SAN JOSE — Je’Lani Clark has been key for the Riordan Crusaders in his junior season by driving to the hoop with a head full of steam, and while he did some of that on Saturday, it was his outside shooting that fueled a 63-52 win at Bellarmine, ending a 24-game home winning streak for the Bells.
Tied 27-27 at half, the Crusaders upped the tempo in the third quarter to score 22 points, with 12 coming from Clark, and they became the first team to win at Bellarmine since Menlo-Atherton took the Bells down in the CIF State Tournament on March 15, 2016.
“This was a game we needed in the 50s and 60s, and they wanted it in the 80s,” said Bellarmine head coach Patrick Schneider. “They had an 88-point third quarter. 22 points in a quarter, that’s 88 in a game.”
Ian Elam scored the first points of the second half to give Bellarmine (13-4, 4-3 WCAL) a 29-27 lead, but Justice Turner tied the game with a steal and layup. Clark made the first of two free throws to put the top-ranked Crusaders ahead, and the second would be wiped out on a dual lane violation. The ball stayed with Riordan on the possession arrow, and Clark hit a 3-pointer to put his team up by four.
Kiran Kruse cut the lead to 35-34 with one of his three 3-pointers, but Clark answered with an and-1, shouting as he watched the ball go through the hoop while lying on the court and converting the ensuing free throw. The Bells would get within one at 40-39 on a three by Quinn Denker, but six of Bryce Monroe’s 19 points and another Clark and-1, off an errant Bellarmine pass in the final moments of the quarter, would give Riordan (13-4, 6-1) an eight-point lead heading into the fourth.
Another 3-pointer from Clark, who went 3-of-4 from beyond the arc, 8-for-11 from the field and 3-for-3 at the line, put the visitors ahead by nine, and after a basket by Donte Henderson with 6:49 left, the lead would never be less than 10. Monroe would score seven more down the stretch to ensure the fourth-ranked Bells would never be able to make a serious push, and the benches emptied with 1:32 left.
The Bells caught Riordan off-guard early with zone defense, and after Riordan opened up an early 9-3 lead, the Bells ended the first quarter tied at 13, with Kruse scoring 11 of his team-high 19 in the opening quarter. An 8-0 run to open the second gave the hosts a 21-13 lead, but the Crusaders answered with a 14-2 run and the teams went into the half tied after Kruse and sophomore Ryan Kiachian accounted for the final four points of the quarter.
“The pace wasn’t fast enough for our liking,” said Riordan head coach Joey Curtin. “We needed to push it. We got a lot of guys open with hard cuts because all of the focus was on the ball.”
Denker scored 16 points and the Bells shot a respectable 6-of-16 from 3-point range, but 16 turnovers and just four offensive rebounds would be extremely damaging for the hosts.
No. 3 Mitty 55, No. 2 Serra 53
For the third time in seven league games, Marcus Greene hit a go-ahead 3-pointer in the final minute, this one with 32 seconds left to give Mitty (11-6, 5-2) sole possession of second place at the halfway mark of WCAL play. Serra (12-5, 4-3) had led for the entirety of the fourth quarter before Greene’s clutch shot. Parker McDonald led the Padres with 16 points, while the Monarchs got 12 from sophomore Michael Mitchell, 11 from Devan Sapp and 10 from Greene. Mitty played without Joseph Vaughn, who was on a football recruiting visit, while Serra star Cade Rees was slowed by illness and saw his streak of made free throws end at 24. The Padres led by four at halftime and held the advantage at the end of each of the first three quarters.
No. 16 St. Francis 45, No. 5 St. Ignatius 42
The Lancers emerged 2-0 from their first full week with Oscar Pedraza and Maurice Wilmer healthy, getting the go-ahead 3-pointer from Matteo Fontana with 1:02 left. Sebastian Pelayo led St. Francis (10-7, 2-5) with 10 points while Pedraza and Wilmer each added nine. Wrenn Robinson scored a game-high 14 for St. Ignatius (8-9, 4-3), while Kourosh Kahn-Adle added 12 for the Wildcats.
No. 11 Sacred Heart Cathedral 60, No. 13 Valley Christian 59
Valley Christian (10-7, 1-6) took a fourth-quarter lead with a 14-3 run, but Sacred Heart Cathedral (9-8, 2-5) snapped a four-game losing streak by scoring eight of the game’s final 11 points.
