In a battle between two 10-1 West Catholic Athletic League teams, the Archbishop Mitty Monarchs were able to use pressure and stifling defense to defeat the Serra Padres 45-34. Forwards Aaron Gordon and Neil Vranicar had 18 and 9 points respectively but it was their size that shut down the Padres in the interior.
In the first quarter, Mitty jumped out to an 11-6 lead but the Padres were able to end the quarter tied at 11. Padre Connor McGrath had 7 of his game high 21 points in the first quarter.
Serra scored the first basket in the second quarter to take a 13-11 lead but the only other point that the Padres scored was one free throw with 1:41 left in the quarter. Mitty, on the other hand, scored 13 points in the quarter to take a 24-14 half time lead. The Monarchs turned up the defensive intensity to shut the Padre offense off.
Mitty's defense was even more stifling in the third quarter as they shut out the Padres. Serra helped as they missed 14 of their 21 free throw attempts in the game. The Monarch offense was not much better in the quarter as they scored 6 points to have a commanding 30-14 lead.
The Padres ran off the first 8 points of the fourth quarter to cut the deficit in half to 30-22. The Padres would be no closer than 8 points again at 34-26 and would end up losing the game 45-34.
Notes
How this game was won: The Monarchs used their defense to limit Serra to 3 points in the second quarter and nothing in the third quarter. In addition, Mitty had a bigger player available at every position. Chico State bound McGrath was being guarded by a taller and larger Brandon White, who was back for his second game after an earlier injury in the season. Gordon and Vranicar were able to control the interior with their size, which forced the Padres to take challenged perimeter shots. The Serra free throw shooting was awful as they missed 14 free throws while Mitty did not fare much better as they only hit two 3-point shots out of 13 attempts.
Turning Point: Mitty shutting down Serra to one field goal and one free throw in the second quarter. Mitty was able to build a 10 point lead and carry the defensive intensity to the third quarter to shut out the Padres.
Mitty analysis: Coach Tim Kennedy was expecting a physical game. Gordon seemed to be the target of the physical play from Serra as he also sustained a cut on his left wrist. Ironically, Mitty was called for 20 team fouls while Serra had only 14 team fouls. Kennedy attributes the defensive effort as the key to the win. But he was also disappointed with the 3-point shooting as the team missed several open looks that they normally would make. Guard Kyle Toth and Vranicar will complement Gordon on the offense well. Both Toth and Vranicar have a good dribble move to the interior and both are comfortable taking the perimeter shot. White's return allows the Monarch to have another tenacious defender who is big and versatile enough to defend guards to forwards.
Serra analysis: Coach Chuck Rapp felt that the Mitty defense made things difficult for the Serra offense. In addition, Rapp was concerned with the team free throw shooting. He wants to see his team have better ball movement on the offense. He was happy with the overall defensive effort but would like to see the defense close out on shooters and control the opponent's dribble better. McGrath can create his own shot from anywhere on the court. But Serra needs some other scoring options as league play continues.
What is next for Mitty: The general consensus is that Mitty, 11-1 now, is the favorite in the league as they are the NCP No. 1 ranked team. Coach Kennedy likes his roster. If the team executes and plays to its potential, Mitty probably will be the WCAL favorite and a Northern California favorite. Gordon acknowledged that the team is playing well and that team chemistry is really cohesive right now.
What is next for Serra: At 10-2, Serra looks to have a solid season in league play as long as the team defense shows up each night. If the team can get some other scoring options, then the Padres could challenge Mitty at the end. Coach Rapp feels that Mitty is the league favorite and that parity exists for the rest of the league.
JV excitement: The varsity game was originally scheduled to start at 7pm but was delayed until 7:45 as the junior varsity game went into overtime. Mitty rallied in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 36-36 at the end of regulation. However, Serra was able to pull out the 43-41 win in the overtime quarter. As a result of the delay, the gym was near capacity at the start of the varsity game to make it more raucous.
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