‘Old-school’ WCAL basketball: Mitty beats Riordan in defensive battle, pulls even with Crusaders for first place
'Gavin Ripp scores 10 second-half points as Mitty holds off Riordan in a physical WCAL game.
SAN JOSE – With a week to go until the playoffs start, the Central Coast Section has a familiar look at the top.
Archbishop Mitty and Archbishop Riordan, powerhouses from the West Catholic Athletic League, are clear favorites to reach the section’s Open Division boys basketball final for the third consecutive season.
They’d have a score to settle, too, as they have split the previous two.
Tuesday night, Mitty had another score to settle.
After losing to Riordan last month in San Francisco during the first half of league play — not to mention in last season’s CCS final — the San Jose school needed to win the rematch to pull even with the Crusaders atop the league standings with two games to play.
Mitty went “old school” to get it done, grinding out a 43-37 victory that was equal parts physical and defensive and plenty satisfying for the home team.
“We were not going to let this team, that’s beaten us twice in a row before, get us on our home court,” said Princeton-bound senior Derek Sangster, who had nine points. “This was a must-win game. I am so proud of our guys. We were able to respond. It’s a great win.”
Mitty took the lead early in the first quarter on a 3-pointer by Nathan d’Abreu Noronha, which broke a 3-3 tie, and the Monarchs held the advantage the rest of the way.
They withstood an NBA-worthy tomahawk dunk in the second quarter by Christian Wise off an alley-oop — a slam so jaw-dropping that even the Mitty student section reacted in awe — and never surrendered the lead as the score tightened in the second half.
Riordan cut the margin to 33-30 after three quarters, but a trio of baskets in the paint by Gavin Ripp stretched the cushion to 39-30.
The Crusaders needed nearly five minutes to score their first points of the final period. They got as close as 39-35 with under a minute to go.
But two free throws by Ripp and two more by Sangster put the game away.
Jaiden Paran led Mitty with 11 points, all in the first half.
Ripp gobbled up rebounds and scored all 10 of his points after halftime.
“I needed to stay composed,” Ripp said. “They’ll jump on the pump-fake. So we just knew pump-fake them and you’ll have layups or they’ll foul you.”
The pump-fakes worked like a charm down the stretch as Mitty improved to 18-4, 10-2.
“He’s been a rock for us the whole year,” coach Tim Kennedy said about Ripp. “I am proud of our guys for digging in. Winning a ton of tough defensive stops. Winning tough rebounds and making big plays when it counted.”
Achilles Woodson led Riordan with 12 points.
When the teams played last month in San Francisco, Riordan won 60-50.
Tuesday, the points were much harder to come by as the referees let a lot of the physical contact go without blowing the whistle.
“I kind of had a sense after the first quarter how the game was being officiated,” said Riordan coach Joe Curtin, whose team fell to 17-5, 10-2. “Old-school WCAL-type of game. You’ve got to be tough.”
Mitty closes the league schedule at St. Ignatius on Friday and at home against Valley Christian next Tuesday.
Riordan plays host to Bellarmine on Friday and visits Sacred Heart Cathedral on Tuesday.
After that, it’s on to the CCS playoffs and maybe a rubber match, probably in the final.
“There’s a very real possibility of that,” Curtin said.
