SAN FRANCISCO — It may not be a battle between crosstown neighbors or old-time foes, but games between the St. Ignatius Wildcats and St. Francis Lancers are as good as any you’ll find in the WCAL.
All four league meetings between the programs over the past two years have been tremendous displays of basketball, with the latest chapter going the way of the host Wildcats, 76-68 in overtime.
St. Francis (17-5, 9-3) scored the final four points of regulation, tying the game at 63 with a minute to go, but a potential game-winner rimmed out and sent the game to overtime, in which the Wildcats scored the first five points and went on to outscore the visiting Lancers 13-5, with 10 of those points coming from point guard Darrion Trammell.
The St. Francis loss ensures no worse than a share of the league title for Bellarmine. The Bells will travel to St. Francis on Tuesday and host SI on Friday.
Despite the close loss, the Lancers maintained great body language throughout and clearly weren’t disappointed in their performance, knowing they had put up a valiant fight against a formidable opponent.
“We missed a layup with four seconds left where the ball went halfway down, and they made a few shots in overtime when we didn’t,” said head coach Mike Motil. “It’s the WCAL. It can happen on any night. We played hard.”
Trammell and Logan Johnson made for an excellent duel between point guards, something they’ve grown accustomed to over the years.
“We’ve been going at it for four years,” said Trammell. “Freshman year, we went at it on JV in the Crusader Classic. I talked to him after the game and was like, ‘we’re gonna be at this for four years, let’s make it worth it.’”
Friday’s, the latest installment in what’s become a fabulous series over the years, certainly was worth it.
Other than an early 10-3 lead for St. Ignatius (15-7, 8-4) and a 23-17 lead late in the first quarter for the Lancers, neither team ever led by more than five points until the final 35 seconds of overtime.
The high scoring was a product of excellent offensive play rather than inferior defense.
“We like to play fast but in control,” said Trammell. “It wasn’t breakdowns on defense, it was great plays back-and-forth by great players in both sides.”
Rather than a free-for-all, it was a well-executed display, with crisp passing and both teams cleaning up on the defensive glass throughout the night.
That rebounding kept the game from ever getting out of hand for either side, with the lead changing hands eight times and the score being tied on three other occasions.
“They crushed us on the boards last time, 44-27, it was ridiculous,” said St. Ignatius head coach Rob Marcaletti. “I think our guys did a pretty good job on that.”
No member of the Wildcat lineup had more than six rebounds, but it was a solid team effort to keep the Lancers at bay.
“I told the guys in the locker room that I couldn’t really identify one guy who had a phenomenal game,” said Marcaletti. “That was just a great team win.”
A mid-range jumper by Matt Redmond gave SI a 54-53 lead with six and half minutes left in the fourth. A Maurice Wilmer 3-pointer cut the lead to one, but a Teddy Snyder layup and two Redmond free throws made it 61-56 with 3:01 left. After a 3-pointer by Roy Yuan brought the Lancers within two, it was Redmond who answered the call again, scoring off the glass to bring the lead back to four with two minutes to play.
Johnson wouldn’t go quietly. He scored a game-high 29 points, including the final four of regulation. A cut to the hoop made it a two-point game with 1:42 left and he slipped through the defense underneath to score off a Wilmer pass to tie the score with a minute remaining.
“You’ve got to give respect to a guy like Logan and what he can do,” said Marcaletti. “He’s so damn crafty, he’s slithery, he’s ambidextrous. He had a couple finishes where we were forcing him baseline and he scored on a right-handed floater. That’s just a big-time shot.”
Matt Redmond, who spent part of the night defending Johnson, echoed the sentiment. “He’s really good at getting the paint and creating for others, and they’ve got guys who just knock down shots.”
Neither team could score in the final minute, sending the game to overtime, which Trammell took over to give the Wildcats the victory.
The visitors led 44-40 with 4:13 left in the third, but St. Ignatius unleashed an 8-0 run over the next 82 seconds to take a four-point lead, with Trammell assisting on a go-ahead 3-pointer by Brandon Beckman and then scoring on an and-1.
St. Francis was quick to answer with a Yuan three. The junior scored 13 on the night.
Both teams had big performances up and down the lineup. Trammell scored a team-high 25, Beckman had 18 spread throughout the game and Redmond scored seven of his 16 in the fourth. Aside from Johnson and Yuan’s contributions, St. Francis got 10 apiece from Wilmer and Oscar Pedraza, plus 10 rebounds from Anthony Landphere, who tied with Johnson for high honors in the category. The biggest differences came from the bench, where SI held a 9-2 advantage, and in the post, with the ‘Cats getting eight points from Teddy Snyder and six from Neal Begovich. St. Ignatius also shot 14-of-17 at the line, while St. Francis shot just nine from the line, making six.
The Wildcats were without junior guard Wrenn Robinson (illness).
Around the WCAL
Bellarmine outscored Riordan 39-19 in the second half for a 68-39 win to guarantee no worse than a share of the league title. The Bells, who went 14-0 in WCAL play last year, can win the title outright with a win at St. Francis on Tuesday or at home against St. Ignatius on Friday. Bellarmine (19-3, 11-1) got 20 points and 13 rebounds from Jake Wojcik, plus 13 points from Kendall Stubblefield. Je’Lani Clark scored 11 for Riordan (13-9, 4-8).
For the second time in two meetings, Serra and Mitty went to two overtimes, and once again, it was the visitors coming out on top. Serra (13-9, 5-7) trailed 54-51 in the final moments of overtime, but Colin McCarthy hit a 3-pointer against tight defense to force a second overtime. Mitty (7-15, 5-7) got 17 points from Devan Sapp and 16 apiece from Riley Grigsby and Charles Meng, but will need to win both games next week in order to qualify for the playoffs. This Serra team may as well call itself the McPadres, with Parker McDonald scoring 17, Denzel McCollum adding 15 and McCarthy finishing with 13.
Sacred Heart Cathedral (13-9, 4-8) opened up a 20-point lead in the second half and held on for an 85-74 win over Valley Christian (11-11, 2-10). The Fightin’ Irish, who have lost just once at home all year, got big nights from the usual suspects, with Bryce Monroe scoring a game-high 23 points, Gary Hudson adding 18 and E.J. Neal scoring 15, but what put them over the edge was the secondary scoring. Amin Oglesby scored 14 points on 7-for-10 shooting and added nine rebounds, and Elijah Flowers rounded things out with a double-double (10 points, 11 rebounds). The visiting Warriors got 19 points from 6’9 junior Jay Allen-Tovar, 16 from Alton Julian and 10 apiece from Jaylon Bryant and Skylar Loving-Black.
