February 12, 2012
In the regular season finale, Archbishop Mitty and Sacred Heart Cathedral both entered the game with 20-3 records. The Monarchs had already wrapped up the West Catholic Athletic League title while Sacred Heart was still battling for second place with Serra. In the end, the team from San Jose hit Blackjack with win No. 21 in a 60-58 overtime thriller in San Francisco.
In the first quarter, the teams were anemic in their offensive execution as Irish senior Taylor Johns scored the first basket with 6:28 left. Mitty junior Aaron Gordon accounted for all six points in the quarter for the Monarchs as they trailed 7-6 after the first quarter.
The second quarter had more offense as Gordon paced Mitty with seven points. Johns had six points while junior Khalil James provided a spark at point guard for the Irish as they went into the half with a 24-22 lead.
The third and fourth quarters had similar themes in that Mitty pulled ahead only to have the Irish rally to tie at the end of the period. The Monarchs were leading 38-33 with less than two minutes in the third but Sacred Heart ended the scoring in the quarter with a three-point bank shot to tie the game at 38-38. Mitty had a game high 47-40 lead with less than five minutes in the fourth but the Irish tied the game at 51-51 behind senior Josh Fox's three-point shot with less than three seconds left.
In the overtime period, Mitty went up 58-53 with less than two minutes that looked to seal the fate of the Irish. But Johns scored on a three-point play while James followed it up with a nice runner in the paint to tie the game at 58. However, Gordon followed up his own miss to win the game for Mitty.
Archbishop Mitty (60): Gordon 28, Peters 15, Abajelo 5, Messer 4, Short 3, Peterson 2, White 2, and Biebel 1
Sacred Heart Cathedral (58): Fox 14, James 13, Johns, 13, Pratt 9, Petroni 4, Sera 3, O'Reilly 2
Aaron Gordon F Mitty (2013): Gordon scored close to half of his team's points. No surprise everything goes through the national prospect on both offense and defense. He showed his versatility in bringing the ball up, hitting one three-point shot, getting offensive rebound put backs, defensive rebounds, and block shots.
Thomas Peters F Mitty (2012): Peters came up big in the second half as he had a few jump shots, a three-point shot, and some key rebounds. He complemented Gordon and was the only other Monarch with double digit scoring with 15 points.
Josh Fox F Sacred Heart (2012)
Taylor Johns F Sacred Heart (2012): Give the Irish frontcourt duo credit for not backing down to the taller Mitty frontcourt. Both Johns and Fox played aggressive and took the ball to the basket without hesitation.
Khalil James G Sacred Heart (2013): James came off the bench and was a spark for the Irish. He has good hesitation moves and is not afraid to go into the paint. If James can be a third offensive scoring choice in the postseason, then the Irish could really be dangerous.
Mitty analysis: What would happen if teams begin to double or even triple team Gordon more and force the other four players on the floor to be playmakers? The guard play will have to be more effective in order for Mitty to repeat last year's state run. If an opposing team can neutralize Gordon, the Monarchs could be in trouble then. Teams that play with good discipline and proper matchup schemes could present a challenge for Mitty in the postseason. Mitty will see either Sacred Heart or Serra again in the WCAL playoffs. Newark Memorial is in Division II and would have the size and scheme to be a matchup challenge for the Monarchs as well.
SHC analysis: On the flip side, the Irish are quite balanced with the senior interior duo of Fox and Johns but guard James could be the wildcard in terms of how far the Irish can go in the postseason. The Irish look to be favorites along with Bishop O'Dowd in Division III for this postseason. But first thing is first as the Irish may have another meeting with Mitty in the WCAL playoffs.
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