SAN MATEO, Calif. — Just like their matchup three weeks earlier, the Riordan Crusaders found themselves locked into a tight battle with the Serra Padres despite being the far more talented team on paper. Unlike that previous battle, they were comfortable.
Serra made things tight the entire way and had a shot at the win after a late 8-0 run, but Riordan didn’t fold under pressure and held on for a 52-50 win, the Crusaders’ first victory at Morton Family Gymnasium since 2009, before the building even had its current name.
“We came in knowing they’re not just going to give us the win,” Riordan senior forward Chan Ngot said. “They’re going to make every shot we take hard.”
True to form, the Padres did contest almost every shot Riordan (16-2, 7-1 WCAL) took, forcing 14 turnovers and holding the visitors to just 2-of-13 shooting from 3-point range, but rather than folding under pressure, the Crusaders managed to scrap and do the little things to build a big enough lead that even their late mistakes wouldn’t be enough to take them down.
“There’s something about this gym that just makes you play a little bit wild. You just lose a little bit of sense and awareness of clock and time and place,” head coach Joey Curtin said. “I’ve been on the other end of it, so I’m just glad we got the win and ended the streak here.”
Trailing 52-42 with 2:29 left after a corner three by sophomore Sean Quanico, who was excellent over the course of his 18 minutes, Serra (13-5, 5-3) got back-to-back threes by Ryan Wilson to cut the lead to four, then got a Julius Alcantara layup high off the glass after winning the ball back on alternating possession. Antonio Abeyta, who scored a game-high 22 points, was fouled while diving for a loose ball with 49.9 to go, but he missed the front end of a 1-and-1 that could have tied the game.
Still, Serra would have two more chances. With the shot clock winding down, Bryce Monroe couldn’t connect on a mid-range jumper, and even though Je’Lani Clark stole the ensuing inbound pass, he’d lose the ball before he could go up for a game-sealing dunk, giving the Padres eight seconds to go the length of the court.
They’d get the shot they wanted, another open three for Wilson, but he’d miss off the front of the rim and Ngot would grab the rebound to give the Crusaders their long-awaited win in San Mateo on a floor where they had let a 12-point advantage slip away in the final minutes a year ago. This time, the lead never quite got that wide, with neither team ever holding an advantage of more than four in the first half as both teams amped up the physicality. Having scored just five points in the first seven-plus minutes, the Crusaders got a pair of gritty plays by Monroe to close the first after a turnover had given Serra what should have been the final possession of the quarter. First, he drew a moving screen, then picked up a foul on a 3-point attempt with 0.2 on the clock, hitting all three free throws to tie the game.
Just as the game was deadlocked after a quarter, it was tied going into the half as Justin Miller tied things at 25 with his lone shot of the night to offset Abeyta’s 16 across the first two quarters. Riordan would finally create an advantage in the third, getting the final six points of the quarter from Monroe to take a 41-35 lead, capped off by a steal and layup.
“A lot of people say that we’re just an offensive team and we always try to outscore people,” Monroe said. “Look at our numbers defensively, we can win a game with our defense and not just our offense.”
Defense would continue leading to offense in the fourth as a Clark steal and dunk would kick off a 6-0 run to put the Crusaders up 10, with Clark also getting it done on the defensive end by becoming the only player on the floor who could slow down Abeyta.
“We have to be stronger with the ball,” Serra interim head coach Brian Carson said. “In the second half we gave them too many easy layups off of our turnovers, and that killed us.”
Those turnovers (each team committed 14, with Clark grabbing a game-high four steals) made it necessary for Wilson to catch fire to give the Padres a shot at the end, ultimately losing a second straight game that came down to the final possession.
“We’re three points away from being 7-1 and in first place all by ourselves,” Carson explained. “We could lose to anybody and we could beat anybody.”
