SAN MATEO, CA — Badly wanting to wipe out the memory of a loss to Burlingame last year, Serra played crisp, mistake-free basketball on Friday night and beat the Panthers at home, 61-45.
Seven-foot, one-inch center Jack Wilson dominated the post and scored a team-high 15 points, Henry James added 13 and sophomore Parker McDonald chipped in 10.
“It’s a rivalry game, and they smacked us good last year,” Serra interim coach Sean Dugoni said. “This is by far the best game we’ve played. We just have to keep building on it, gain experience.”
Burlingame’s only lead was 5-4 early in the first quarter, when Gavin Coleman, who led all scorers with 16 points, converted a three-point play. From there, the Padres gradually took control. Wilson used his size advantage (the Panthers do not have a starter taller than 6’4”) to take control of the boards and make several layups as well, and James and McDonald controlled the offense to near perfection.
Serra (3-3) led 15-11 after the first quarter, but the Padres were just warming up. With Serra ahead 19-14 early in the second, Burlingame guard Cal Spurlock was called for a shooting foul, and then was assessed a technical after expressing his disagreement with the officials. James made all four free throws, and the Panthers (3-4) never recovered.
The Padres’ held and steadily extended their lead thanks to suffocating defense. They forced Burlingame into several uncomfortable passing and shooting situations and got several of the Panthers’ stars into foul trouble. Serra also limited Burlingame’s leading scorer, Paulie Ferrari, to just four points and no three-pointers.
“All we worked on this week is don’t let Ferrari get a shot off,” Dugoni said. “He’s their best player, he’s averaging 15 a game, and he ended up with four.”
The Padres’ lead was 34-22 at halftime, and they put the game away in the third. Burlingame had no answer for Wilson inside, and James continued to set himself and his teammates up with good shots. By the end of the third quarter, Serra had stretched its advantage to 52-31.
The Panthers were able to make up for a small part of the deficit in the fourth against the Padres’ bench, but this game showed that Serra, which plays in the rough-and-tumble West Catholic Athletic League, is clearly the superior team.
“They’re all learning the game,” Dugoni said. “[Wilson] is the only one that saw playing time last year, so these guys are learning to play together. We just need game experience.”
