On Wednesday night, the Serra Padres overpowered the visiting Riordan Crusaders, 64-56, in a key West Coast Athletic League matchup. The Padres (17-3, 8-2 WCAL) were on top at the end of the first quarter, 18-14, led by junior guard Sean Watkins, who had eight points in the opening quarter. The Padres led 27-23 at halftime.
“It felt like a tournament game, where if you won you advanced and if you lost you go home," Watkins said. "Riordan, like all teams, gave us their best shot and we prevailed,” said Watkins.
Once again, senior Henry Caruso led the way for the Padres with a game-high 22 points and nine rebounds. After the game, the Princeton bound Caruso said,
“I think we did good today," said the Princeton-bound Caruso. "We kept the pressure up and everyone contributed”.
In trying to avoid their ninth straight loss to the Padres, the Crusaders (13-7, 4-6) were not about to go down without a fight. Riordan was led by junior Frankie Ferrari, who hit four 3-pointers in crucial situations and accounted for 14 points all told.
The momentum of the game shifted as a dunk by the Crusaders’ junior Chiefy Ugbaja was quickly followed by back-to-back Crusader steals, and capped by a 3-pointer by Ferrari to tie the game midway through the third quarter. The Padres did not flinch, however.
Caruso iced the game with under a minute left with two free throws going 11-for-15 at the line. The Padres hit 28-of-40 free throws on the night. Excellent off the bench, junior Danny Mahoney contributed four steals and a blocked shot which sparked the Padres defensively.
“Our defense played strong all night," Mahoney said. "It's what got our offense on track, and it led to some fast-break points which really helped."
With a minute to go, up by four, the Padres forced a turnover that left the Crusaders with no option but to force a foul.
“We started off slow but thanks to a couple big shots it sparked us and got us going,” said Serra coach Chuck Rapp.
Riordan travels down to San Jose Friday night to take on first-place Archbishop Mitty. Serra heads south as well Friday night to take on rival Bellarmine.
