No. 2-seeded Mitty runs away in 74-53 win
SANTA CLARA — The reality was written on the face of coach Lee Washington and everyone else associated with Sobrato boys basketball: Maybe there is no concrete formula for stopping Archbishop Mitty.
At times, it looked that way Saturday at Foothill College, where the No. 2 seed in the Division II tournament ended the Bulldogs’ season with a 74-53 loss in the Central Coast Section quarterfinals.
The Monarchs (18-7) — ranked fourth by the San Jose Mercury News — have been beaten this winter, but six of their losses came against powerhouse private schools; five were suffered in West Catholic Athletic League play.
The undersized Bulldogs knew they had zero room for error.
“Two things had to happen for us to win: We had to play perfect, and we couldn’t let them play perfect,” Washington said.
“It was going to take everything we had,” senior guard Bryan Bradley added. “We weren’t all going to grow six inches before the game.”
When Mitty made mistakes, the Bulldogs made it interesting. When the Bulldogs made mistakes, Mitty made them hurt.
As soon as the Monarchs began attacking inside with passes to 6-foot-6 center Aaron Gordan and 6-foot-4 forward Jason Anderson, victory appeared out of the question for No. 7 Sobrato (19-7).
“We got the ball inside and kind of exploited some mismatches in the second half,” Mitty coach Tim Kennedy said.
Gordon, a younger brother of former Monarchs great Drew Gordon, punctuated those during a climactic 15-2 scoring run in the third quarter. The freshman jammed in an alley-oop pass from Colin Wan and later threw down a reverse dunk for two of his 16 points.
Meade finished with a dozen, matching teammate Kyle Toth, and Jordan Penny scored 14 points for Mitty.
“Against their big guys, I had to be as aggressive as possible, but then I got fouls called for being too physical,” said Howard Kwong, the Bulldogs’ 6-foot-1 senior center. “My coaches told me to pump fake and try to get them into the air. We had to do whatever we could to get free throws.”
The Santa Teresa Division champions accomplished that in the first quarter but struggled at the line. Meanwhile, the Monarchs opened up a 19-7 lead by the six-minute mark.
“For us, the key is always to get out to a quick start, and that includes making layups and making free throws. We struggled with those early,” Washington said. “So, by my account, we missed some chances that could have helped us.”
Sobrato was still in the game at halftime after catching fire from outside in the second quarter. The Bulldogs trimmed a 19-point deficit to 36-29 with a 15-3 scoring run that was capped by Ryan Williams’ deep 3-pointer as time expired.
The senior forward made half a dozen treys on the way to a game-high 22 points in his final prep contest.
“He inspired us,” Bradley said. “That 3 he hit at the buzzer was a huge momentum swing. They were killing us, so for him to get it into single digits by halftime did a lot.”
Sobrato kept the deficit to 11 or less early in the third quarter, forcing turnovers and pulling down key defensive rebounds, but the Bulldogs couldn’t score with consistency.
“That was frustrating,” senior forward Charley Bynum said. “I truly believe we could have gone farther, but it didn’t work out.”
Gordon’s alley-oop dunk made it a 10-point game with five minutes left in the third quarter, and Mitty was soon cruising to the CCS semifinals. The Monarchs held their biggest lead, 71-47, when Wan went coast to coast for a reverse layup with 2:26 remaining.
“We had to make the effort every play, but their inside guys were tough,” Washington said. “Howard did a good job working against them, and Ryan and Bryan had outstanding performances in my mind, handling their intense ball pressure. We tried our best to prepare for that.”
Sobrato had plenty of motivation coming in, having three former Monarchs — Pierre Hemphill, Bryan and Chris Bradley — on its roster, plus a Mitty alumnus in Washington.
But the other side was just as hungry. Mitty hopes to face its top-seeded league rival, St. Francis, in the championship game after dropping all three regular-season meetings with the Lancers. St. Francis also beat Mitty in last year’s Division II section final.
Tuesday, the Monarchs will play No. 3 Palo Alto at Foothill College.
“We’d like another crack at St. Francis,” said Kennedy, now in his second year at the helm. “Our ultimate goal every season is to win a CCS championship, and we didn’t overlook Sobrato. With all the connections our schools have, you never know how that’s going to play out.
“I got to know the Bradleys in the summer before they transferred. … They’re great kids. They had a great year, and I’m really happy to see them do so well.”
Bryan Bradley had 13 points, and Kwong finished with seven.
They are part of a senior class that helped lead the Bulldogs to consecutive postseason trips. They earned a program-best 13 league wins this winter and reached their first CCS quarterfinal since the brackets expanded to five rounds in 2008.
“Words can’t express how special this season was. I’ve been playing with some of these guys for six years, and getting this far as seniors means the world,” Bynum said.
“We’ve done everything possible to get where we are,” Bryan Bradley added. “I wouldn’t have changed a thing about this year.”
At most, Sobrato will have seven varsity spots to fill next season.
“It’s going to be tough to replace these seniors. They had a chemistry you can’t find anywhere else,” Washington said. “We really set a precedence this year.”