Instead, it’s Riordan in first place, two games clear of the Padres and one up on both Bellarmine and Mitty. Those two San Jose schools will clash on Friday night, so unless the Crusaders lose at home to St. Ignatius, only one team will be within a game of Riordan with five games to go. It’s a position the Crusaders put themselves in by getting performances not only from Monroe and Clark, who scored 19 points on an array of baseline drives and a pair of and-1s, but through players like Ngot and Quanico.
Ngot had just one basket, a putback early in the second quarter, but his eight rebounds were critical on a night where the Crusaders struggled to clear out space in the middle thanks to 6-foot-9 Serra center Muti Shuman.
“It’s just staying positive,” said Ngot, a native of South Sudan who missed his junior season with a torn ACL. “All the guys that are under pressure, my job was to calm them down and tell them that we have the potential and the size to beat these guys. When you have the ball, take your time.”
Quanico also made his impact off the bench, hitting just the one shot but playing tight defense with Lee Hubbard III, who typically handles the opponent’s top scorer, in foul trouble. Sophomore center Mor Seck was limited to just four points but had seven rebounds and six blocks without getting rattled by the atmosphere. In prior weeks, Seck had been charged with an onslaught of technical fouls at games with large crowds, including a key one after a dunk in the fourth quarter of the home loss to the Padres, but the 16-year-old was able to stay composed on Tuesday night.
“It was a playoff atmosphere and a good playoff-type preview, so we have to get better from this and learn for when that day comes,” Curtin said. “Learn from it, see where we can really get better and tighten up.”
If there’s one area in which the Padres can clearly be better, it’s free throws. Clark went 5-for-6 and Monroe, who scored 13, made all five of his shots at the line, but Serra went an uncharacteristic 4-for-10, not only missing a chance to tie in the final minute but missing two that would have tied the game late in the third and the front end of a 1-and-1 with 4:26 left to keep Riordan up by ten.
No. 10 St. Ignatius 58, No. 9 Sacred Heart Cathedral 54
Trailing for almost the entire game and finding themselves in a nine-point hole midway through the fourth quarter, the St. Ignatius Wildcats rallied late for their second consecutive win. GC Toledo Rivera gave St. Ignatius (7-11, 2-6) a 53-52 lead on a 3-pointer with two minutes to go and a King-Jhsanni Wilhite drive on the next possession would make it a three-point game. Wilhite, who scored 13, would also knock down a pair of free throws to help put the game out of reach, a rare success at the free throw line on a night where SI shot just 10-of-21 from the charity stripe. Malcolm McCray-Hill led the Wildcats with 14, while Sacred Heart Cathedral (7-11, 2-6) got 12 points from Kori McCoy, 11 from Ray-John Spears and nine from Darnay McPherson.
No. 3 Mitty 61, No. 7 St. Francis 44
Big first and third quarters carried the Mitty Monarchs to victory in advance of Friday’s huge trip to Bellarmine, as they outscored the St. Francis Lancers 35-14 over those two periods in a 61-44 win. Owen Browne scored 12 to lead Mitty (15-3, 6-2), and the hosts also got a season-high 10 from Jake Ryan, plus nine from Mikey Mitchell and eight from Marcus Greene. Vince Barringer led St. Francis (12-6, 4-4) with 10, but the Lancers dropped their third straight.
No. 2 Bellarmine 89, No. 17 Valley Christian 37
The Bellarmine Bells had enough points by halftime to win on Tuesday night, opening up a 38-19 lead by the break, but they ran roughshod over the Valley Christian Warriors for an 89-37 victory. Quinn Denker led all scorers with 24 points, playing just the first three quarters before giving way to the reserves, who continued the onslaught for Bellarmine (16-2, 6-2). Zach Turner scored 13 off the bench, all in the second half, and Anthony Piro scored 10 as the Bells found plenty of scoring, even with both Constantijn Cole and Ridley Ruth injured. Even fan favorite Enow Akem scored seven in the fourth quarter, which was finished with a running clock. Valley Christian (8-10, 0-8) got 14 points from Pawllos Habtom and eight from Aleksa Jovanovic.