SAN FRANCISCO – Led by a third quarter surge from junior guard Darrion Trammell, St. Ignatius dominated its bitter rival Sacred Heart Cathedral 64-48 in the annual Bruce-Mahoney basketball game at USF’s War Memorial Gym, at the Sobrato Center on Tuesday night.
Trammell scored 19 of his 22 points in the third quarter, propelling the Wildcats to extend their lead to 52-30 at the end of the quarter. Junior guard Brandon Beckman was the only other Wildcat to score in the third quarter (four points).
“I just kept looking for my shot and didn’t let the first half get to me,” Trammell said. “Just stayed humble and motivated and made sure I just kept shooting and taking my shots.”
After shooting just one for nine from the field in the first half, Trammell took off in the third quarter. However, even when he was not scoring, he contributed to SI’s victory in every phase of the game, grabbing rebounds, finding the open shooter, and emphatically blocking two Irish shot attempts.
“That’s just ‘D’,” SI coach Rob Marcaletti said. “I mean, I’ve seen it before. That’s just what he does at times. And when he does, the unique thing about him is he’s not tunnel vision of trying to score. He’s in that mode, but he’s also looking to make other guys better.”
Both teams struggled to get anything going on offense in the first half, as SI led just 29-18 after two quarters of play. But the lid finally came off the basket for both the Fightin’ Irish and the Wildcats in the second half, as they scored a combined 75 points in the final two quarters.
Beckman also helped the Wildcats’ attack, scoring 16 points and shot five for six from the free throw line.
As a team, SI shot just 39 percent from the floor and only 66 percent from the charity stripe. However, they dominated on defense, holding SHC to just 30 percent from the field and forcing plenty of turnovers.
“We’re really focused and we’re really working hard on defense,” Marcaletti said. “That’s our identity this year, and guys are really buying into that.”
As for the Fightin’ Irish, they struggled to get things going on offense throughout the night. Even when they tried to claw their way back into the game, SI would continue to pull away, thanks in part to the play of Trammell.
However, the bright spot for the Irish came from senior guard Melo Dunbar, who scored 18 points and shot 58 percent from the floor.
The Bruce-Mahoney trophy, which is named after two graduates of both schools who died in World War II, is awarded to the school that wins at least two of the three games in the series: football, basketball and baseball. Because St. Ignatius won the football game, the trophy is headed back to the Sunset District for the fifth year in a row.
Sacred Heart Cathedral (6-6, 0-3 WCAL) hosts Archbishop Mitty on Saturday night, tipping off at 6:30 p.m.
St. Ignatius (11-1, 3-0) hosts Valley Christian on Saturday night at McCullough Gym. That tip-off is also scheduled for 6:30 p.m.
