Monique Schoenfeld, Town Crier
St. Francis High's Mike Juco drives to the hoop in last week's semifinal game vs. Menlo-Atherton.
Town Crier Staff Writer
Boys Basketball Playoffs
The St. Francis High boys basketball team overwhelmed its first two Central Coast Section Division II playoff opponents with its tenacious full-court defense.
But the top-seeded Lancers got a heaping tablespoon of their own medicine in last Saturday's CCS final at the San Jose State Event Center, where they fell 69-52 to No. 3 North Salinas.
"They did what we like to do, only they did it better," said St. Francis coach Steve Filios. "They swarmed us, and their defensive pressure was stifling."
The quicker, more athletic Vikings put the clamps on St. Francis from the opening tip and didn't let go until the final buzzer.
North Salinas forced 22 turnovers - leading to 16 points - and held St. Francis to 37.7 percent shooting (20 of 53).
The Lancers' inside game was almost non-existent, as the Vikings constantly double-teamed any player who touched the ball in the low block. St. Francis was erratic from the perimeter and downright anemic from the three-point arc - missing 10 of 13 attempts.
St. Francis (21-8) did manage to stay close in the first half, though. The Lancers trailed 32-26 at intermission, as Chase Lyman kept them in it by scoring nine of his team-high 11 points.
But things turned ugly for St. Francis in the third quarter. Real ugly.
North Salinas (25-2) took complete command of the game by scoring the first 14 points of the quarter.
"That second-half spurt is something we've done a few times during the year," said North Salinas coach Mike Deckelmann. "It really got us going."
The Lancers committed four turnovers, missed two shots and a pair of free throws during the Vikings' run.
Troy Bienemann finally ended St. Francis' scoring drought by nailing a short bank shot with 4:48 left in the period.
By quarter's end, St. Francis had burned three time outs and found themselves down 48-35.
"The third-quarter run hurt us," Filios said. "We really struggled and they were able to bust the game open."
A pair of free throws by Adam Buck pulled the Lancers within 57-45 at the 2:50 mark of the fourth quarter, but they would get no closer.
North Salinas pushed the lead to 20 with just under a minute to play on back-to-back layups by Ferni Garza. Garza and Marcell Harris paced the Vikings with 18 points apiece.
North Salinas shot a blazing 49.1 percent from the field, making 27 of 55 shots.
Although the Lancers failed to win their second-straight CCS title, their season did not end Saturday.
St. Francis moved on to the NorCal Division II playoffs yesterday, playing a first-round game at No. 8 San Ramon Valley (23-5). A win would put the unseeded Lancers in Thursday's semifinals at either No. 1 Grant (23-3) or No. 8 Shasta (16-11).
The NorCal Division II championship will be played at 4:15 p.m., Saturday at ARCO Arena in Sacramento.