SAN JOSE, CA — St. Francis has run roughshod through it's competition this year expect for one team — Mitty.
That trend continued Wednesday night as Mitty ended its three-game losing streak and handed St. Francis only its second loss of the year — both to the Monarchs — with an empathic 61-42 victory in a West Catholic Athletic League game.
“The last few games we hadn't been playing confident,” said Mitty senior guard Cameron Korb who scored all 11 of his points in the first half. “Guys had been scared to take shots. Tonight we had our home crowd and guys felt confident to make plays and do the right thing.”
Mitty previously bested St. Francis 64-47 in the championship game of the Father Barry Tournament in Sacramento back in mid-December.
Mitty (10-7, 4-3) also managed to keep itself in the hunt for the WCAL title with the win over the Lancers in what was both team's final first-half league game.
The Monarchs led by as many as seven in the first half before the Lancers clawed back to tie it at 24-24.
The tie score was shortlived as Mitty went on a 6-0 run over the the final minute and 25 seconds of the first half to take a 30-24 lead going into halftime.
Mitty was led by junior forward Ben Kone who scored a game-high 16 points and added six rebounds. Nick LaBruna added 13 points and seven rebounds and Dakari Monroe chipped in eight points — all of which were scored in the second half — to go along with six rebounds in the win.
“We were trying to do too much by ourselves and not playing as a team,” said Kone about the three-game slide. “After a team meeting we have solidified our roles as a team and now it's easier to maximize our potential as individuals as well as a team.”
St. Francis (15-2, 6-1) got Mitty's lead down to six at 43-37 with 6:09 left in the game but the Lancers went on a 19-6 run the rest of the game to turn a close game into a rout.
Lancers coach Mike Motil wasn't deterred after the game following his team's second loss to the Monarchs this season.
“On the road in the WCAL it's tough to score,” said Motil. “It was a hard-fought game. We're gonna watch film and get ready for Serra now on (Friday). It will be another good opportunity and another hostile environment — it's good for the kids.”
Tipoff Friday at Serra is at 6:30 p.m.
Curtis Witt led the Lancers with 12 points and was St. Francis' only player to score in double digits. Darius Thomas added nine points and Giuseppe Benedetti had seven in the loss.
“We just got to get better, there's no looking back,” said Witt. “We'll get back to winning games and we'll be excited to play them again.”
With the losing streak behind it, itty will now look to the second half of league play as it eyes another WCAL title -- though it won't be easy with a two-game deficit in the standings and no league playoffs this season.
“We got our confidence back. We played with more of a sense of purpose,’’ said Mitty coach Tim Kennedy. “We needed to change that losing mentality. We had been playing tight.’’
