Padres pounded in ‘Jungle’

“I didn’t like the [schedule] when I first saw it,” said Serra head coach Chuck Rapp.

There should have been some trepidation and any nightmares the Padres’ coaching staff might have had came to fruition, as SI ran Serra out of its own gym, posting an 83-57 victory.

“Tough night at the office,” Rapp said. “We weren’t ready to go and that’s my fault.”

Serra (0-1 WCAL, 8-3 overall) stayed with SI (1-0, 10-1) in the opening quarter, trailing just 17-14, but the Padres struggled with the Wildcats’ length, who they shot lights out for the game.

SI was good in the first half, finishing just under 50% shooting from the floor on 14-of-29 shooting. In the second half, the Wildcats seemingly couldn’t miss as they connected on an eye-popping 72% over the final two quarters, connecting on 18 of 25 shots.

Rapp said he had seen plenty of game video of the Wildcats, but they were on another level Tuesday night. SI had three players score in double figures as 10 Wildcats got in the scoring column. Steele Labagh led the way, finishing with a team-high 20 points, knocking down six 3-pointers along the way. The Padres had their hands full in trying to limit Raymond Whitley, who slashed his way to 18 points. Alex Moore, a 6-9 sophomore forward, added 10 points, showing an ability to not only play in the post, but he also hit a pair of 3s and also showed off an ability to score off the bounce, as well.

“This is the best I’ve seen them (play this year),” Rapp said. “They’re big and they shot the ball well.”

And there wasn’t much the Padres could do about it. Wyatt Blanco did his best to keep Serra in the game, matching Labagh in game-high scoring honors, finishing with 20 points. But he was the only Padre to score in double figures.

“(We took a) lot of bad shots,” Rapp said. “Stopped sharing the ball.”

Down three after the first quarter, the Padres kept touch with the Wildcats in the second period. Jace Cannon hit a free throw and then a layup to keep the deficit at three, 20-17, with 6:32 left in the half.

But SI answered with a bucket from Noah Kirsch-Lopez, followed by a 3 from Labagh to push the Wildcats’ lead to eight, 25-17. When Blanco came up with a steal and layup, Serra was down six with 3:32 left in the half.

But the Wildcats responded with a 10-5 run to lead 38-27 at the break.

And then SI put the pedal to the metal. The Wildcats opened the third quarter with a 6-0 run that featured a dunk from Ty Landers, a 6-8 freshman, a layup from the 6-9 Moore and a show-and-go layup from 6-4 Andrew Ennis as the Wildcats opened up a 44-27 lead.

Serra finally scored on a pair of Blanco free throws, followed by a three-point play from Cannon, which only seemed to fuel SI.

The Wildcats responded by wobbling the Padres with a haymaker as they went on an 11-2 run. Labagh and Anthony D’Acquisto opened the volley with back-to-back 3s, followed by an old-fashion three-point play from the 6-5 Kirsch-Lopez. Whitley capped the run with a layup to give SI a 58-34 advantage.

Serra had a glimmer of hope as the Padres finally found some rhythm as they ended the final 1:30 of the quarter on a 8-3 run. Sebastian Margate, who struggled with his mid-range shot because of SI’s length, hit his only bucket of the night, draining a corner 3. That was followed by free throws from Cannon and Tyler Bailey and Serra was down 19 going into the fourth, 61-42.

But SI provided the knockout punch to start the final period as the Wildcats opened on a 13-0 run, getting pretty much whatever they wanted. They scored at the free throw line, scored on offensive rebound and putback, got a 3-pointer, a fast-break layup, a three-point play and another layup as they opened up 74-42 lead with 4:40 left.

“They’re a whole different beast,” Rapp said of the Wildcats. “They’re moving at a higher level.”

The Serra bench showed some heart, as they outscored the SI second team 10-5 in the game’s final minutes. Caleb Bandel knocked down a 3 and added another basket, while RJ Guldbech scored on a pair of drive to the rim.

But it was small consolation in a blowout loss.

So what did Rapp tell his team in the post-game meeting?

“It’s Day 1 (of the WCAL season). We have 13 more rounds,” Rapp said. “But we have to get better.”