Crusader Classic: Gators Earn Redemption
Sacred Heart Prep turned heads with a quarterfinal win over a big-name foe.
A year ago, the Sacred Heart Prep Gators opened their season with a loss at the buzzer in the quarterfinals of the Riordan Crusader Classic.
They seemed destined for a similar fate on Thursday night, but Granada missed a pair of free throws with 0.1 on the clock, allowing the Gators to escape with a come-from-behind 62-61 win.
“I was definitely having some flashbacks to last year against University,” head coach Tony Martinelli said.
Sacred Heart Prep (1-0) trailed by 11 in the third quarter, but tied the game at 47 with an 11-0 run, capped off by a TJ O’Brien 3-pointer.
O’Brien led all players with 27 points, and rounded out his performance with eight rebounds and eight assists.
“He just did everything for us tonight. He’s such a complete basketball player,” Martinelli said. “He gets a little overlooked because they think he’s not as quick as he is, but his first step is as good as anyone I’ve seen. When he gets in the open court, he’s just a great decision-maker, and he shoots the ball extremely well, which makes him even quicker.”
O’Brien hit a 3-pointer with 3:12 left in the game to tie the score at 58, but Granada (1-1) retook the lead on a Cortevious Taylor 3-pointer. O’Brien responded by dishing out back-to-back assists, first to JP Kerrigan and then to Erick Osterloh to finish off a 2-on-1 with 1:55 left that gave the Gators the lead for good.
After four Matador misses, including a failed putback attempt, Osterloh missed two free throws with 11.1 left and committed the foul with a tenth of a second remaining that looked like it would doom the Gators, but Granada missed both free throws.
Taylor, playing in his first game after transferring from Lincoln-San Francisco and moving to the East Bay, led the Matadors with 20 points and 11 rebounds. NaVaughn Long scored 16, while Spencer Langowski scored all 10 of his points in the first half. Lennon Lomba added nine.
Kerrigan scored 10 for the Gators and Drew Wagner chipped in seven.
University 73, Tamalpais 42
Two nights after an uncharacteristic loss to Archie Williams, the University Red Devils looked much more like their typical selves against another Marin County opponent.
11 different players scored for University (1-1) as the Red Devils led wire-to-wire in a 73-42 win over the Tamalpais Red-Tailed Hawks in a quarterfinal at the 64th Crusader Classic.
Cole Boake scored a game-high 18 points and Will Perkins scored 11 to lead a balanced attack. Tamalpais (0-2) trailed just 25-17 after a pair of Auvin Cole free throws with 5:19 left in the second quarter, but the Devils responded with a 13-0 run, highlighted by a trio of Jordan Chau assists.
Randy Bessolo’s squad recorded assists on 22 of 24 made baskets, with Perkins dishing out a team-high five. Chau and Luke Burton had four assists apiece.
Boake had eight points in the third quarter, all part of a 12-0 run at the end of the quarter to give University a 61-31 lead, prompting both teams to empty their benches for the fourth.
Cole led the Hawks with 11 points, while Henry Dehan chipped in nine and Thomas Boyle added seven. University also got seven points apiece from Gus Fried and Lucas Lau, while Read Millar added six.