderson, David Sonnier and Justice Turner.
No. 12 Valley Christian (9-2, 0-2 WCAL) at No. 3 St. Francis (10-2, 2-0), Tuesday, 7:30 pm
This should be a great battle in the paint. St. Francis will have Tyler Manoa back as he returns from the U.S. Army All-American Game, and the football star will combine with Anthony Landphere, who had 10 rebounds in Friday’s win at Serra, to create havoc in the paint for opponents.
Valley Christian’s tandem of Jay Allen-Tovar and Cameron Fini creates a big size advantage for the Warriors, who went 0-2 last week but trailed by Riordan by just two points in the fourth quarter. St. Francis beat both the teams that the Warriors lost to last week and got eight 3-pointers over two games from junior Roy Yuan.
No. 11 Menlo-Atherton (6-4) at No. 17 Hillsdale (11-1), Wednesday, 5:30 pm
It’s hard to find two league opponents with less in common. Menlo-Atherton has played a difficult schedule and is known for tight man defense, while Hillsdale has barely been challenged in nonleague play and typically goes zone against opponents. M-A enters as a favorite to contend for a third straight PAL South title.
The early test for Hillsdale will be a chance for the Knights to end speculation and show if they can compete with the best of San Mateo County. One of the biggest issues for teams facing Menlo-Atherton is figuring out which scorer will have the hot hand. In Friday’s win over Mt. Eden, it was Bradley Stillman, who shot 7-of-8 from 3-point range. Between Stillman, Jhavante Hill, Will Beasley, Logan Faberowski and sophomore reserve Nick Tripaldi, Hillsdale’s zone defense will have to cover all areas on the floor to have a chance to slow down the Bears.
No. 23 Los Altos (9-5, 2-0 SCVAL De Anza) at No. 6 Palo Alto (9-2, 2-0), Wednesday, 7 p.m.
With wins over Mountain View and Cupertino, Los Altos looks to be the main challenger to Palo Alto and Los Gatos. The Eagles have impressed so far this season with excellent defense, allowing 17 points against Aptos and 20 against Gunn. In the league-opening win over rival Mountain View, Los Altos trailed 27-23 at the half but allowed just six points in the third quarter and shut out the Spartans entirely in the fourth.
While the Eagles did only beat Cupertino by seven points, Palo Alto completely flattened the Pioneers in a 63-31 victory. Jared Wulbrun’s return to health was huge for the Vikings, as the son of Stanford assistant Jeff Wulbrun sank seven 3-pointers against Cupertino.
