BOYS BASKETBALL: Improving St. Francis Wins Big

The Score: St. Francis 69, St. Ignatius 53.

The Star: Sean Dawkins led St. Francis with 19 points. He hit two 3-pointers in the first quarter to set the tone for the host Lancers’ West Catholic Athletic League win.

The Turning Point: The Lancers broke a tie game at halftime open at the start of the third quarter, going on a 10-2 run that Khalid Johnson capped with a baseline 3-pointer.

The Quote: "(St. Ignatius) had a great week this week and for us to come out here and play like we did tonight, that means a lot. I think we’re getting ready to turn the corner a little bit." -- St. Francis coach Mike Motil, on the Lancers’ victory over a St. Ignatius team coming off victories over Mitty and Sacred Heart Cathedral -- two WCAL opponents St. Francis has lost to.

What’s Next? Lancers host Bellarmine on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. The Bells entered Saturday in a four-way tie for first place with Serra, Mitty and Sacred Heart Cathedral, but .

The Bottom Line: This isn't your 2010 St. Francis team that went unbeaten in WCAL play and advanced to the state finals, but after heavy graduation losses, the new-look Lancers are carving out their own identity.
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The St. Francis High boys basketball team needed a boost coming off a tough West Catholic Athletic League loss to Sacred Heart Cathedral on Thursday.

The Lancers, simply put, aren’t used to losing after going 14-0 in league last year on their way to a Division II state title game appearance.
 
“We were 2-2 in league and people were looking at us like, ‘What can they do?’ ” senior guard Sean Dawkins said.

St. Francis isn’t the same team after graduating five starters and two key reserves, but the Lancers showed on Saturday that one thing they can do is win a pivotal league matchup against a hot team in resounding fashion.

Those circumstances made a 69-53 win against visiting St. Ignatius that much sweeter.

St. Ignatius (10-5, 2-3 WCAL) was coming off victories over Mitty and Sacred Heart Cathedral.

“It means a lot to us,” Dawkins said. “We lost to Mitty and we lost to Sacred Heart Cathedral, so this kind of boosts our moral.

“We showed that we can beat SI, so that’s pretty good.”

Dawkins scored 19 points to lead the Lancers (9-6, 3-2), and Khalid Johnson added nine points.

Johnny Mrlik scored a game-high 24 points for St. Ignatius.

St. Francis broke open a 25-25 deadlock at the start of the second half with a 10-2 run that that Johnson capped with a baseline 3-pointer.

The Lancers kept forcing the issue. Ivan Margaretic’s 3-pointer made it 46-30, and Johnson hit another 3-pointer late in the third quarter that made it 49-33.

Not bad for a WCAL team with minimal varsity experience.

“You have to play good teams to get better, that’s the only way,” St. Francis coach Mike Motil said.

Not that the Lancers haven’t experienced growing pains.

“They’re handling it well,” Motil said. “There’s obviously some frustration with the success we’ve had here the last few years, but our losses are to some pretty good teams.

“We’re kind of searching for when things are going bad, who’s going to step up for us, but I think we’re getting better. This is a good SI team we beat. They’ve had a great week this week and for us to come out here and play like we did tonight, that means a lot. I think we’re getting ready to turn the corner a little bit.”
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St. Francis 69, St. Ignatius 53

SI – 10 15 12 13 -- 53

SF — 16 9 25 19 -- 69

SI: Quintana 2 3-4 7, Mrlik 4 15-16 24, O'Conner 2 3-4 8, Domingo 1 3-5 5, Silvia 4 0-1 8, Aguilar 0 1-4 1. Totals 13 25-34 53.

SF: Miles 1 2-2 5, Johnson 3 0-0 9, Margaretic 2 2-4 7, Frazier 1 2-2 5, Tratter 3 1-2 8, Dawkins 5 7-9 19, Peterson 0 1-2 1, Dickey 2 5-7 9, Harris 2 2-3 6. Totals: 19 22-30 69.

3-point goals: SI: Mrlik, O'Conner. SF: Johnson 3, Dawkins 2, Miles, Margaretic, Frazier, Tratter.

Records: SI 10-5, 2-3 WCAL. St. Francis 9-6, 3-2.