High school basketball playoff roundup: Cardinal Newman boys score another upset

The 15th-seeded Cardinal Newman boys basketball team shocked another favored opponent in the state Division II playoffs, this time knocking off host and seven-seed Serra 68-56 in a second-round game on Saturday night.

“I don't think our kids know that we are underdogs - nor do they care,” Cardinal Newman coach Tom Bonfigli said. “We played with great poise and resilience tonight.”

Having defeated No. 2 Whitney in an opening-round game on Wednesday, the Cardinals (28-4) had an encore performance in dismantling Serra of San Mateo (15-14), which plays in the ultra-competitive West Catholic League on the San Francisco Peninsula.

“Serra was having a hard time figuring out what we were doing defensively,” Bonfigli said. “We had great defensive rotation. We kept switching up how we covered their pick-and-roll.”

Cardinal Newman will travel to Hayward to play No. 3 Moreau Catholic (23-9) of the Mission Valley League Tuesday at 7 p.m. for a NorCal bracket semifinal, and will be a substantial underdog for the third consecutive game in the tournament.

“Moreau Catholic has two really outstanding players, including the top-rated freshman in the country,” Bonfigli said . “We will be as prepared as we can be and play as hard as we can. We are going to play our game. Our kids are tough.”

Against Serra, Cardinal Newman was led by Damian Wallace (a season-high 29 points on 10 of 19 shooting), Jalen Dural (8 points, 11 rebounds) and Brad Morato (16 points off the bench on 7 of 11 shooting). Bonfigli added that Steven Zichichi (6 assists, 5 rebounds) had an excellent game along with Wallace, spearheading the Cardinals' counter to beat the Serra full-court press.

“Steven had a phenomenal game. He did a great job of handling the ball against Serra's pressure,” Bonfigli said in describing how his backcourt broke the Padres' press. “Damian would get the ball and split Serra's double team and go to the basket. He was quicker than their defenders.”

Serra was led by Masie Mohammadi with 17 points and Henry James with 12 points.

However, Serra's Jack Wilson, a 7-foot-1 center bound for Oregon State next year, was bottled up for only 6 points by the shifting Cardinals defense.

“We did a lot of collapsing on Wilson and blocked him out,” Bonfigli said. “He really couldn't get to the basket and they were having trouble getting him the ball. We were swarming the post all game.”

The Cardinals' swarm not only clamped down on Serra's big man but was the impetus for a 36-28 advantage in rebounds, including a 14-7 Cardinal Newman edge on the offensive glass.

“We were really aggressive on offensive rebounds. Our bench played really well,” Bonfigli said. “We are playing the best we have played all year. We have great seniors and they want to keep playing.”

In the girls basketball state tournament:

Loyalton 41, Rincon Valley Christian 34

The second-seeded Eagles' season ended in a NorCal Division VI semifinal of the state tournament on Saturday night as they fell to the visiting third-seeded Grizzlies.

RVC's Caroline Chambers scored 20 points and hauled in 10 rebounds before fouling out with 6:58 to play in the fourth quarter.

Loyalton's Brianna Rowen had 15 points.

It was Chambers' foul-out that changed the complexion of the game. The teams were tied 28-28 at the end of the third quarter and when Chambers got whistled for her fifth foul, effectively cutting down the Eagles' offensive firepower and allowing the Grizzlies to pull away in the final minutes.

“We played the fourth quarter without our leading scorer. We had to start fouling to get back in the game and they started making free throws,” RVC coach Richard Higgenbottom said. “Our game plan was to keep it close going into the fourth quarter. Typically, we win games in the fourth quarter because we are usually better conditioned than our opponents.”

With Chambers gone, however, the Eagles could only manage 6 points in the fourth quarter and saw their NorCal title hopes slip away.

On the defensive side, RVC (24-8) held Loyalton (26-1) to its second-lowest scoring output of the year in a game that was rough-and-tumble.

“This was the most physical game I've ever coached,” Higgenbottom said. “It was a really defensive game. Our defense played extremely well to hold them to 41 points … It was a really good year.”