Gators back on top

SANTA CLARA -- Entering Friday's Central Coast Section Division IV tournament championship game, the Sacred Heart Prep boys' basketball team felt like it was playing with house money. After all, the No. 2 seed Gators were coming off a remarkable comeback performance against Santa Cruz in the semifinals, rallying for a one-point win after trailing by seven with only 40 seconds remaining. "After the Santa Cruz game we felt like we had experienced everything," Sacred Heart Prep standout Reed McConnell said. "We entered the championship feeling like we had nothing to lose." The Gators certainly played loose and free in the title game, leading from start to finish in a 54-45 win over top-seed Palma at Santa Clara University. This was SHP's fourth CCS championship, but first in Division IV (its previous three was in Division V). SHP (22-5) will host a CIF Northern California first-round playoff game 7 p.m. Tuesday. Judging by their latest effort, the Gators could make a deep NorCal run. Reed McConnell was sensational yet again, finishing with a game-high 24 points. It was McConnell -- there are three McConnells on the team, all brothers -- who nailed the game-winning 3-pointer from NBA range to defeat Santa Cruz. He was equally impressive against Palma (23-4), draining shots from behind the arc and driving strong to the basket. "The nice thing with Reed is he's made a real good progression from feeling he had to do everything to trusting his teammates," said Gators coach Tony Martinelli, who has guided SHP to three section championship game appearances in each of his three years. Said McConnell: "I felt if this team was going to be good, I had to lead them." And that's exactly what the 6-foot-5 junior guard/forward did. The Gators led by as many as 12 points and were up 38-27 with 2:54 left in the third when Palma went on a 9-0 run to get to within two points. But that's as close as the Chieftains would get. In danger of watching its once sizable lead slip away, McConnell answered with a 3-pointer. The Chieftains scored again the next time down the floor, but SHP's Will McConnell (10 points) proved clutch, connecting on a short turnaround jumper followed by a 3-point play to put the Gators ahead 46-38 with 4:23 left. Palma never got closer than four points the rest of the way and, in the end, SHP was able to celebrate without having to sweat out a dramatic victory. Well, check that -- celebrate might be too strong of a word. There were no dog piles, no jumping for joy, no tears of euphoria. The Gators were happy all right, but the cool demeanor they showed from the opening tip carried over even after the final horn sounded. Led by Ty Cobb, SHP couldn't have gotten off to a better start. Cobb was relentless inside, muscling his way to the paint for a number of baskets. Not normally a big point producer, the 6-foot-5 center nevertheless scored 10 of his team's first 12 points to put the Gators ahead by seven after one quarter. Cobb's inspired play set the tone, as SHP never felt threatened the rest of the way. That's because Reed McConnell finished what Cobb started, often scoring under heavy duress. McConnell scored nine of his 24 points in the second before hitting a NBA-range trey to give SHP its largest lead, 34-22, with 5:25 left in the third. The ultra smooth McConnell later airballed a shot but came right back to connect on a couple of more field goals. The only real adversity SHP faced was during Palma's third-quarter run during which Martinelli was assessed a technical foul for apparently something one of his assistant coaches said. Ultimately, though, the Gators were a picture of calm, something that couldn't be said earlier in the season. "We struggled (controlling) our emotions earlier in the year," Martinelli said. "Versus M-A (Menlo-Atherton in December), we were playing well and all of a sudden we fell apart. That's what I'm proud of most, is how much the players have progressed. It showed against Santa Cruz. Down seven with 40 seconds, you don't see a lot of teams come back from that. We didn't want to waste the opportunity of having a second chance." SHP also learned a valuable lesson from a year ago, when it lost to rival Menlo School in the title game. The Gators knew they had to get off to a strong start because they were really never in last year's defeat to the Knights. That loss, combined with the thrilling win over Santa Cruz, prepared SHP against Palma. "We didn't have anything to be nervous about," Reed McConnell said. "We had nothing to fear." It showed.