CCS basketball playoffs: Friday’s surprises, trends and more
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M-A continues to represent public schools
For the second year in a row, Menlo-Atherton is the only public school in the Open Division — and once again the Bears are onto the semifinals.
The fourth seed advanced Friday night with a 45-43 victory over No. 5 Serra in overtime at Fremont High in Sunnyvale.
Satisfied?
Not these Bears (22-3), who are riding an 18-game win streak.
“We want to make history and go play at Stanford this year,” said M-A senior Justin Anderson, referring to the site of next week’s title game.
Anderson, a three-star football recruit, tied the game with 48 seconds left in OT, then came up with a steal on the ensuing possession for the game-winning layup — his only four points of the night.
“A great defensive stop by Justin,” M-A coach Mike Molieri said. “That’s why he’s going to do really well at Washington State as a corner.”
CCS stunner: No. 7 St. Francis upsets No. 2 Riordan in Open Division
Serra (17-8), which also lost to M-A in last year’s quarterfinals, led 39-36 in the final minute of regulation. But the Bears pulled even on a corner trey by Nick Tripaldi to extend the game.
“We made plays, they made plays, but at the end of the day we kept out composure and we came out with a big win,” Anderson said.
Next up for M-A is a rematch against top-seeded Archbishop Mitty, which won at home 85-49 on Dec. 20.
“I guess we’ll find out how much we’ve improved, but we got whipped,” Molieri said. “We’re looking forward to it and we just need to have a nothing-to-lose attitude.”
M-A trust fund pays late dividends
Serra led 37-30 with under four minutes left in the fourth quarter.
M-A, which didn’t connect from beyond the arc in the first half, sank its lone 3-pointer at the time courtesy of 6-foot-3 forward Skyler Thomas, who finished with a game-high 17 points.
In a span of 49 seconds, M-A senior J.D. Carson drilled a pair of treys to close within 37-36.
“I believe we have the best shooters probably in California,” Anderson said. “Even though they’re not falling, we’re going to keep telling them to shoot because we know they’re going to knock it down late. We just kept trusting them.”
Tripaldi kept firing away from long distance — sometimes NBA range — and kept missing.
But with under 30 seconds left, the sharpshooter hit his only shot of the night.
“It felt a little bit nicer than all the other ones,” Tripaldi said.
“This is my coaching philosophy on that: I’m going to win or lose by that,” Molieri said. “He’s a senior, he’s been here three years in the program, and I’m going to let the guy make a play.”
So far, it’s been a journey for M-A, which won’t stop believing.
“We’re family, we trust each other,” Tripaldi said.
Final: Menlo-Atherton 45, Serra 43 in OT … @bearsathletics_ last team not from @WCALSports to reach CCS Open Division semifinals for 2nd year in a row | @DarrenSabedra @JensenPhil @leftwich @EvanWebeck @ChrisBabcock2 @MitchMashMax pic.twitter.com/ReEYgEwbxE
— Vytas Mazeika (@VytasMazeika) February 22, 2020
Case of déjà vu: Serra in similar situation
A year ago, the Padres lost 67-54 in the Open Division quarterfinals to M-A.
Serra bounced back as an automatic qualifier for the NorCal playoffs and reached the Division II final, falling 59-38 to eventual state champion Campolindo.
“We’ve got a lot to work on if we want to make a run like we did last year,” Serra interim coach Brian Carson said.
An immediate concern is the lack of possessions on offense that resulted in shot attempts, let alone points.
“You’re not going to win any games with 23 turnovers,” Carson said. “That’s very unlike us. It’s careless.”
The Padres, who got a team-high 14 points from Ryan Wilson, didn’t expect to be relegated into the consolation bracket for a second time in a row.
Reality struck inside the locker room.
“They’re very frustrated, they’re very disappointed, and that shows how much they care,” Carson said of his players.
Trending up: Bellarmine’s Piro comes out firing
Bellarmine’s Anthony Piro has an important role. The senior guard regularly draws the toughest assignment on defense, a taxing responsibility that can affect his shooting.
Friday night, there was no effect.
Piro buried three 3-pointers in the first quarter and two more in the third. He finished with 17 points to help lead the third-seeded Bells to a 59-43 victory over No. 6 seed Sacred Heart Prep in the CCS Open Division quarterfinals at Santa Clara High.
“He does that in practice all the time,” Bells point guard Quinn Denker said. “The thing about Piro that is tough is he always guards the best player on the other team. So he is constantly cycling through. He works so hard. I am glad tonight he was able to do what he could on No. 2 (Aidan Braccia) from SHP and be able to get his offensive game going.”
Piro felt ready before tip-off.
“Starting in warmups I was feeling good with my shot,” he said. “I know I can shoot that well. It’s just something I’ve always worked on. Playoffs come around, and it’s time to step up.”
Trending up: Denker provides late leadership for Bellarmine
Sacred Heart Prep didn’t go away easily. The Gators kept the score around a 10-point margin much of the game got within single digits late. But Denker, a senior, rose to the occasion for Bellarmine. He hit two 3-pointers and scored on a drive in the closing minutes to prevent SHP from making things interesting.
“Big shots, big passes,” Bellarmine coach Patrick Schneider said, adding that the senior also escaped full-court pressure to keep the offense flowing. “That’s what a third-year varsity point guard needs to do when the game’s on the line and things are a little sketchy. He really did a great job of settling us down.”
Rubber match: Bellarmine vs. St. Francis
With seventh-seeded St. Francis upsetting No. 2 Riordan, Bellarmine will have to beat its rival for the second time in eight days to reach the Open final for the fifth consecutive season.
St. Francis won the first meeting between the teams, 46-43 at Bellarmine in early January.
Bellarmine dominated the rematch, winning 56-33 on Tuesday.
The teams will meet again Wednesday in the semifinals, time and site not yet announced.
“I’m glad we didn’t play them tonight,” Schneider said. “It would have been a hard three-day turnaround. Having an eight-day turnaround gives both teams a chance to take a deep breath and get ready to go to battle against each other.”
Mitty boys avoid upset this time, rout Menlo School
Trending way up: Mitty girls dominate again
Seeded No. 1 in the CCS’s Open Division for the fifth consecutive season, Mitty has had no issues in the first round, winning its previous four playoff openers by an average of 44 points.
Friday, the margin was even wider.
Olivia Williams finished with 20 points and Katie Springs chipped in with 15 as the Monarchs rolled past No. 8 seed Lynbrook 92-35.
Mitty led 28-16 after the first quarter and then really punched the accelerator, outscoring the Vikings 30-8 in the second quarter and 20-8 in the third.
Next up for the Monarchs is a semifinal Wednesday against St. Ignatius, which lost to Mitty by 40 last week and 22 last month.
SI advanced with a 58-55 win over Valley Christian.
No surprise here: It’ll be Pinewood-Menlo III in the Open semifinals
Second-seeded Pinewood’s road to another championship matchup against Mitty has familiar scenery. Friday, the Los Altos Hills powerhouse plowed through one West Bay Athletic League rival, toppling No. 7 Sacred Heart Prep 57-35. In next week’s semifinals, the Panthers must go through another.
No. 3 seed Menlo School prevailed in the nightcap of CCS Open Division girls basketball quarterfinals at Gunn with a 59-56 victory over No. 6 Sacred Heart Cathedral as Coco Layton sank six 3-pointers to finish with 18 points.
In two previous meetings this season, the teams split WBAL showdowns — Menlo won 46-45 last month and Pinewood held court 43-36 a few weeks later.
Pinewood is the back-to-back CIF Open Division state runner-up, while Menlo claimed the Division II state title in 2019.