SAN JOSE — Of the nine meetings between Bellarmine and St. Francis over the past three years, Tuesday’s CCS Open Division semifinal may have been the best one yet, with Bellarmine pulling out a 70-67 victory despite a career-high 38 points from Logan Johnson.
With forward Anthony Landphere out sick and head coach Mike Motil serving a one-game suspension for comments made in a San Jose Mercury News article, Johnson carried the torch, not only on offense, but by holding best friend Jake Wojcik to just five points.
“He was possessed,” said Bellarmine head coach Patrick Schneider.
With Wojcik scoring 29 in the last meeting between the two teams and being named unanimous WCAL MVP after sharing the honors with Johnson last year, Johnson made quite the statement at neutral-site Independence High.
“I wasn’t going to let what happened last time happen again,” said the Cincinnati-bound senior. “I had to compete harder.”
Nevertheless, it’s Bellarmine advancing to a third consecutive Open Division final, with Kendall Stubblefield scoring 30 in the win.
Throughout the Tuesday evening clash, fans were dazzled by Johnson and Stubblefield’s play. An and-1 by Johnson. Stubblefield grabbing a rebound, scoring on the putback and drawing the foul to match it at the other end. Johnson diving out-of-bounds to save a loose ball. Stubblefield doing the same.
While Johnson may have been the best player on the court, it was supporting contributions that helped lift Bellarmine (23-3). After Johnson tied the score at 58, the first time the teams were even since the opening quarter, the Bells quickly retook the lead on a crafty pass from Stubblefield to Kiran Kruse and stretched the lead to five on a play that skewed momentum in their favor. Back-to-back offensive rebounds got Nathan Metzger open, and the senior point guard sank a huge 3-pointer.
“Metz was awesome,” said Stubblefield. “That’s what we need to win in the playoffs.”
Stubblefield scored on the next possession to stretch the lead to seven, and as the Bells hit their free throws down the stretch, St. Francis (19-7) would only get closer than four on the final play of the game, an emphatic dunk by Johnson to cap off his remarkable night.
Though Wojcik scored just five, his presence was crucial, pulling down nine rebounds and alleviating the focus from his center.
“They were so focused on Jake after he scored 29 on them last time,” said Stubblefield. “That was his turn, tonight was my turn.”
Wojcik also drew praise for what he didn’t do.
“It was Jake staying within the system that made a huge difference,” said head coach Patrick Schneider. “He gave himself up to screen people and make good passes. It was so selfless of him, even when we were trying to get him open shots out of specials.”
In addition to Stubblefield, Kruse scored 15, Metzger added 11 and Connor Despie finished with nine. The Bells didn’t get a single bench point, but Gio Saso played huge defense after Bellarmine retook the lead with 3:34 left, separating Johnson from the hoop on the following possession.
The Lancers didn’t just look different on the bench. Desai Lopez, who had played scant bench minutes throughout the season, started and finished with 10 points, second on the team to Johnson.
“He had played really well in practice the last couple weeks,” said acting head coach James Duncan. “We thought the matchup he had with Bellarmine’s players was good for him. He’s come a long way.”
St. Francis also got eight points in the second half from Maurice Wilmer, who was key in fighting back from the eight-point halftime deficit.
Wilmer scored the opening basket of the second half on a crafty move and brought the Lancers within two twice in the fourth. With Stubblefield and Johnson matching each other pound-for-pound, it was the three-sport junior who was critical in closing the gap.
His pair of free throws cut the score to 53-51 with 6:19 left and paved the way for the most entertaining sequence of the night. Stubblefield’s and-1 immediately restored a five-point advantage, but Johnson countered with a three, and Wilmer scored off a turnover to bring the deficit to two and Johnson followed to tie the game. That set the stage for Kruse’s go-ahead layup and the huge 3-pointer by Metzger, perhaps the loudest moment in the six years that Independence has hosted the semifinals.
Early on, Johnson was the only one keeping things close. He scored nine of the Lancers’ 12 in the first quarter, including a 3-point play after Bellarmine opened up a nine-point lead, and added six more in the second to ensure the Bells’ lead would never grow larger than 10. He also went 10-for-11 at the line on the night.
Considering what Johnson did on Tuesday, it’s clear that no team will want to face St. Francis in the state tournament. With so much on the line, there may be more performances like Tuesday’s in store.
