The St. Joseph Island Classic in Alameda features four teams in a two day event. Day 1 pitted last year's D5 NorCal champion Branson (Ross) against Lincoln (San Francisco) in a defensive struggle. Game 2 was a rematch of a NorCal playoff game between University (San Francisco) and host St. Joseph. A subplot is that Branson and ended University's season last year and University did likewise to St. Joseph.
Lincoln Mustangs (San Francisco) 41 vs. Branson Bulls 34: The opening game was a defensive struggle in addition to some erratic ball handling by both teams. Branson ended the quarter with a 9-8 lead. The second quarter continued with the defensive struggles but Lincoln was able to go on a 6-0 run to take a 17-11 mid-quarter lead. The Bulls then had a 7-0 run of their own to take back an 18-17 lead. But the Mustangs ended the quarter with a 7-0 run to lead at the half 24-18. The second half started with a 6-0 run by Branson to tie the score at 24-24 as their tempo got to the Mustangs. The Mustangs then ended the quarter with a 10-2 run to take back the lead 34-28. The fourth quarter had a lack of scoring as Branson scored the first basket with 5:39 left and then added a second basket with 3:20 left to cut the lead to 34-32. Lincoln finally scored its first points of the quarter on a 3-pointer with 1:20 left to extend the lead to 37-32. The Mustangs were able to run out the time and win 41-34.
Lincoln Mustangs Analysis: Coach Mike Gragnani returns for his fifth year with Lincoln as they improved to 4-2. Gragnani was pleased that his Mustangs were able to play with Branson's tempo and beat the Bulls at their own pace. He would like to see his team have better ball control as the team was too sloppy when transitioning from defense to offense. Gragnani wants his team to improve its offensive tempo as many possessions saw the Mustangs stagnant and motionless. Gragnani believes the team is ahead of last year from a conceptual, team chemistry, and emotional perspective. He sees the very young team from last year being much more mature now. His goal is to see his team improve on a daily basis as the Mustangs look to improve on a fourth place finish and 13-18 record in the Academic - Lang league in the San Francisco Section. Junior guard Chris Young led the Mustangs with 15 points.
Branson Bulls Analysis: The Bulls lost three key starters from last year's championship caliber team in addition to two-year Coach Bob Donlan. Despite tonight's loss to drop the team to 4-2 on the season, new coach, Gene Barnes, looks to have his team ready when league play starts up. Barnes, a former Branson basketball player himself, is interested in developing good habits and the correct playing process for his young Bulls as he has two seniors. In addition, he had two injured returning varsity players not available for this game. He wants to see his defense to secure the paint and be a more cohesive unit. On the offensive side, he wants improvement on overall execution and perimeter shooting. Barnes, a former UCLA walk-on, will have point guard John Dunn and forward Eli Morris leading the Bulls. Dunn and Morris had 20 and 8 points in this low scoring affair. Dunn is a shifty guard with deceptive quickness and elusiveness while Morris is a big post player but had some trouble with his footwork and was turnover prone tonight. The Bulls may not equal last year's 25 win total, but the coaching transition looks to be smooth and the roster foundation for the future looks promising.
St. Joseph Pilots 65 vs. University Red Devils 54: The second game was preceded by the national anthem that was sung by St. Joseph senior, Mia Bernardino. That two minute plus performance by itself was worth the price of admission. By the way, the game between the Pilots and Red Devils was fairly entertaining as well.
The Red Devils took an early 13-7 lead as Columbia-bound Noah Springwater was able to hit back-to-back 3-point shots. Brendan Keane, the 6-foot-9 Pilot, did not enter till five minutes left as he was battling the flu for the past few days. Despite being under the weather, his noticeable size advantage over the Red Devils was felt instantly as the Pilots kept feeding this future Northern Colorado Bear. In addition, the rebounding advantage shifted instantly as well. However, Keane was being substituted frequently to conserve his depleted immune system. With Keane, the Pilots ended the first quarter with a 20-19 lead. St. Joseph extended the lead to 25-19 to start the second quarter. University High battled back and took a 38-32 lead but shifty Pilot point guard Jacari Whitfield hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to end the half with the Pilots trailing 38-35.
The third quarter had the Red Devils holding a lead as big five points as the Pilots were never able to take the lead. Keane was able to get several layups and put backs but the Pilots could only close within one point. The quarter ended with the Red Devils up 52-50. With two players ill on a roster of ten, the Pilots were quite fatigued. However, the Red Devils had guard Chris Mah injured with an ankle sprain while Max Savage fouled out. As a result, the fourth quarter was a battle of attrition that was won by the Pilots. St. Joseph outscored University 15-2 as the Red Devils lone basket came with fourteen seconds left in the game. The Pilots won 65-54 in the end.
St. Joseph Pilots Analysis: Coach Don Lippi has his Pilots at 4-1 now with the win. He made the adjustment to a 1-3-1 matchup zone in the second half to help neutralize the University spread offense. Lippi likes the team cohesiveness in this year's group. In addition, he likes this team's fortitude and resilience as the team has had to come from behind in their Monte Vista, St. Ignatius, and this University game to win. Despite being ill, Keane led all scorers with 24 points as his size advantage was noticeably evident. Keane is rated as the No. 18 player in the NorCalPreps.com 2011 boys basketball rankings. His backcourt general, Whitfield, is rated No. 26. Whitfield is listed at 5-foot-9. Lippi made the point that if colleges shy away from his point guard due to his size, then it would be their loss. Whitfield definitely has the quickness and floor vision as he was able to break down the Red Devil press and also to create passing lanes by taking the ball to the rim. In addition, he hit three 3-point shots for 13 total points. The Pilots have a good inside-outside game with Keane and Whitfield. In addition, they have perimeter shooter in Dominic Lippi while forward Justin Brown is tireless on defense. The Pilots will be a favorite in the D5 title race.
University Red Devils Analysis: The Red Devils were averaging over 80 points a game before tonight as they drop to 4-1 now. Coach Randy Bessolo summed the game up by saying that great teams play four quarters while his team was only able to play three good quarters but he has no shame in his team's performance. He believes that St. Joseph is one of the best teams in the state. Bessolo believes that games like this will make his Red Devils better as the season progresses. The Red Devils next big Bay Area battle will be with Oakland High at home on January 6th. Springwater, 6-foot-3, was definitely the most complete player tonight. He was able to hit four 3-pointers to total 21 points. More importantly, he was able to break down the defender to create his own shot or to pass to the open teammate when the defense collapsed on him. Defensively, he took a few charges and also played big by grabbing key rebounds against the bigger Keane. Teams playing the Red Devils better be prepared to defend the complete floor as they will spread the defenders out to create open looks for their above-average perimeter shooters. It would be no surprise if these two teams saw each other again in the postseason.
Day 2 of the St. Joseph Island Classic will have University playing against Lincoln at 5:30pm while Game 2 will have Branson playing against St. Joseph after the first game at 7pm. Branson and St. Joseph split the two games from last year.
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