TITLES ON THE LINE
Mitty boys try to complete comeback from 2-12 start; Pinewood and Mitty girls have showdown
SAN JOSE » They arrived at this point from entirely different directions.
Bellarmine took the smooth route, winning another league championship and maintaining a high level of consistency that stretches back two years.
Mitty traveled down a rocks and pebbles path, enduring a season filled with ebbs, flows and desperation — from a 2-12 start to qualifying for the playoffs in the final second of the final game.
But here they are, set to meet again for the Central Coast Section Open Division championship Friday night at Santa Clara University.
Both advanced Tuesday at Independence High. Sophomore Devan Sapp swished eight of Mitty’s 14 3-pointers in a 73-61 victory over Palo Alto, and Kendall Stubblefield scored 30 points as Bellarmine held off St. Francis 7067.
“Perfect set up,” said Bellarmine’s Jake Wojcik, who earlier Tuesday was named the West Catholic Athletic League’s player of the year for the second consecutive season. “They beat us this year. They’re a great team, a great defensive team. They’re making shots now, making 3-pointers.”
Before Bellarmine (23-3) could set its sights on Mitty, it first had to defeat rival St. Francis, which was without its coach, Mike Motil.
St. Francis announced shortly before the game that it suspended the longtime coach for the semifinal because of comments he made to this publication Friday criticizing the selection committee for seeding the fourth-seeded Lancers too low.
With assistant James Duncan calling the shots, St. Francis star Logan Johnson played on a mission for his team and coach. The Cincinnatibound senior defended Wojcik from start to finish, holding his best friend to just five points, all from the foul line, while scoring 38 himself.
But as impressive as Johnson was for St. Francis, Stubblefield was likewise for the Bells. The 6-foot-6, 230-pound freight train with an athlete’s touch near and away from the basket scored 15 points in each half. “Great team win,” Stubblefield said. Mitty (11-15) has clearly found its swagger. The team that beat Bellarmine in overtime for the CCS Open Division title last season countered the attention Palo Alto paid to big man Riley Grigsby by moving the ball to open shooters.
Boy, did the Monarchs find them. Sapp hit five from beyond the arc in the second half to help Mitty (11-15) pull away from a Palo Alto team that made history in the previous round by becoming the first public school to win a CCS Open Division game.
“A lot of it has to do with Riley Grigsby, too,” Mitty coach Tim Kennedy said, referring to his only firstteam all-league player. “Riley was commanding double- and tripleteams, and it was leaving our shooters open.”
The game was tight for three quarters as senior-laden Palo Alto kept matching Mitty’s big shots.
But Mitty took charge in the fourth. Now the Monarchs are one win from their fourth Open title in the seven years the CCS has had the division.
And a season comeback for the history books.
Girls showdown
For the past three months it felt inevitable. Now it’s reality.
On a collision course for the entire season — more aptly an entire year — the big game will be played Friday.
Top-seeded Mitty (26-0) and No. 2 Pinewood (25-1) will battle once again for the CCS Open Division girls basketball championship at Santa Clara University.
“We’ve been preparing to play Mitty our whole season,” said Pinewood junior Hannah Jump, who has committed to Stanford. “This is what we wanted, It’s the No. 1 team in the nation, so to test ourselves against that is going to be great.”
“I guess it brings kind of a rivalry since it is the third time in a row,” said Mitty junior Haley Jones, a five-star recruit, which explains why Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer was in attendance for the semifinals Tuesday night at Santa Clara High only a few weeks after UConn coach Geno Auriemma showed up to watch her in person. “Everybody always brings their best game whey they play against us, and Pinewood will definitely bring theirs as well.”
The semifinals resulted in convincing routs.
Pinewood opened the doubleheader with a 64-37 drubbing of No. 3 Presentation (21-5) in which Jump finished with a game-high 21 points.
In Mitty’s game, No. 4 seed Eastside Prep (20-6) couldn’t find a way to neutralize Jones in the first half as she dropped 23 of her 26 points before intermission of the 72-45 win.
“Haley had an incredible first half,” Mitty coach Sue Phillips said.
Online coverage
Stories, results and schedules from Wednesday night’s NCS and Central Coast Sections boys and girls basketball playoffs can be found at mercurynews.com and eastbaytimes.com.