Sacred Heart Prep boys' basketball team falls in Cactus Jam finals

“And the most we’ve given up,” SHP head coach Tony Martinelli said.

As a national tournament, the format at the Cactus Jam has some major differences compared to that of games played under the California Interscholastic Federation umbrella. The biggest difference is the lack of shot clock, a factor that led to prolonged offensive possessions through the Gators’ first two games of the tourney — Monday’s 76-44 win over Tumwater-Washington, and Tuesday’s 60-43 win over Start-Ohio.

But the absence of a shot clock wasn’t much of a factor in Thursday’s finale.

“When you put up those kinds of points … and there’s no shot clock being used, it means both sides like to get up and down the floor,” Martinelli said.

SHP led 41-34 at the half and, after a back-and-forth third quarter, was clinging to a 59-57 lead. While it remained a two-possession game until the finish, Cleveland Heights leveraged a 5-point advantage into the final two minutes. And when the Gators were forced to foul with 44 seconds remaining, sophomore forward Hosea Steele responded by knocking down both free throws to give the Tigers an 83-78 advantage.

Senior forward Kevin Carney hit a 3-pointer for the Gators with two seconds remaining to close out the scoring.

Senior guard Aidan Braccia finished with a game-high 26 points and was named to the all-tournament team. Carney added 23 points.

“We just wanted to come out fast,” Carney said of SHP’s hot start in the first half. “And once we started breaking their press it got us a lot of open looks.”

Carney energized his team early by hitting a 3 after the Gators broke the tenacious Cleveland Heights full-court press. The senior totaled four 3-pointers in the game. Braccia added three 3s and was key to keeping the Tigers honest in the half-court game with his dribble-drive chops in 1-on-1 matchups.

“The flow of the game, they’re really good when the game is up and down because the defense loses them a little bit … and they pop out and get open,” Martinelli said.

Cleveland Heights (5-3) was forced to back off the press a bit in the second half. And while SHP was still getting looks, the hot hands cooled a bit in the third quarter.

“I think we came out fast (in the second half), our shots just started to fall not as much,” Carney said.

Cleveland Heights outscored SHP 23-18 in the third quarter and took the lead for good early in the fourth.

“Once they got the lead, it felt like it was uphill the rest of the way,” Martinelli said.

Steele finished with a team-high 21 points and was one of five Tigers to score in double figures. SHP junior forward Sam Norris added 13 points.

“They were definitely down, especially when you have a lead at halftime and you feel like you’re doing some pretty good things, and you want to capitalize on those things in the second (half),” Martinelli said. “We had a chance to win it and it slipped away. We came down here to win a tournament and we didn’t do it, and I think that really hits you.

“But what I saw of them on the road is something to be really proud of,” Martinelli said. “And it shows that we’re going to have a really positive future with this team.”

In the consolation championship, Menlo-Atherton (4-4) fell 60-43 to Skyridge-Utah.