SAN MATEO, CA -- Spurred on by it white-clad cheering section and showing its impressive depth, Serra routed St. Ignatius in the annual Jungle Game, 62-38 on Wednesday night.
The Jungle thing came about in the 1970s when former SI coach Bob Drucker told a reporter that Serra's venue was "like a jungle."
Serra students seized on the comment and a tradition was born, with students annually turning out for the game in droves and the gym decorated with netting, palm fronds and blow-up jungle animals.
Then there were the Serra players, who were pretty beastly themselves. Despite a distinct height disadvantage, the Padres dominated inside and out, led by senior 6-foot-5 center Trevor Brown, a University of Redlands commit.
"Trevor played amazing," Serra senior guard Frank Lemos said. "He settles us down on offense. When we need to get a bucket we go to him. And he works the ball inside out. He does it all for us."
Serra's Chuck Rapp, who won his 300th game as coach of the Padres, thought guard play and depth were also keys to the victory.
"We have some quick guards and we're deep and we have a little more experience," Rapp said. " We pressured the ball and then we were able to bring in subs who could keep that energy level up. We have nine returning guys and SI is predominantly as junior dominated roster."
Then there was the capacity crowd. The partisan Padre supporters, as always, fervently cheered on their heroes, who led 8-3 after one quarter, 26-9 at the half and were never in jeopardy of being caught. The lead reached 28 points (46-18) with 2:28 left in the third quarter.
"It's huge," Rapp said of the support. "This is one of those old-school venues. You play at SI and they have big crowds but it just kind of gets lost in the volume of a big place. Here you have the crowd right on top of you and the sideline is so tight. I think it really has a big impact and it can be tough for a visiting team."
Rapp went on to explain the importance of the Jungle Game, which has been a mainstay at the peninsula school for four decades.
"This game is at the center of the Serra sports community," he said. "There are a lot of guys who come to just one game a year and it means a lot to them and it's really important to the kids, too. I always feel a lot of pressure for this game because there are a lot of people who want us to be victorious."
SI first-year coach Rob Marcaletti didn't think the fans had an impact.
"It wasn't the crowd," he said. "We've played in bigger games. We played in the Bruce-Mahoney game before 5,000 people. It's just hats off to Serra. They played tough and ran their system and that's what got us out of our game more than anything. They're known for their defense. They trust each other and really put a lot of pressure on the guards and force you into making plays you don't want to make. "
The win was significant for Serra, moving the Padres into a first-place tie with St. Francis which lost Wednesday night to Mitty. St. Francis visits Serra on Friday in a huge WCAL showdown.
"I feel good about it," said Brown who led the Padres with 15 points and eight rebounds. "I think we're a different team when we play here and we're just going to do the best we can."
Leading 16-6 with five minutes left in the second quarter, Serra got a steal and a lay-up by Jeremiah Testa to start a 16-3 run that made it 32-9 with 1:05 left in the half. Testa is one of those interchangeable parts for Serra who comes off the bench and gives the team a lift. He scored eight points, to aid Lemos who had 11 points, three assists and three steals; Lee Jones, Stephon Nettles and Marcus Alvarez with five points apiece and Jimmy Wohrer and Georgie Koutsogeorgas with four each.
Serra put 11 players into the scoring column and also got 6-9 freshman Jack Wilson some playing time for the second straight game. Wilson had five rebounds in eight minutes and played some tough defense.
While starters Jake Killingsworth, Paul Smoot and Wohrer combined for just six points, it was clearly Brown, the unheralded Lemos and the Serra bench that helped spur the victory.
Brown was effusive in his praise for Lemos.
"Frank's confidence has blossomed," Brown said. "He's become a really good point guard. He's a great defender and a great leader. He gets us in our sets and he's a good passer. He's a good all-around point guard."
Said Lemos: "It was a matter of gaining the support of my teammates after coming off the bench last year. I was able to gain a lot of confidence from the coaches after making some plays and it went from there."
Justin Wong scored nine points to lead the Wildcats. Staring SI forward Arash Poorsina injured his ankle in the first half and spent the second half on the bench with his shoe off.
SI (8-9, 2-5) next has another tough game on Saturday, hosting Mitty. Serra (14-3, 6-1) has its showdown Friday vs. visiting St. Francis. Both games start at 6:30 p.m.
"They're coming off a big loss, so they're going to be fired up," Rapp said of St. Francis. "They beat us last time -- no excuses, they out-played us. It's going to be a great challenge and we're really looking forward to it."
