Image from article Spartans close in on title; Lancers wrap up WCAL
For two quarters, the St. Francis High boys basketball team played like it belonged in the postseason, despite owning a 10-17 regular-season record.
Unfortunately for the Lancers, a slow start and an equally anemic finish knocked them out of the Central Coast Section Division III contention in a 52-40 loss to Burlingame last Saturday at Piedmont Hills High.
The setback marks the second consecutive year St. Francis has been eliminated in the quarterfinals round; the Lancers won three straight CCS titles prior to that.
Out-rebounded at the outset and falling behind by as many as 14 points early in the second quarter, St. Francis sent in burly sophomore Bryan Wilson in an effort to control the boards. The 6-foot-3, 250-pound sophomore made his presence known, helping his team to a 16-7 rebounding edge in the second and third quarters as the Lancers mounted their comeback.
When sophomore forward Adam Budelli completed a three-point play after crashing the offensive board for a putback and a foul, St. Francis was within four at 38-34 by the end of three quarters. Then came the next stretch of four minutes to start the final stanza that decided the game.
With momentum on their side, the Lancers played with energy and aggressiveness and appeared poised to overtake the Panthers. Then they proceeded to miss an easy layup, four short open jumpers – three by Matt Loretz, who had been hitting them all game – and four free throws by Wilson.
All Burlingame did during the same span was to hit three treys, pushing its lead back up to 11; and the game was basically over.
The contest began as if the fourth-seeded Panthers would overrun No. 5 St. Francis. Burlingame jumped to an 18-7 lead by the end of the first quarter. Despite getting open looks from outside, St. Francis chose to force the action inside, resulting in a string of turnovers that led to easy baskets by Burlingame.
Hitting only one of their first nine field goal tries, the Lancers stayed alive at the charity stripe with nine of their first 11 points via free throws.
Having played St. Francis in an earlier game, the Panthers were aware of the Lancers’ inconsistent perimeter shooting and chose to play a 2-3 zone all game, daring their opponent to take outside shots. The strategy worked, as St. Francis made just one of 12 three-point tries – an “excuse me” banker by Loretz – and shot just 32 percent from the field.
Despite getting a lot of foul calls in their favor, the Lancers also missed 12 free throws in 29 attempts.
“We simply didn’t shoot the ball and didn’t help ourselves at the free-throw line either,” St. Francis coach Steve Filios said. “Our outside shooting has been fairly erratic all season, and it cost us today.”
Outside shooting turned out to be the difference in the game – Burlingame buried nine three-pointers and shot a respectable 44 percent from the field, mostly from long range.
Senior forward Loretz tied for game-high scoring with 22 points. Despite playing in a limited role, Wilson grabbed six rebounds, while teammate Budelli led the team with eight.
St. Francis made it to the quarterfinals with a 47-44 win over Saratoga Feb. 26. Loretz led all scorers with 14 points and 13 rebounds, while Billy Anderson had nine boards and two steals.
Along with Loretz, Filios recognized senior guards Clayton Miller and Anderson for their stellar play this season. Looking ahead, Filios sees a bright future for wide-body Wilson.
“Bryan is a diamond in the rough who’s just getting used to his growing body,” the coach said. “He should be quite an athlete, both in football and basketball.”
