Honor roll: A wall-to-wall honor roll for the boys’ basketball state champion Sacred Heart Gators

Zack Beals, junior guard. In addition to owning the most charismatic postgame celebration on the team, Beals was integral to getting the Gators going in the second quarter of the state finals. With SHP lengthening a 10-8 lead with a 9-0 run, he tallied two of his three assists on the day, including a critical dime to senior Brady Grossman at the elbow for a splash 3, SHP’s first on the day to settle down a shaky start shooting in the confines of the NBA arena of Golden 1 Center.

Brady Grossman, senior forward. Grossman hit just one shot on the day, but his 3-pointer midway through the second quarter capped a 9-point run to make it 19-8 Gators. It was also the team’s first 3-pointer after an 0-for-9 start and a mere 4-for-27 clip from long range throughout. The 6-footer also grabbed five rebounds, the difference of the Gators winning the glass 35-30.

Matthew Osterloh, sophomore forward. The 6-4 forward finished with a solid six points and six rebounds in the low-scoring affair, but his defense is was one of the reasons it was so low scoring. The younger Osterloh brother was tasked largely with guarding San Juan Hills’ best scorer, senior Rocco Jensen, who averaged 21.2 points per game on the year. Jensen settled for 10 points against SHP.

Alberto De Bernardis, junior forward. The Gators’ 6-3 big man produced the most critical rebound of the game, grabbing an offensive board to give Alex Osterlog a reprieve off a missed 3-point try late in the fourth quarter. Born in Italy, and raised in Spain, De Bernardis’ big moment halfway around the world on the Golden 1 Center stage allowed Osterloh to get the ball back for a driving layup to cut a late San Juan Hills lead to 45-43.

Luke Braccia, senior guard. Braccia played just under 10 minutes as a reserve, but made them count on defense, producing two steals. The turnover game loomed large, as SHP outscored SJH 17-12 in transition.

Saurav Shroff, senior guard. Alex Osterloh sat for 10 minutes of the first half with two fouls, and Shroff stepped in to save the day. The 6-1 guard balled out on defense to put the Gators’ transition game in motion, scoring four points in the contest, both early in the second quarter. The first was a put-back on one of his three rebounds. The next was a clean steal near midcourt for a run to the basket.

Pat Bala, sophomore guard. One of the Gators’ best clutch 3-point shooters in the postseason, Bala lit it up at Golden 1 as SHP’s only double-digit scorer other than Alex Osterloh. Bala netted 13 points, including two 3-pointers, his second one out of the corner down the stretch of the fourth quarter to give the Gators a 41-40 lead.