RONAN KRAMER, ST. IGNATIUS
Prep2Prep Student Contributor

February 20, 2020

SAN FRANCISCO - With nothing but CCS seeding to play for on Tuesday night, the Serra Padres found themselves walking right into a trap against their WCAL rivals Saint Ignatius. The Padres started slow, only scoring eight points in the first quarter and found themselves trailing the Wildcats midway through the second quarter.

Add these factors to the fact that the Padres had not won a game at Saint Ignatius since 2016, and had lost each game by double digits in the process, and suddenly it seemed like the perfect recipe for a Wildcat upset. And then Ryan Wilson showed up. The 5-foot-11 senior drained two threes in only three possessions to start a 13-3 Padre run that put the game away and allowed the Padres to cruise to a 44-33 victory at St. Ignatius.

“We just tried to play good defense and force bad shots,” Wilson said following the win. “But those stops allowed me to get my footing and make (those shots)."

The Padre offensive attack was carried by Wilson and his fellow senior Antonio Abeyta. Abeyta finished with 20 points, including matching the Wildcats with eight fourth-quarter points, while Wilson finished with 12. The pair carried a Serra team that struggled shooting early, as no other Serra player scored more than three points on the evening.

“It means a lot to win here. We always want to beat the Wildcats and especially in their building,” Abeyta said. “We want to play every game like our last, and we hope to carry that into CCS play."

Yet, the bigger story of the night was the strength of the Padre defense. After a Rory Keneally three to open scoring just two minutes into the game, the Padres did not surrender another successful three point attempt for the entire game. Seniors Julian Alcantra and Jevon Jesus locked down the paint, surrendering only nine combined points to St. Ignatius forwards and centers.

“The defense is the rock in which we build our church,” said Serra head coach Brian Carson. “We knew they had shooters, so our game plan was to run them off of the perimeter."

Although the Wildcats trailed by double digits for most of the second half, SI showed signs of life late in the third quarter, closing the Padre lead to seven. Yet, a missed dunk from Malcom McCray-Hill led to a quick three from Serra guard Brady Smith ending the third quarter on a massive five-point swing that the Wildcats could not recover from. Although the Cats could not covert from beyond the three-point line, they showed up on the boards. Junior Ethan Jew jumped out to collect four rebounds in the first quarter alone, as the Cats had no issue collecting boards early.

Both teams are awaiting their seeding in the CCS playoffs. Serra is expected to be in the Open bracket, while SI will likely head to the Division 3 bracket.

Archbishop Riordan 92 Sacred Heart Cathedral 69

Just east of St. Ignatius, the Archbishop Riordan Crusaders finished up their WCAL season with a blowout victory over their crosstown rivals Sacred Heart Cathedral to clinch a share of the WCAL title. Senior Je’lani Clark closed out his storied career for the Crusaders with a senior night to remember, dropping a career high 36 points, including 21 in the first half alone, helping to lead Riordan to an easy, never-in-doubt victory. Yet, the highlight of the night for the Crusaders came when senior manager Dominic Stevens drained two threes in the fourth quarter, energizing the Crusader Forum and creating a moment that will live in the lore of Riordan basketball for a long time.

For the Irish, Darnay McPherson continued his strong season by adding 28 points to his total, while Ray John-Spears scored seven points while tallying ten rebounds. Sacred Heart’s chances at an open ccs bid likely faded as the clock hit zero at the Crusader forum, yet they found themselves in this spot last season before embarking on a miracle CCS run. As for the Crusaders, the WCAL co-champions are in the mix for the number one seed in the CCS open bracket, and will know their fate once the brackets are announced.