Seamus Gilmartin a beast in the paint as Serra downs St. Ignatius in ‘Jungle Game’

Serra has qualified for each of the last 11 CCS Open Division tournaments since the bracket featuring the section’s elite eight teams was instituted in 2012-13. The CCS basketball seeding meeting will be held Wednesday.

“To be a hundred percent, I don’t even know,” Serra head coach Chuck Rapp said of Serra’s chances of qualifying for the Open tourney. “We got caught up in that a while back and we started playing poorly. So, we just went back to the mantra “next game.” I’m not going to worry about things I can’t control. Wherever they put us, we’ll go. We’re going to try to win the next game.”

Serra has certainly had St. Ignatius’ number. The Padres posted a 3-0 record against the Wildcats (7-7, 13-11) this season, including two wins in WCAL play. Tuesday’s regular-season finale was certainly the most comfortable victory for Serra, though. The last time the two teams met in San Francisco, the Padres trailed by 14 points in the third quarter, only to go on a 25-13 run in the fourth quarter to pull off a 58-57 comeback victory.

“We were fortunate, we hit some shots,” Rapp said. “The other game, we kind of snuck one in there. They were kind of outplaying us for most of the time up at SI. Then tonight, shots were going in. It’s easier when the shots go in.”

The Padres were dialed, shooting 57.8% from the floor, including a 9-of-13 mark in the fourth quarter to extend their lead to as many as 25 points in the closing minutes.

But it was the brutish first-half performance of center Seamus Gilmartin that put Serra in control. The 6-4 senior recorded his second double-double in as many games, totaling 13 points and 11 rebounds. Four of his first-half buckets were put-backs off strong-man offensive boards, as he lit in up in the second quarter to tally seven points, six rebounds (four offensive rebounds) and one assist.

“He was huge, absolutely huge,” Rapp said. “He’s been playing better and better. He did a manly job on the boards. Rebounds are life. We always say: no rebounds, no rings. And he just crashed the boards, and that was huge. That gave us some easy baskets and then we kind of went from there.”

A recurring theme all season long for Serra has been slow starts. That certainly wasn’t the case Tuesday.

Playing before a packed house with a boisterous crowd and a rocking northwest portion of the student-section bleachers — that those bleachers survived this year’s “Jungle Game” is a Valentine’s Day miracle — the Padres trailed only briefly after St. Ignatius freshman Caeden Hutcherson popped an early 3-pointer to make it 3-2. Serra fired right back when senior guard Tommaso Leveroni fed a smart sling pass to Gilmartin for a go-ahead layup.

Gilmartin’s first field goal sparked a 12-3 run for the Padres. They would lead the rest of the way.

“I thought our ball share was good today,” Rapp said. “The ball was really moving, and that’s something we’ve really struggled with. When the ball moves, we usually play pretty good.”

What the Padres were lacking in the first half, however, was the ability to finish at the rim. Serra was getting good penetration to create scoring lanes, but contested layups just weren’t falling. Gilmartin cleaned up misses like a beast though, including a highlight-reel play by snatching an offensive board then pivoting underneath the cylinder for a smooth finish off the glass to put Serra up 25-15.

A two-sport athlete, Gilmartin was the WCAL Tight End of the Year this season for the gridiron Padres, who finished their season Dec. 10 in the CIF Open Division State Football Championship Bowl. Serra’s basketball season opened Nov. 26, with a group of football players — Gilmartin, Malachi Gastrock, Michael Pedrotti, Michael Perazzo and Joey Villaroman — joining the team late.

“I think [Gilmartin] is starting to get his basketball legs,” Rapp said. “You know, football season was so long, and he was banged up, and it just went for a long time. And I think he’s just kind of now getting his basketball sea legs.”

Junior forward Ryan Pettis was Serra’s go-to guy in the second half. Pettis shared the game-high 19 points with St. Ignatius guard Marcus Bast, with 15 of Pettis’ points coming after the break. He finished the third quarter by hitting a corner 3 to give Serra a 49-35 lead. Then he opened the fourth quarter by converting a clutch and-1 after getting absolutely hammered at the end of a transition layup.

Four Padres finished in double digits, with seniors Marcel Elicagaray and Aidan Carleson scoring 11 points apiece. Serra outrebounded St. Ignatius 34-23 throughout.