Sacred Heart Prep took the name of its opponent seriously in the Cactus Jam boys’ basketball semifinals Tuesday in Tempe, Arizona, getting out to a fast start to claim a 60-43 victory over Start-Ohio.
The Gators (6-1) jumped out to a 20-10 lead in the first quarter. But when the second half looked as though it might go south, SHP head coach Tony Martinelli summoned Jake York off the bench stave off disaster.
After Start closed to within seven points, York drilled a pair of quick 3s. But while the senior scored a career-high eight points, it was his presence on defense that made the difference, according to Martinelli.
Jake York
“Jake York came in and kind of stabilized things,” Martinelli said. “It kind of changed the complexion of the game.”
Senior guard Emmer Nichols enjoyed a career-high as well, pouring in 17 points to pace the Gators. Nichols knocked down one 3 on SHP’s first shot of the game. The rangy look was effective at drawing out the Start defense, and Nichols took advantage throughout, driving for several layups and a pair of short-range jump shots.
“He can make it really hard on the defense if he stays in attack mode, and today he did that,” Martinelli said.
Senior forward Aidan Braccia added 12 points, while junior Sam Norris scored nine.
With the win, the Gators advance to Thursday’s championship game of the “Jam” bracket to take on Cleveland Heights-Ohio. Martinelli scouted Cleveland Heights in Monday’s tourney opener when Tigers throttled past Menlo-Atherton 69-51.
Martinelli said Cleveland Heights has plenty of depth and uses it to run pressure defense and trapping on the full-court press. The name of the game in breaking the press is to keep the ball in the middle of the court.
“I think if we do that, we’ll find some wide-open shooters, which is kind of what we do best,” Martinelli said.
SHP will enjoy a day off Wednesday before tipping off Thursday in the tourney finale at 2:45 p.m.
Bears back in the win column
Speaking of fast starts, Menlo-Atherton got back in the win column after an explosive first quarter in semifinal round of the consolation bracket at the Cactus Jam.
M-A (4-3) doubled up Columbia River-Washington for a 53-23 win Tuesday in Tempe, Arizona. The Bears outscored Columbia River 24-2 in the first quarter.
“We needed to come in and make a point,” M-A head coach Mike Molieri said. “I wanted to get a shutout in a quarter, and we came close.”
Transfer junior Jalen Williams led the way, scoring seven of his team-high 11 points in the opening period, while Ryan Anderson and Malone Lohmann knocked down early 3s.
Lohmann totaled 10 points, Allen Chang added eight, and Anderson and Connor Cadigan finished with seven apiece.
Despite holding Columbia River to 23 points, the lowest total by an M-A opponent since the 2016-17 season, Molieri said he is still looking to improve on M-A’s signature pressure defense.
M-A will now face Skyridge-Utah in Thursday’s “Jam” bracket third-place game to wrap up the tournament.
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