CCS Division III: SHC Rides 'Culture of Joy' to Championship
A year after winning the CCS Open Division Championship, the Fightin' Irish took home the hardware in Division III over a luckless foe.
Since becoming head coach of Sacred Heart Cathedral’s boys basketball program in 2021, Caesar Smith has discussed a “culture of joy.”
It was mentioned occasionally in his first two years, and he brought it to the forefront for the 2023-24 campaign.
The Fightin’ Irish can now thank that culture for a trophy after their 49-48 win over Santa Cruz in the CCS Division III Championship.
It was never a question of if Sacred Heart Cathedral (14-13) was capable of winning a title, especially in Division III. The Fightin’ Irish won the Open Division title last year, and though they graduated their top rebounders in Division I linebackers RL Miller and Jerry Mixon Jr., they returned a backcourt spearheaded by First Team All-League guard Fed Pernell.
But even with that returning talent, life wasn’t going to be easy in the WCAL. SHC went 4-10 in the section’s top league, finishing in sixth place. Entering the postseason in Division III, the Irish were considered a favorite to win the bracket on paper. But was their confidence going to be intact after six unforgiving weeks of league play?
Thanks to the culture that Smith constantly harps on, it was.
“That’s what it really is. I’m proud to say it,” said Smith, a 1998 graduate of the school. “Through the good and through the bad, it’s who we are and what we do. I know I sound like a preacher, but literally, that’s what keeps us together.”
Even with back-to-back section championships, Smith hasn’t always won the approval of SHC’s notoriously demanding fanbase. A 1-12 record against rivals St. Ignatius and Riordan has led to constant questioning from fans. But there’s no doubt he’s established a culture that harkens back to his days in the program, one built on a shared mentality and hard-nosed defense.
In Saturday’s win over top-seeded Santa Cruz (23-6), that defense was a zone to vex a Cardinals side that offered superior length. It got the Irish out to a 14-2 lead five minutes in, and they went into halftime with a 35-25 lead after Jonah Goorin buried a deep 3-pointer.
Goorin scored 10 of his 11 in the first half, while Zemaury Erfe, celebrating his birthday, scored all eight of his points before the break.
Santa Cruz roared back in the second half behind sophomore DeMarco Hunter, who finished with a game-high 21 points. His basket with 5:11 left in the fourth tied the game at 42, and he scored off another of Ben Dotten’s assists 27 seconds later to give the Cardinals their first lead of the game.
But Pernell and the Irish wouldn’t be denied. Pernell, who broke the 1,000-point mark for his career early in Tuesday’s quarterfinal win over Westmoor, scored all seven of SHC’s points in the fourth quarter and finished with a game-high 15. His layup with 3:02 left ended Santa Cruz’s 14-0 run, and he got a friendly roll on a 3-pointer that initially seemed to be indecisive about its fate to give the Irish a 47-46 lead with 2:16 remaining.
“I decided to do what I do best, take over,” said Pernell. “I’m kind of like a silent assassin.”
Hunter’s putback with 1:38 left gave the Cardinals the lead once again, but Pernell sank two free throws with 1:17 on the clock that turned out to be the final points of the game. Santa Cruz missed two free throws with 56.3 left, and after Pernell nearly sealed the game with a 3-pointer at the end of the shot clock that went in and out, the Cardinals had a chance in the lane in the final seconds that hit the front of the rim before it was rebounded by none other than Pernell.
It marked SHC’s 13th section title in program history, while Santa Cruz fell to 2-11 all-time in title games, including five such defeats in the past seven years. This one may have been the most infuriating of them for the Cardinals, who have also been on the losing end against Burlingame in Division III and to Half Moon Bay and Carmel (twice) in Division IV within the past decade.
Dotten finished with 13 points, six rebounds and five assists in the losing effort. Jack Kennedy scored eight for the Irish, including the bucket off an inbound play that gave his team a 39-29 lead with 3:58 left in the third.