Archbishop Mitty boys basketball coach Brian Eagleson said an officials’ error didn’t decide Friday’s Division II state championship, won by Mater Dei 69-64. But in a game that went into overtime, every basket was big.
Including one that wasn’t.
With the score tied 25-25 and 2:36 left in the second quarter, Mater Dei’s Taylor King knocked over Mitty guard Kevin Toth on a drive and threw up a shot that rolled off the back of the rim.
The Mitty bench, and much of the crowd at Sacramento’s Arco Arena, couldn’t believe the call. Toth appeared to be there in plenty of time with his feet set to take a charge. And it would have been the third foul for King, the Duke-bound McDonald’s All-American who would score 29 points.
But what seemed to be overlooked in the excitement was that Mater Dei was awarded two points for the basket – even though the ball never went in. A free throw finished off the three-point play, which gave Mater Dei a 28-25 lead that it didn’t relinquish until midway through the third quarter.
The awarding of the basket was “extremely disappointing,” Eagleson said. “I would hope someone catches those types of calls in a game of that magnitude.”
Mitty Athletic Director Will Scharrenberg learned about the mistake a day later from his brother, who watched the televised game on tape delay. Though he doesn’t know what he would have done, Scharrenberg said he wished he had realized what had happened at the time.
“I don’t know if there is any recourse,” he said. “It’s a game and mistakes are made.”
A flurry of e-mails to her office alerted CIF Executive Director Marie Ishida to the controversy Monday.
“My only comment is that our game management people are looking into it,” she said.
Boys tennis: Sacred Heart Prep traveled to Newport Beach last weekend and won the prestigious National Invitational Tournament.
The competition includes some of the best teams in the country, and the Gators beat No.1 seed Santa Barbara 5-4 in the final. Santa Barbara had knocked the Gators out in the first round of last year’s tournament.
Sacred Heart Prep, which won the Central Coast Section and NorCal titles last season, was unseeded. The Gators got a clutch win from David McCall who defeated Bill Grokenberger 8-5 in the No.4 singles match.
The Gators improved to 12-0 and they have wins over the top teams in CCS – including Menlo School, Bellarmine College Prep and Saratoga.
Mirza Klis has stepped into the No. 1 singles position with Jamie Hutter sidelined with a pinched nerve.
“Our team has played real well,” coach Losaline Mafileo said. “We’ve matured a lot on and off the court. We have a lot of depth, that is one of our strengths.”
Boys volleyball: Mountain View has emerged as one of the top teams in the CCS, led by 6-foot-6 outside hitter Ben Douglas, who is headed to UC Santa Barbara on scholarship.
The Spartans (18-0, 8-0 in the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League’s De Anza Division) won the 12-team Harker Tournament on Saturday with wins over Lynbrook, Seaside, Eastside College Prep, Leigh and in the championship match Harker.
Second-year coach Andrew Girshfeld said the team has clicked because five members played together on the Bay to Bay club team.
Douglas was named tournament MVP, and John Fisher and Lev Girshfeld made the all-tournament team.
Baseball: The race for the Blossom Valley Athletic League’s Mount Hamilton Division title seems wide open eight games into league play.
Live Oak, Leigh and Santa Teresa are tied for first with 6-2 league records, and Leland is a game back at 5-3.
The Acorns are in their first year playing in the Mount Hamilton Division after moving over from the Tri-County Athletic League. Matthew Cummins (.550 batting average) and Eddie Gomez (.436) provide plenty of offense.
Leigh has a powerful offense led by Matthew Brady (.476), Chris Balcom-Miller (.463) and Kevin Arroyo (.421).
Mercury News staff writer Dennis Knight contributed to this report.
