SANTA CLARA, CA -- Guiseppe Benedetti, on a team of stars, is the most stealth-like St. Francis Lancer.
Scoring on put-backs and lay-ups and the occasional jumper, Benedetti often is in double-figure scoring before anyone notices him.
Friday night at Santa Clara High he did his thing again, scoring 11 points in the Lancers' 57-44 victory against Fremont. St. Francis will now advance to meet Sacred Heart Prep in the section Open Division semifinals at 7:30 p.m. at Independence High.
"I just find the open opportunities," Benedetti said. "I just try to keep the game simple. I don't score flashy buckets, but I just do what I can.
"When we have the athletic talent that we do, we just have to share the ball. When everyone is involved, it's hard to stop."
St. Francis coach Mike Motil has witnessed the Benedetti below-radar show before, like in a win at Sacred Heart Cathedral when Benedetti scored a bundle with a minimum of fuss.
"I turned around and Guiseppe had 21 points," Motil said of the SHC game. "He does everything. It's not just the scoring that he brings to the table -- he gets the loose balls and defends and does all the little things that good teams have to do to win."
More obvious is St. Francis guard Noah Stapes, who sinks 3-pointers as easily as he makes lay-ups and tends to hit them in bunches. Stapes made four first-quarter 3-pointers as St. Francis raced to a 19-0 lead with just a few minutes left in the period and a 23-4 advantage after eight minutes. Stapes finished with a game-high 14 points.
"He's done that before," Motil said. "He did the same thing at Valley. When Noah gets it rolling it helps stretch the defense."
Stapes' long-range accuracy opened things up for teammates such as Benedetti and Peter Hewitt. Hewitt scored 10 points, including throwing down two slam dunks.
Defensively SF's man defense and height stymied Fremont (18-6), which had trouble running its motion offense in the first half. The Lancers (21-4) particularly put the clamps on high-scoring Firebirds' guard Mo Abdulrasul, who finished with only six points after going for 40-plus in two of his three previous games.
"We went into it trying to stop Mo," Benedetti said. "We knew he was their guy - they run everything through him. He takes about 60 percent of their shots."
Said Motil: "He's a really good basketball player. We just tried to make it tough on him and go from there."
Fremont gained confidence in the second half and looked more smooth running its patterns, but the damage had already been done. Trading baskets with the Lancers was not going to overcome that 19-point first-quarter deficit.
Now it's on to meet Sacred Heart Prep in the semifinals and then potentially a date in the title game against Serra which SF has defeated twice or vs. Mitty which has beaten the Lancers in two of three games this season.
Fremont will meet host Riordan at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the consolation round.
