Saint Francis knocked off Montgomery in round one of the Division II Norcal playoffs, 58-45 behind a first half three-point parade.
At home in front of their energetic “Sixth Man Crew,” the Lancers (13-16) continued the hot shooting that carried them to a CCS Division II title.
“We banked in two threes. I don’t think there was any great plan,” said St. Francis coach Mike Motil. “We got kind of fortunate in the first half.”
The Lancers hit four three-pointers in the first quarter alone, and seven for the half. The Lancers ran a fast pace offense, and were able to get off 30 shots in the half.
Another key aspect of the Lancers' 33-14 halftime lead was offensive rebounds.
“It’s nice whenever we get an offensive rebound,” said Alex Frazier, who had four offensive rebounds in the game. “They were calling it tight at the beginning of the game, so it was hard to get stuff like that. Out-rebounding them really helped us the whole game.”
The Lancers pulled down four offensive rebounds in the first half. They also attacked the ball defensively, getting four steals, two blocks, and forcing seven turnovers.
“We did a great job rebounding in the first half,” said Motil. “They only got three offensive rebounds and they were all from the free throw line, so we need to work on that free throw line block out a bit more. We were great defensively, giving up only 14 points. “
The Vikings (23-9) could not catch a break on either side of the court. They made just two field goals in the opening quarter, and were blanked aside from six free throws in the second quarter, going 2-for-19 from the field for the half. They were also out-rebounded, hauling in 11 rebounds compared to the Lancers’ 15. They also lost the turnover battle, 7-4, and they did not record a steal or a block in the half.
“Our first half play didn’t have state championship urgency,” said Montgomery coach Tom Fitchie. “It was like a regular game. Their threes deflate you at times, and our guys got deflated. That’s natural, but not what you want in a state tournament when you win or you’re out.”
In the second half, however, the pace of the game changed dramatically. The Vikings, sensing that their time was running out with a 33-14 deficit, finally clicked on offense. They started the quarter on a 9-0 run, doing damage in transition and in the post. Alec Raven exploded for the Vikings, as he scored 11 of his 14 points in the quarter, and pulled down three critical offensive rebounds.
“We were more aggressive, and there was some sort of urgency,” said Fitchie. “We got more passing lanes, we attacked the basket a little bit better, made a few more shots, and they missed a few.”
With their lead cut to 12 points, Khalil Johnson finally put an end to the run with 3:30 left in the quarter when he hit a 3-pointer. Raven responded at the other end with a layup, but Nicholas Keyes hit a three on the next possession. Keyes hit three triples in a row, each of which Raven matched with a layup or shot out of the post of his own.
“We gave up some layups and shots,” said Keyes. “We were able to come back and match them bucket for bucket to keep our lead up. They came down and hit a three, me, and Mike [Lauck] and Khalil [Johnson] hit some threes. It was a game of runs. They went on a run, we went on a run.”
The Vikings entered the fourth quarter down just 45-34, looking to carry in their momentum, but they couldn’t sustain the rally. The Lancers simply got rebounds and made shots when they needed them. The Vikings pulled to within eight with 1:34 left in the game when Tyler Newman hit a free throw to make the score 53-45, but Khalid Johnson stole the ball with 45 seconds left and converted an easy fast break layup to put the game away.
“Khalid is as fast as they get,” said Motil. “He can move the ball up the court and make things happen in transition.”
The problem for Montgomery came down to consistency.
“We’re not a team that can turn it on and off. We’ve got to work hard the whole game," Fitchie said. "We’re not a great shooting team, we don’t have great speed, we don’t have great size. We’ve got to go for 32 minutes."
The Lancers were dominant in the three primary aspects of the game for long enough stretches to secure the victory.
“It comes down to making shots,” said Motil. “You defend, you rebound, and you make shots. If you do those three things, you’re going to win some basketball games.”
The Lancers still have some work to do with on ball and help defense, but they are still growing as a unit this late into the season:
“We definitely picked it up,” said Frazier. “As our record shows, we didn’t start the season strong but we’re coming together and developing.”
Khalil Johnson led the Lancers with 16 points off the bench to go along with five rebounds and a game-high three blocks. Keyes added 12 points, all on three pointers, and Lauck had eight points and five rebounds. Frazier had eight points and six rebounds, and Khalid Johnson filled out the stat sheet with seven points, five rebounds, three steals, and a block.
The Lancers play at Antelope on Saturday March 9 at 7 pm in the second round.
