Depleted St. Ignatius ready for rivalry game
This was supposed to be the season of excellence for the St. Ignatius boys basketball team.
With three third-year starters returning from last year — first-team All-West Catholic Athletic League guards Darrion Trammell and Brandon Beckman and secondteamer Matt Redmond — along with perhaps the most promising junior class he has seen at St. Ignatius, head coach Rob Marcaletti was more than optimistic heading into 2017-18. Then came the injury bug.
Garrett Cason, a 6-foot-6 wing, was lost for the season with a knee injury. Samuel
Nangle, a 6-8 wing, came down with a stress fracture in his foot. Wrenn Robinson ,a 6-2 guard, had heel problems.
That was just the beginning.
Last week, only nine players — all seniors — suited up on a 15-man roster. The 11thranked Wildcats (8-4, 1-1) managed to split two games, winning at Mitty 71-69 after losing a 72-66 overtime home game against No. 4 Bellarmine.
At 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at USF, St. Ignatius should have at least a couple of players back when it takes on No. 18 Sacred Heart Cathedral (10-2, 1-1) in the highly charged Bruce-Mahoney game.
The Irish won the football game during the fall between the rivals, meaning St. Ignatius must prevail or the Bruce-Mahoney Trophy returns to SHC for the first time since 2011-12.
“I love this game and we’ll be ready for it,” Marcaletti said. “I love it as a former player. I love it as an alumnus. And I love to be coaching in it for our community.”
If Marcaletti failed to mention any word about injuries, it’s because he professes the “next man up” mentality. That, and the glass is always half full.
Besides, he still has gobs of talent.
Trammell, a super-quick 6-1 guard, was MVP of the Sand Dune Classic and averages more than 17 points per game. He scored 21 against Bellarmine when the Wildcats rallied with a 27-point fourth quarter to force overtime.
“Honestly, that was a game we probably should have won,” Marcaletti said. “We’re just figuring out ways to win with different lineups.”
Marcaletti will have Trammell come off the bench Tuesday.
“Just with what we have left, his spark off the bench just works for us,” Marcaletti said.
All of it will need to work against an SHC squad that is playing well. The Irish got 21 points apiece from Bryce
Monroe, a 5-11 sophomore, and E.J. Neal, a 6-4 junior, in a 64-60 win over Mitty last week.
“They have really athletic guards and they like to run,” Marcaletti said. “It’s a huge challenge.”
So is playing before more than 5,000 fans, which the game typically attracts.
“It’s a game to create some long-lasting memories,” Marcaletti said. “I can’t wait.”
Girls game: Sacred Heart Cathedral, coming off a 65-50 loss to two-time defending Division 5 state champion Eastside Prep-East Palo Alto, hopes to find its stride in the 6 p.m. matchup with 16thranked St. Ignatius (10-3).
The Irish, led by three-year starter Rainah Smith, is 4-8. Coach LyRyan Russell usually puts together one of the toughest schedules in the Bay Area.
Among the powerhouses to which they’ve lost: nationally ranked St. Mary’s-Stockton and Clovis West, secondranked Salesian-Richmond, No. 4 Cardinal Newman and No. 7 Miramonte-Orinda. St. Ignatius, led by seniors Alyssa Downs (12 ppg) and
Georgia Madden (9 ppg) and junior Maddie Ennis (9 ppg, 9 rpg), has nice wins over Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland (5147) and Berkeley (58-21). Without a player taller than 5-10, the Wildcats will need to make their shots and control the ball.
Elite earned: It went down as a 22-point loss, but the girls from fifth-ranked St. Joseph Notre Dame-Alameda (8-2) earned a lot of respect with their 70-48 defeat to No. 1 Mitty at the Elite is Earned New Year’s Showcase at Miramonte on Saturday.
St. Joseph, which received big games from Zhane Duckett (15 points) and Milia
Mastora (11 points), trailed 44-40 heading to the fourth quarter against the nation’s No. 1 team, which got a tripledouble from Penn Statebound Karisma Ortiz (26 points, 11 rebounds, 10 assists).