Article 406: Crusaders march on

March 18, 2015

Modesto Christian overcame a packed, rowdy crowd in San Mateo to defeat Serra 53-48 and advance to the regional finals of the 2015 CIF State Open Division playoffs.

The Padres rushed out to a 10-2 early advantage and a 18-12 first quarter lead as senior Jimmy Wohrer scored eight of his team high 15 points in the quarter. Serra maintained that six point advantage at 29-23 at halftime before extending to a game high 10 point margin early in the third quarter.

The Crusaders used their interior tandem of Anthony Townes and Robinson Idehen to rally 43-41 to end the quarter. Serra had trouble scoring in the final quarter while Modesto Christian continued to use their size advantage to win 53-48.

Serra finishes the season at 23-6 after going further in the West Catholic League and in the postseason than preseason expectations. No player on Serra had more than four rebounds as the team totaled 19 rebounds for the game. However, Serra's 18 field goal makes resulted in 16 total assists. 6-foot-10 Jack Wilson, only a freshman, and junior forward Jake Killingsworth will be the pillars for next year's team as they battled hard against the Crusader post players.

Modesto Christian dominated the boards in the second half as the Crusaders had 35 total rebounds with senior Townes, a Pacific commit, and junior Christian Ellis grabbing 10 rebounds each. Townes and Idehen each made eight field goals to score 19 and 18 points respectively. Ellis and senior Jeff Wu, a Sacramento State commit, played more intense perimeter defense during the second half as Serra only had one 3-point make. Modesto Christian's 17 offensive rebounds gave them 14 more field goal attempts than Serra for the game.

The Crusaders hit the 30 win mark as they move to 30-3. Modesto Christian faces Bishop O'Dowd in the regional finals as the Dragons won 75-57 against Folsom.

Modesto Christian's starting five is strong but the roster goes only seven deep. Bishop O'Dowd has a deeper rotation in addition to national prospect, Ivan Rabb, Boise State commit Paris Austin, Isaiah Thomas who is headed to Northern Arizona.

Last season, Modesto Christian lost to Bishop O'Dowd twice, including a season ending 74-51 loss in the Open Division playoffs.

Article 405: WCAL Madness

January 15, 2015

Last year's Serra and Archbishop Riordan regular season West Catholic Athletic League games were offensive battles (Serra 64-63 2OT in San Mateo and Riordan 52-44 in San Francisco) when compared to the first meeting this season. Both teams came into the game with identical 9-3 (1-1 league) records as Serra won 33-32 in this defensive struggle. Both teams still have many question marks as league play continues.

Based on the starting lineup, Riordan had a size and an athletic advantage with 6-foot-8 Karim N'Diaye and 6-foot-3 Eddie Stansberry. However, the Padres play 10 deep with interchangeable players ranging from 6-foot-0 to 6-foot-5. 6-foot-9 freshman Jack Wilson is on the roster and was on the bench but did not see any game time.

Neither team had more than a two-possession advantage as the Crusaders had a first quarter 7-6 lead and a halftime 20-16 advantage. The Padres won the third quarter and lead 26-25 after three before holding on for the 33-32 win.

The leading scorer was junior Jeremiah Testa who came off the bench for Serra to tally seven points and tied for a game high eight rebounds. Serra head coach Chuck Rapp said after the game that this team's sum is much greater than its individual players. The Padres played tenacious defense all over the court, won the majority of the 50-50 balls, and caused several jump ball situations. Conversely, the team has no playmakers that can create offense when the half-court offense stagnates and the guards had some difficulty breaking the full court press.

Serra goes to 10-3 and plays Sacred Heart Cathedral and Archbishop Mitty in their next two games as these two teams have either athletic playmakers or superior size. The Padres already lost to a bigger St Francis team. The outcome of the next two games will indicate where the Padres are in the WCAL pecking order.

Riordan's main players of N'Diaye and Stansberry had five and four points respectively. The Crusaders missed all seven of their 3-point attempts and the team committed 21 turnovers. The team drops to 9-4 and faces St Ignatius next.

Like Serra, the Crusaders lost to St Francis already and will also be tested by Sacred Heart Cathedral and Archbishop Mitty later in the season. But Riordan will have to play more efficiently and more team-oriented to have a chance in those games.