HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL Mission vs. St. Ignatius was game to remember
High school basketball fans around San Francisco are still buzzing over visiting Mission’s 64-54 Northern California Division 3 semifinal defeat of topseeded St. Ignatius before more than 2,000 fans jammed into McCullough Gym on Tuesday.
“What an atmosphere,” St. Ignatius coach Rob Marcaletti said. “San Francisco doesn’t always get credit for their love and their quality of basketball. But it was all on display (Tuesday) night.” Good behavior, too. The crowd appeared evenly divided between St. Ignatius and Mission fans.
According to Barbier Security Group operations supervisor Daniel Menjivar, there were no problems or incidents. His normal three-person crew at St. Ignatius was increased to seven and at least three SFPD officers were also on duty.
“Everyone was on their best behavior,” Menjivar said. Bright future: With all five starters returning, including first-team All-West Catholic Athletic League guards Brandon Beckman and Darrion Trammell, and several promising front-liners, Marcaletti and St. Ignatius will likely be ranked among the top five in Northern California to start 2017-18.
As far as the game, Marcaletti said: “Credit Mission. They’re tough as hell. They locked us up on defense. We made 13 of 26 three-pointers on Saturday, but it was fool’s gold. We needed to grind it out (Tuesday). … I promise we’ll be stronger and hungrier and back in this position next year.” On the road: Mission (33-1), the No. 4 seed, will be at third-seeded Vanden-Fairfield (30-3) on Saturday as the second part of a Northern California finals doubleheader. The first game, a Division 2 girls matchup, pits second-seeded MiramonteOrinda (30-3) against No. 1 Vanden (29-5).
Why aren’t regional-title games in Divisions 2-5 at neutral sites, as they had been for decades?
California Interscholastic Federation Director Erin Davenport said an advisory committee decided that it wanted to stay consistent with other sports — volleyball, soccer and football — which play regional finals at higher seed’s home sites.
Financial costs — saving money by not renting larger venues like Santa Clara University’s Leavey Center or the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento — were a consideration, but “not a driving force” in the change, Davenport said.
Each host school gets a flat fee from the CIF, which secures all gate receipts. Any profit that “goes above and beyond the operating costs goes right back to the sections,” she said.
A greater consideration for the change, Davenport said, is that that the three-week state playoff format likely will be tightened to two in 2018-19, meaning regional finals would be scheduled for midweek. That would all but guarantee nonneutral sites in all divisions. Big games: Kyree Walker (29 points) and Damari Milstead (28 points) led the way in Moreau Catholic-Hayward’s 20th straight win Tuesday, an 82-66 Division 2 semifinal win over visiting Cardinal Newman-Santa Rosa (27-5). Third-seeded Moreau (24-9) plays at No. 1 St. Francis (21-9) on Saturday. … Campolindo-Moraga junior Haley Van Dyke continues to carry her team, amassing 23 points, 12 rebounds and eight steals in a 67-58 Division 3 semifinal home win over Pleasant Valley-Chico. Teammate Ashley Thoms, another junior, had 12 points, five assists and five steals. Campo, winner of four state titles (the last in 1997), hosts St. Mary’sBerkeley on Saturday. … Defending Division 5 girls state champion Eastside Prep-East Palo Alto (21-8) got 14 points from Zion Gabriel and 12 from Kayla Mahan in a 63-25 semifinal home win over Argonaut-Jackson. Eastside will play second-seeded Woodside Priory, which lost to the Panthers 70-55 and 66-39 this season, for the NorCal title.