BOYS BASKETBALL: St. Francis Bests Leigh in CCS Semis

St. Francis 53, Leigh 46

The Stars: An unlikely hero came through for the uber-deep St. Francis squad Tuesday night.

St. Francis senior guard Kenny Harris Jr. scored 14 points, but it was center Chris Chang that was the real scene stealer. Chang came through with a crucial team-high 17 points. The bruiser feasted down low off missed shots and finished several nice interior feeds from guards that were able to get into the teeth of the defense.

St. Francis defeated Leigh 53-46 in the first of two Central Coast Section Division II Boys Basketball semifinals played at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills Tuesday night.

The Turning Point: Still just a four-point game in the fourth quarter, an Ivan Margaretic 3-pointer rolled its way home, putting the Lancers ahead 42-35 with five minutes left to play. On the very next possession, Chang converted an up-and-under finish on the break off a Longhorns turnover to extend the advantage to nine points.

The Quote: “It was good to play that way early,” St. Francis senior Kenny Harris Jr. said about the games fast paced nature in the first half. “We’re a run and jump team. We’re a better full court team than we are a half court one.”

 Next up for the Lancers is No. 1 seed Archbishop Mitty. The Monarchs won both meetings with St. Francis in the regular season.

 “Friday, we just have to crash the boards,” Harris Jr. said. “They have a great team. I’m excited to be in the finals.”

 What's Next? The all-West Catholic League Division II final is the nightcap at Santa Clara University Friday night. Tip-time is set for 8:30 pm. Mitty handled Palo Alto 61-39 on Tuesday night.

Bottom Line: Pressuring the basketball up-and-down the floor eventually wore down the upstart Leigh squad. Armed with guards that can score, Leigh hung around until the middle of the fourth quarter. The superior Lancers quickness and depth never let up. Seniors Vince Miles, Ivan Margaretic and Chris Chang finished the game strong for the No. 2 seed. They’ll need another swarm in numbers type of effort Friday night if the Lancers want to spring an upset over top-seeded Mitty.

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