SAN FRANCISCO - The St. Ignatius boys basketball team arrived at Kezar Pavilion Friday night looking to clinch the oldest Catholic school rivalry, the Bruce-Mahoney trophy. Leading rival Sacred Heart Cathedral 2-1 in the 2021-22 series following a win in the girls basketball game, the ‘Cats looked to put the series away.
With both sides of the gym filled to the brim with students, no one expected what was to come: a game full of ups and downs between two teams who left it all on the court, and a nail-biting finish for the ages. Although one could argue either team was better on the night, there could only be one winner. In the end, it was the Wildcats who came up with the big plays down the stretch, taking the game by a score of 69-65 after overtime.
After being completely outmatched in the first half, the Wildcats found themselves in a 28-17 hole coming out of halftime. They were out-hustled and outplayed by an explosive Irish lineup. But SI came out of the locker room with confidence and strong defensive pressure prevented SHC from even crossing half court on its first three possessions of the second half.
Offensively, the Wildcats began to get the ball inside, passing up three-pointers for drives to the basket and running the offense through 6-7 center John Squire, who used his size to dominate the post.
After scoring just two points in the first half, Squire finished with 20. Following head coach Jason Greenfield’s adjustments, the ‘Cats made a major dent in the Irish lead, cutting the lead down to three after just three minutes of the second half.
“In the first half we were rushing on offense, and they were kicking our (behind) on defense,” said Greenfield. “We just stepped it up in the second half, the level of aggression on offense and defense increased. We got Squire the ball - we should’ve gotten the ball to him more in the first half. We got him the ball and it worked, and I’m really proud of the boys."
With the game in the balance heading into the fourth quarter, either side could’ve ended out on top. The Irish, led by forward Jerry Mixon Jr., finally found their stride in the final period, as his 11 second-half points helped the Irish re-establish a nine-point lead. Mixon did it all for the Irish, racking up a team-high eight rebounds and game-high four blocks.
Just seconds later, the Wildcats started to mount their second comeback of their night, this time through guard Giancarlo Toledo-Rivera. The SI star finally found his rhythm from his favorite corner three, knocking down shot after shot to flip a nine point deficit into a four point lead with just a minute remaining. Toledo-Rivera finished the night with a game-high 21 points, instrumental to SI’s victory. As the Irish seemed to slow down, the Wildcats seemed to only get quicker, as they turned defense into offense and scored on numerous fast-breaks in the fourth period.
“We just had to stop making boneheaded plays,” said Greenfield. “We just had to pass to our team, don’t pass to 6-foot-7 guys below their knees, don’t kick the ball on offense. It was as simple as that.”
Staring at a four-point deficit as the timing continued to tick, the Irish needed something special, and they came up with just that. RL Miller, who ended a superb night with 10 points and seven rebounds, drove down the court for a layup over Squire. With SI just needed to inbound the ball and run out the clock, it appeared to be a game that would be decided at the free-throw line.
Then in a moment of brilliance from Spears, he poked the ball out of Squires' hands and just as it looked to go out of bounds, dived and threw it off Squires' leg to make it Irish ball. After a tough inbound pass, Spears set up Miller, who sent the game to overtime and the Irish crowd into a frenzy.
“It shows our team's resilience,” said Sacred Heart Cathedral head coach Caesar Smith. “We got tired as the game went on and allowed them to take the lead but we kept fighting. We just tried to keep doing what we were doing, win or lose, make sure we were playing our new brand of basketball, and I’m really proud of the way we played.”
The Irish showed what they were capable of throughout the first half, completely out playing the Wildcats en route to an 11-point halftime lead. Ray-John Spears led from the front, finishing with a team-high 19 points, including 11 first-half points. Spears and Co. disrupted the Wildcat offense, forcing turnover after turnover, never allowing the ‘Cats to settle. Miller recorded four steals while Spears added two blocks to dry up SI’s scoring. Even their superb efforts were not enough for Sacred Heart Cathedral to come up on top.
“The message at the beginning was to just play our game,” said Smith. “Come out like we usually do, play hard, play good defense, we didn’t treat this game any different than we treated any other game”
Coming into overtime, the Wildcats, led by a spectacular performance from Squire, put the game away for good. They jumped out to a two-possession lead early and never looked back. The ‘Cats repeatedly took advantage of an exhausted Irish lineup for second-chance points, ultimately too much for the Irish to handle. The ‘Cats never took the foot off the gas in the final five minutes, playing with renewed intensity before putting the game away at the line.
“I was proud of the way they pressed on,” said Greenfield. “We out there and won the game again, now my boys are dowsing each other with water and that’s all that matters.”
With SI and SHC currently sitting at third and fifth place, respectively, in the highly competitive WCAL, both teams will be looking for a win, and a major step toward the playoffs, in their rematch this Wednesday at St. Ignatius’ McCullough Gymnasium.
