SAN JOSE — If there’s one difference between what the Mitty Monarchs are doing now and what they did when they started 2-12, it’s that they’re hitting shots at the right time.
Charles Meng’s 3-pointer to close the third quarter was the first of a flurry of big shots down the stretch on Saturday night as Mitty used timely shooting for a 60-50 win over St. Ignatius in the rubber match between the two WCAL sides, a second-round contest in the CIF Division I Tournament.
Mitty (13-16) closed the game on a 19-5 run, taking the lead on a three by Meng with five minutes left and never giving it up. Meng was scoreless for nearly the entire first three quarters, but hit the shot to end the third after a fortunate bounce gave him the ball at the top of the key, and he also hit the one that gave the Monarchs the lead for good.
“To be honest, I’m not satisfied with my performance tonight,” he said after scoring his huge eight points down the stretch. “My shots weren’t really falling, so I was happy to see one finally go down and get a little rhythm going.”
That same sort of fortuitous bounce sealed the game when Meng missed a free throw with 26.3 seconds left but managed to get his own rebound. He was fouled once again, and this time, he would go on to make both from the line to seal the game.
Devan Sapp was also huge for the Monarchs, scoring 26 points and sinking five 3-pointers, with all five coming at major junctures. The fourth extended the Monarch lead to 53-48 with two and a half minutes left, and the last came with 45 seconds to go to put Mitty up by six.
The late surge was enough to overcome an inspired St. Ignatius effort. The Wildcats didn’t have a huge game offensively, but they made every hustle play and brought the defensive intensity needed for a do-or-die game.
In fact, SI used a 12-2 run to jump out to a 26-16 lead in the second, but Mitty would get the much-needed answer on Sapp’s first three of the night. The Monarchs would go on to cut the deficit to four before Matt Redmond, who scored a team-high 13, would get the final bucket of the opening half.
The 11th-seeded Wildcats held a 32-26 advantage early in the third before back-to-back threes by Sapp tied the game. St. Ignatius (18-10) would go up by five once again on a three by Darrion Trammell and a basket in the paint by Neal Begovich, but the Monarchs would close the gap from there, getting Meng’s huge three to close the third.
SI would lead 45-41 after a three by Wrenn Robinson (11 points), but the ‘Cats would score just five points over the final seven minutes, with Brandon Beckman’s three cutting it to 50-48 and Begovich trimming the lead to 53-50 before Sapp would hit the dagger.
Beckman scored 10, but was visibly limited by an ankle injury suffered two minutes into the second quarter.
“You could tell he was hurt, but he’s a warrior,” said head coach Rob Marcaletti.
It’s that type of mentality and effort that characterized Saturday’s game, with both teams constantly hitting the deck to scrap for loose balls and selflessly making the extra pass to find the open teammate.
“In all my years of coaching, I can’t say I was more proud of a team after a loss than that,” said Marcaletti. “That’s a WCAL battle. It’s two teams that know each other inside and out.”
Two weeks earlier, the Wildcats were missing that sort of effort and intensity in a CCS playoff loss to Palo Alto. It was back on Saturday night, and while their season came to a close, they left with their heads held high.
“Obviously we wanted to get farther, but sometimes the ball doesn’t bounce your way,” said Redmond. “I wouldn’t have wanted to play with another group of guys. I’m just happy for my time at SI.”
That group played with an incredible level of cohesiveness. With Trammell getting no room to work against a tight Mitty defense, he turned into a facilitator, getting the rest of the offense to click and lead for the majority of the game.
While Beckman, Redmond and Trammell are three-year starters, the Wildcats do return Robinson and Begovich, who combined for 18 points. Sam Nangle, who played occasional minutes, should also be at full strength, and Garrett Cason should be fully recovered from an ACL injury that kept him off the court for the entire season.
“This senior class set a foundation for us that’s going to be felt for a long time,” said Marcaletti. “We’re lifting five days a week in the offseason and nobody’s complaining about it. We’re going to be ready next year.”
Mitty will also be ready next year, with Sapp’s huge night and 10 points from Joseph Vaughn, but the Monarchs won’t be thinking about next season just yet. They’ll turn their attention to Tuesday’s trip to second-seeded Las Lomas, a trip that they’ll be making because of a strong second half.
“We came out of halftime knowing that we could come back,” said Sapp. “Everyone on our team can knock down threes.”
When the Monarchs weren’t knocking down threes, they were controlling the boards, getting out in transition and cutting to the hoop. Grigsby scored eight of his 12 in the second half, getting the first points of the third quarter on a breakaway dunk and tying the game at 45 on a strong drive in the paint.
Grigsby and Sapp were both working wonders in the second half, so when Meng got going, the Monarchs became a three-headed monster.
“All the teams left at this point are really good, and nobody’s going to be able to out-talent the other,” said Meng. “It just comes down to making scrappy plays and hoping the shots will fall.”
