With success, Bellarmine shows no need to rebuild

Lose four of five starters to graduation, including two All-Metro standouts — one being co-West Catholic Athletic League Player of the Year Jake Wojcik — and struggles figure to follow.

But Bellarmine’s Patrick Schneider has been coaching more than three decades. And he’s not a big believer of rebuilding seasons.

The 11th-ranked Bells offered one of their best performances of the season Saturday with a wire-to-wire 68-45 home WCAL victory over archrival St. Francis.

Quinn Denker, a 6foot-1 junior guard, scored eight of Bellarmine’s first 12 points and finished with 22 points. The team’s lone returning starter, Kiran Kruse, added 10, and from there the Bells contributed in waves, with 11 other players scoring.

Getting contributions from the entire roster has been a formula Bellarmine (17-4, 8-3) has used all season.

“You lose that much scoring from last year and you have to be a little more democratic on offense,” Schneider said. “But when you have so many guys play so hard for each other, especially on the defensive end, good things are going to happen.”

Asked if he was surprised with the 17-4 start, Schneider said: “You never know teams are going to jell, but we had a pretty good idea based on the skill and intensity and way they get along, we would be pretty good.”

With St. Ignatius’ win at fourth-ranked Riordan, Bellarmine is tied for second place with Riordan, one game back of Mitty.

Matteo Fontana kept St. Francis (11-10, 3-8) within striking distance with 20 points, but no other Lancer scored more than eight. An 18-8 edge by Bellarmine in the third quarter put this one away.

Denker’s hot hand early and tough defense led to a 14-7 edge at the end of the first quarter. A 3-pointer by Fontana cut it to 14-10, but that’s as close as St. Francis got.

The Lancers, who have been slowed by injuries most of the season, seemed to have reached full strength when they beat Riordan 59-52 at home on Jan. 23.

On Saturday, every time the Lancers surged — their biggest streak was 5-0 — the Bells answered. Gio Saso had a four-point play and Ryan Kiachian, a 6-8 sophomore, sent down an impressive dunk to highlight a 17-point second quarter.

When Denker hit a 3-pointer and Kruse followed with a midrange jumper to start the third quarter, Bellarmine was firmly in control, leading 38-23. The closest St. Francis got from there was 49-36 after a three-point play by Matt Larson, but Bellarmine rattled off a 10-4 run on buckets from five players.

The packed Bellarmine faithful roared their approval.

St. Ignatius 62, #4 Riordan 49: After blowing a 20-point halftime lead earlier in the week in a loss at Serra, the visiting Wildcats (9-10, 5-6) jumped to a 14-0 lead this time and held on behind 22 points from Wrenn Robinson and 19 points and 12 rebounds from Neal Begovich. Riordan (15-6, 8-3) got 16 points from Bryce Monroe and nine points and eight rebounds from Je’Lani Clark. The Crusaders are in a threeway tie for second place in the WCAL with Bellarmine and 12th-ranked Serra (16-5, 8-3), a 78-63 winner over Sacred Heart Cathedral (9-12, 2-9).

#10 Mitty 88, Valley Christian 42: Devan Sapp and Owen Browne had 16 points apiece for the host Monarchs (15-6, 9-2), who moved into sole possession of first place in the WCAL. Freshman Aidan Burke had 13 points and six rebounds, Mike Mitchell added 12 points and Joseph Vaughn and Marcus Greene contributed 10 points apiece for Mitty, which has won five straight, the past four by margins of 28, 10, 30 and 46. The Monarchs host Riordan on Tuesday night. “The vibe on this team is very special — they really enjoy playing together,” Mitty coach Tim Kennedy said. “It’s going to be a tough one Tuesday.” Recruiting: Palo Alto senior Jackson Chryst, The Chronicle’s Peninsula Player of the Year, has committed to Oregon State, the quarterback announced on Twitter. Chryst’s father is longtime NFL assistant Geep Chryst. … Menlo-Atherton senior inside linebacker Daniel Heimuli, coming off a defensive MVP award at the Polynesian Bowl, is in the middle of his last recruiting trip this weekend at Alabama. Heimuli’s other finalists are Washington, Oregon, UCLA and Utah. … The Bay Area’s top recruit, De La Salle linebacker Henry To’oto’o, announced he will make his final choice Wednesday. The state’s No. 8 recruit overall said his finalists are Alabama, Tennessee, Washington, Utah and Oregon.