Boys Basketball: Pilots Enter Showdown Against Salesian

In ’s quest to compete for a BSAL championship, Wednesday night represents a golden opportunity. The Pilots will drive a few miles north to Richmond, where they’ll be hosted by Salesian.

But the Pride aren’t big on hospitality.

Salesian has rolled to a 16-0 start, blowing their way past some of the Bay Area’s best. Currently , Salesian enters Wednesday’s game fresh off a in the Martin Luther King Jr. Classic at Haas Pavilion.

The Pilots, who ranked No. 9 in the last set of Patch rankings, have looked to be the Pride’s top competition in the BSAL, but they’ll need to improve on their most recent performance, a on Saturday.

Between St. Joe’s, Salesian, and St. Mary’s, the BSAL boasts three of the best small-division programs in the state (Salesian and St. Mary’s are in Division IV; St. Joe’s is in Division V). The Pilots already dispensed of St. Mary’s, last year’s Division IV state runner-up, last week in a resounding 54-37 win.

But Saturday’s loss killed all of the good vibes created by the Pilots’ win over the Panthers.

“We beat St. Mary’s by almost 20, and then we come out and lose to Drake by 10,” Pilots coach Don Lippi said after Saturday’s loss. “It doesn’t add up.”

For the Pilots to return to course, they’ll have to do what no team has done this season: defeat a Salesian team that goes at least 10 players deep and boasts more athleticism, skill and size than virtually any other team in the Bay Area. While no single player leads the Pride — they get contributions from all over the roster — their success starts in the backcourt.

Junior guard Dominic Artis has led the team in scoring for much of the season, while sophomore swingman Jabari Bird is quickly emerging as one of the nation’s top recruits in his class. St. Joe’s guards Dominic Lippi and Jacari Whitfield will have their hands full with their Salesian counterparts.

But the most interesting matchup of the game will be in the post, where St. Joe’s 6-10 Brendan Keane, who has signed with Northern Colorado and is ranked by ESPN.com as the No. 53 center in the nation, will match up with Salesian center Freddie Tagaloa.

Tagaloa, a 6-8, 300-pounder who is one of the country’s most highly-sought football recruits, can match Keane’s size and strength on the low blocks. Keane, a highly-skilled big man, will need to get his offensive game going for the Pilots to have a chance.