Montgomery built leads of 15-12 after the first quarter and 29-23 at halftime against Serra in the second round of the NorCal Division II playoffs in San Mateo. The Vikings had all the momentum and a game high lead of ten points of 33-23 in the early moments of the third quarter, but Serra made a run to end the quarter with a 40-38 advantage. Turnovers, poor free throw shooting, and stagnant offense by Montgomery allowed the Padres to close out a 59-54 victory.
Montgomery finishes the season at 25-7 after dominating the North Bay League. The Vikings will regret the 14 free throw misses in the game with nine coming in the first half. In addition, untimely backcourt turnovers led to multiple Serra fast break attempts. Senior forward Alec Raven was efficient with both his perimeter shot and post moves as he accounted for 26 points. The Vikings started five seniors as they look to reload for next season.
Serra overcame early foul trouble to key starters and had balanced scoring as five players scored more than seven points. Senior guards Sean Watkins and Danny Mahoney accounted for 16 and 13 points respectively. The Padres were able to throw enough players and fouls at Raven to slow him down.
The Padres essentially play a four guard set that needs good perimeter shooting and ball control to succeed. The interior play is undersized, but was solid in this game as forwards Trevor Brown and Jake Killingsworth combined for 19 points.
Folsom cruised against another West Catholic Athletic League opponent in defeating St. Ignatius 66-40 to setup a Tuesday semifinal matchup with Serra in Folsom. Top seed Folsom averages over 70 points per game and is balanced both inside and outside. If Serra can control the tempo, get enough perimeter scoring, and win the battle for the defensive rebounds in the post, then the Padres will have a solid chance to advance.
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