SAN FRANCISCO -- When it’s your night, the basket seems 10-feet wide. And on Saturday in The City, it was Brandon Beckman’s night.
The junior guard scored 26 points and shot a ridiculous 66 percent (8-for-12) from behind the arc, leading St. Ignatius to a 65-55 victory over Placer in the second round of the CIF State Division III playoffs.
“I just felt all the support around me,” Beckman said. “ Everyone’s always got my back, and I know I just gotta keep shooting, and get rolling, and help my team get this win.”
After a tightly contested first half that ended with the Wildcats leading 36-32, Beckman took control, scoring the first nine points of the second half for SI.
“Brandon is the same he’s always been the last couple years,” SI coach Rob Marcaletti said. “He’s a clutch shooter in big games, and he’ll just step up and knock shots down.”
After his fourth triple, an off-balance shot falling to his right, connected, the SI crowd and bench erupted, as Beckman leapt in the air and pumped his fist for emphasis. Beckman finished with 12 points in the third quarter, pushing SI’s lead to 53-43.
“He’s not scared,” Marcaletti said. “He’s been in big games before. He’s not intimidated by the environment or the pressure of the shot. He’s just always ready to do it.”
While Beckman had a big game, junior guard Matt Redmond was not far behind, scoring 15 points and hitting a crucial three late in the fourth quarter to seal the win. Junior Darrion Trammell added 10 points to the Wildcat cause.
“It’s been the same thing all year long,” Marcaletti said. “When we get the ball moving and we just share it and we get guys open and we’re getting paint touches, we’ve got shooters -- we can do it. When we get in those rhythms, we’re deadly.”
On the other end, the underdog Hillmen started off hot, leading St. Ignatius 17-14 after one quarter of play. But after surrendering the lead midway through the second quarter, the Hillmen never got it back. Senior Jeremy Lillis and junior Kai Huntsberry led the Placer attack, scoring 15 and 11 points, respectively.
St. Ignatius (23-6) moves on to the regional semifinals in Division III to face Mission High School on Tuesday night at SI, with tip-off scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
