SAN JOSE — The Bellarmine Bells had been something of an afterthought in the Bay Area basketball picture to start the 2021-22 season.
Star center Ryan Kiachian graduated and is now at Cornell, and with four comfortable wins over low-profile opponents, the Bells hadn’t been given tons of attention.
That all changed on Saturday night, with a 59-51 win over a Sacred Heart Prep team that had entered the game with more momentum and hype than any other program in the Central Coast Section.
“The last four minutes of the game, we ran our sets the way we wanted to and found opportunities that we wanted to have,” Bellarmine head coach Patrick Schneider said.
The Gators fought back from a 10-point deficit, briefly taking the lead early in the fourth quarter and drawing even at 49 on a JP Kerrigan 3-pointer, but Bellarmine (5-0) ran a terrific set out of a timeout to go back in front, with a passing sequence from Tariq Weiser to Brody Pearson before Theoren Brouillette, wearing a Rip Hamilton-style facemask after breaking his nose in Friday’s win over Hillsdale, scored the go-ahead layup.
Brouillette scored off a Weiser assist with a minute left for a 55-51 lead, and after Sacred Heart Prep (4-1) couldn’t get shots to fall, sophomore center Nick Corbett made three of four free throws to ice the game.
Corbett, who stands at 6-foot-5 and 230 pounds, scored 13 and added 11 rebounds. On a Bellarmine team that has a whole host of key contributors and thrives with balanced scoring, Corbett’s presence is one that factors in every night, whereas the guards can count on multiple different pieces.
“He’s a great competitor. Through football season, he’d come in the gym when he had free time and just worked on his free throws,” Schneider said. “I’m hard-pressed to think of a better rebounder we’ve ever had. We’ve had some great rebounders, but he just has a nose for where the ball’s going, and once he has his hands on it, nobody gets it away from him.”
Corbett finished his double-double with four defensive rebounds in the final two minutes, ensuring the Gators only had one second chance in the entire fourth quarter.
“I had more size, more strength, and I just kinda took it to ‘em,” said Corbett. “I acted like I was playing football out there, and it ended up working out.”
A lineman on the football field, Corbett wasn’t afraid to throw his elbows around after securing rebounds, which drew the ire of SHP’s bench and fans but helped guarantee he’d control rebounds.
SHP fought back from a 36-24 deficit, with Belmont commit Aidan Braccia coming to life to engineer a 16-4 run to tie the game. Braccia, who went scoreless in the first half, scored eight in the third quarter and 12 for the game. He scored off a Jake York inbound pass, then tied the game at 40 on a steal and layup before Nate Teresi gave the Bells the lead heading into the fourth.
The Gators did take a short-lived 44-42 lead, tying the game on a Sam Norris bucket and going ahead when Sachit Sinha grabbed a steal and finished off a give-and-go with Emmer Nichols, but Brouillette tied the game on a pair of free throws and Pearson for a go-ahead three. Corbett scored to answer a pair of Kevin Carney’s free throws, setting up the possession that culminated in Kerrigan’s game-tying shot.
Bellarmine led for most of the game, facing an early 8-0 deficit but closing the first quarter with a 12-11 lead on a Brouillette corner three at the buzzer. Roan Capili and Gino Cresci hit threes for the Bells off the bench in the second quarter, allowing the hosts to take a 28-20 halftime lead. Five different players hit 3-pointers for Bellarmine on the night.
“In all the preseason questionnaires that coaches fill out, one of the things I repeatedly answered with is that we have great depth,” Schneider said. “That’s allowed us to survive injuries.”
Nate Teresi had been out of action until Friday’s game with a leg injury, senior center Leon Bojer has been held out with a stress fracture in his leg and George Andary blew out his ACL in the final minutes of the last JV game in June.
Brouillette matched Corbett with 13 points to lead a balanced attack. Pearson finished with eight, Weiser added seven and both Brendan Launder and Teresi scored six. In Bellarmine’s five wins, no individual player has scored more than 14 points.
Norris, a 6-foot-7 junior forward, led the Gators with 15 points and seven rebounds, while Carney added nine. Nichols, who had 15 points in a strong all-around performance in Friday’s win over St. Francis, was hampered by foul trouble and scored just five, though he did accumulate four assists and four rebounds. He was called for an offensive foul with 4:45 left in the second quarter for his third, forcing him into a limited role over the next quarter and a half.
St. Francis 63, Hillsdale 37
St. Francis dominated the first and fourth quarters, outscoring Hillsdale 38-13 over the two periods to pave the way to a convincing win.
Vince Barringer scored 16 to lead the Lancers, connecting on two more 3-pointers to increase his total to 22 through six games. Freshman Dallas Washington scored 11, all in the second half, including a fierce one-handed dunk. Brylan Lundy added nine for St. Francis (5-1), while Brady Carson and Jordan Hauser each scored 10 to lead Hillsdale (3-7). Liam Smith also scored seven for the Fighting Knights.
All-Tournament Team: Vince Barringer (St. Francis), Aidan Braccia (Sacred Heart Prep), Brady Carson (Hillsdale), Nick Corbett (Bellarmine), Isaiah Kerr (St. Francis), Brody Pearson (Bellarmine)
Spirit of DJ Award: Theoren Brouillette (Bellarmine), Tim Netane (St. Francis), Emmer Nichols (Sacred Heart Prep), Liam Smith (Hillsdale)