SAN FRANCISCO — One night after the Sacred Heart Prep Gators used a high-powered offense to open eyes across Northern California with a win over Inderkum, they put on a 32-minute defensive showcase for another impressive win.
SHP allowed just 13 points in the second half and didn’t let San Ramon Valley (0-1) make a single 3-pointer all night, topping the Wolves 49-34 in the semifinals of the 62nd Crusader Classic.
“To be able to do this so early in the season says a lot about the type of players I have in that room,” SHP head coach Tony Martinelli said. “They don’t feel like they played their best game, but we still came out and got a win.”
Sacred Heart Prep (2-0) held the Wolves to just five points in the third quarter, turning a one-point halftime lead into a 10-point advantage by the end of the quarter. The Gators went up by double digits for the first time on Emmer Nichols’ basket with two minutes left in the third, and they never let SRV get back within 10 after Kevin Carney made two of three free throws with 23.8 seconds left in the quarter.
The lead got as wide as 17 in the fourth after a Sam Norris third-chance putback, Nichols 3-pointer and JP Kerrigan lay-in, and the Wolves, who didn’t play on Thursday after Tamalpais withdrew from the tournament due to COVID-19 protocols, didn’t even foul in the final minutes, knowing the game had already been decided.
It was a marquee win for the Gators, not only to beat a top opponent for a second consecutive night, but to do it with defense. After being forced to outscore teams throughout the prior season, they got just 12 points from Belmont commit Aidan Braccia, which would have been a death sentence for the team that took the court five months ago. Even with three players still playing football, a much taller roster, fueled by Norris’ growth spurt and Nichols’ return, is able to match up with a physical opponent like San Ramon Valley.
“He changes everything,” Martinelli said of Nichols, who returned to the program after spending the prior year in Australia, where he has dual citizenship. “It gives us that toughness and that edge.”
Nichols scored nine of his points and grabbed nine of his rebounds in the second half, finishing the game with 11 of each for a double-double. Carney scored eight of his 10 after the break, while Braccia started hot with six points in the first quarter.
Braccia assisted on an LJ Quattlebaum 3-pointer three minutes into the second quarter that gave SHP the lead for good and kicked off an 8-0 run, with Braccia scoring off a steal a minute later and Kerrigan hitting a 3-pointer off a Nichols stretch pass.
Sophomore Will Ambidge led the Wolves with eight points and Parker McClaughry finished with seven points and five assists. Freshman Mason Thomas scored six in his first career game.
Riordan 74, Davis 26
For the Riordan Crusaders to advance to the championship game of their own tournament for the fourth consecutive edition was no surprise, but to hold a Blue Devils team that likes to play at breakneck speed to just 26 points showed the strengths that Joey Curtin’s 2021-22 squad has to offer.
While Riordan (2-1) may not be loaded with quite as much star power as in previous years, the Crusaders had five players standing at 6-foot-4 or taller on the floor throughout Friday night’s semifinal matchup and used their length to hold Davis (1-1) to just 19.6 percent shooting. The visitors made just one 3-pointer and scored 16 points across the final three periods.
Riordan outscored the Blue Devils 18-4 in the second quarter, with Antonio Pusateri scoring six of his team-high 13 points in a rapid sequence that included a one-handed putback dunk and a pair of blocks. A 17-4 third quarter and 27-8 fourth allowed the hosts to finish the game with a running clock.
The Crusaders’ top five scorers all exceeded Davis’ high-point man. Quentin Kennedy and King-Njhsanni Wilhite each scored 10, Quinton Bundage added nine and Isiah Chala scored seven off the bench while collecting a game-high 12 rebounds. Bundage, Kennedy and Achilles Woodson each had four assists, part of a team effort that culminated in 16 assists on 29 made baskets.
Collin Carpenter and sophomore Aiden McCabe each scored six for the visitors.
Terra Nova 63, Mission 58
First-year Terra Nova head coach Robby Wierzba, who spent the prior season as Riordan’s freshman coach, earned his second varsity win in familiar territory.
Dominic Tuiasosopo had a game-high 25 points and 11 rebounds for the Tigers, who opened up an early 10-point lead and never trailed despite letting Mission (0-2) within three points in the third quarter and four late in the fourth.
Marc Webb’s basket with 3:05 left cut the Terra Nova lead to 55-51, but the Tigers seemed to put the game away by scoring the next seven points, with four coming courtesy of Tuiasosopo. The Bears then upped the pressure, bringing back shades of the frantic style that won them a state championship in 2017, to rattle off a 7-0 run over 30 seconds as Chris Floyd scored on a putback, then hit a 3-pointer after a Maurice Oliver layup.
Tuiasosopo then missed two free throws, but Webb missed two of his own with 16 seconds left and Gio Thompson, who finished with 21 points and eight rebounds, made one of two with 15 seconds left to provide the final margin. The Bears went just 8-of-16 at the line, while Terra Nova (2-2) made 12 of 22 free throw attempts.
Oliver, who missed Wednesday’s loss to Riordan with a back injury, finished with 12 points and five assists. Kai Krejci also scored 12 and Kenneth Sanford added eight off the bench.
Saturday’s schedule
Consolation Championship: Inderkum (2-1) vs. Terra Nova (2-2), 3:30 p.m.
3rd Place Game: San Ramon Valley (0-1) vs. Davis (1-1), 5 p.m.
Championship: Sacred Heart Prep (2-0) vs. Riordan (2-1), 8 p.m.
