SAN JOSE — Two weeks ago, the direction of the Archbishop Mitty boys basketball team seemed unclear, at best. The Monarchs had just lost to Sacred Heart Cathedral. Their record was 11-10. A spot in the Central Coast Section Open Division playoffs was no guarantee.
But here they are now, playing the type of ball that has made the program one of the region’s best through the years.
Tuesday night, the swift turnaround continued as Mitty toppled second-seeded St. Ignatius 59-51 at Independence High to advance to the CCS Open Division final on Friday night at Santa Clara University.
The Monarchs (16-10) will play top seed Bellarmine College Prep, which beat St. Francis in the other semifinal.
Kyle Peterson led Mitty with 13 points, including three first-half 3-pointers. But the story of the night was Mitty’s bench, which outscored St. Ignatius’ reserves 22-3 in a game that was competitive much of the way.
Freshman Devan Sapp scored 12 points for Mitty off the bench, all on 3-pointers.
Was he nervous? No way, he said.
“My coaches and my teammates allow me to play free and play to the best of my ability,” Sapp said. “I was just feeling my shot. Once I got the first one down, I was nothing but net.”
St. Ignatius sizzled early, hitting four 3-pointers in the first quarter for a 14-10 lead. But Mitty scored the next 15 points and never surrendered the lead as it beat St. Ignatius for the second time in less than three weeks.
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“We’ve kind of found our identity of who we are defensively and offensively,” Mitty coach Tim Kennedy said. “It’s a tribute to our guys. They’ve just bought into what we’re trying to do and they’re going out and executing. Different guys are stepping up each time. We throw in Devan, a freshman, and he’s knocking down shots. It’s a total team effort. We’re kind of rolling where we want to be right now.”
Mitty will be making its third trip to an Open final since the CCS added the division in 2013. The Monarchs won the title in 2013 and ’14.
The challenge Friday will be mighty large. Bellarmine is 25-1, including two wins over Mitty.
“We haven’t had our best showing against Bellarmine,” Kennedy said. “So we definitely want to compete at our highest level. It’s going to be a challenge for us because they’re rolling right now.”
Given where Mitty stood two weeks ago, a chance to win the Open crown is a pretty dramatic ascent.
“It’s amazing,” senior forward Mike Diaz said. “The only other time I’ve been there was my freshman year, and I didn’t really get to play. So I feel like this is my first time I’ll actually be able to do it. To be able to do it in my last year, it’s amazing. I love these guys.”
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