Boys basketball
No. 9 Archbishop Riordan 68, No. 7 St. Ignatius 51
In a game featuring an array of dazzling dunks and flashy fastbreaks, Riordan set the tone for the game early on a comparatively mundane first three halfcourt possessions.
Zion Sensley finished through contact with an and-1 layup, Jasir Rencher bullied inside for another pair of free throws, and then John Tofi earned two more free throws.
The message was simple: make an undersized St. Ignatius front line, one missing injured 6-foot-8 senior Theo Lamb, attempt to defend the rim against Riordan’s tall wings.
Riordan (5-3) found very little resistance in the Crusader’s second straight West Catholic Athletic League rout. Riordan had defeated St. Francis 88-40 on Tuesday.
I wanted to get in there and make them feel me,” said Rencher, who scored 12. “I felt like they disrespected us on the rankings, so I wanted to show them why we should be on top.”
St. Ignatius (9-2, 0-1) was able to stay in the game for a half because of hot three-point shooting.
Riordan’s San Francisco rivals hit five triples in the first two quarters, and trailed only 30-23 at intermission. Steele Labagh, who made four 3-pointers, led SI with 21 points. However, the Wildcats missed several layups, much to the chagrin of their head coach Jason Greenfield.
“I thought we got to the basket with ease,” Greenfield said. “We just couldn’t score over their length.”
Riordan took control after the break, outscoring St. Ignatius 21-10 in the third quarter. Sensley, who transferred back to Riordan this summer after spending the previous two seasons at Prolific Prep, put in 17 points.
“He’s back home,” Riordan coach Joe Curtin said. “It’s just great to see him in front of a crowd like this, and in front of his classmates. That’s something he’s missed for years in high school.”
Rencher scored 12, and sophomore guard Andrew Hilman thrilled the packed gymnasium with a variety of crafty drives and tomahawk dunks on his way to 16 points.
In what is scary news for the rest of the WCAL, Riordan could get even bigger and athletic this season. The team is still waiting to see if 6-foot-10 Priory transfer Nas Emeneke will be ruled eligible.
“There are teams that peak in December and January, and we’re definitely not one of those teams,” Curtin said. “There’s serious room to grow.”
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Girls basketball
No. 1 Archbishop Mitty 79, Presentation 8
Longtime Mitty coach Sue Phillips earned career win No. 800 as the nation’s top team opened WCAL play with a rout of Presentation. Darren Sabedra was in San Jose and has the full story here.
No. 5 Acalanes, St. Mary’s-Stockton
Acalanes was able to hang tough with one of NorCal’s elite teams in a possible playoff preview, and played great defense on five-star college prospect Jordan Lee, who the Dons held to just eight points.
Acalanes’ backcourt duo of Dulci Vail and KK Lacanlale scored the majority of the Dons’ points, with Vail leading the team with 22 and Lacanlale putting in 18.
The Dons dropped to 11-4.
Boys soccer
Serra 1, Bellarmine 0
The Bells needed just one goal to open WCAL play with a victory over Bellarmine. Baden Smith banged in the match’s only goal off an assist by Nate Coughlin.
HOW DOES MY TEAM MAKE THE ROUNDUP
The easiest way to appear in the Bay Area News Group high school sports roundup is to email the score and statistical leaders to [email protected] or put your box score on MaxPreps after the game. If that doesn’t work for you, you can post the score and leading scorers on X (formerly Twitter) and tag our high school team — editor/reporter Darren Sabedra (@DarrenSabedra) and reporter Joseph Dycus (@joseph_dycus).
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