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Sacred Heart Prep is easily one of the top eight boys basketball teams in the Central Coast Section and have likely done enough to secure a spot in the coveted Open Division.
SHP won its seventh straight game Sunday, beating rival Menlo School 68-33 to open a 3-game lead over second place The King’s Academy in the West Bay Athletic League.
SHP (18-3, 11-0) has three games remaining in the regular season while TKA (12-7, 7-2) has five left. A win over host Crystal Springs Uplands on Tuesday would clinch the league title for the Gators, who already own two wins over TKA.
Menlo (12-8, 6-4) is in fourth place, a half-game behind Priory. The Knights have a home game against Harker on Tuesday night. Priory travels to Pinewood and TKA hosts Eastside Prep.
A spot in the Open Division would guarantee at least one game in March for the Gators, who have lost once to a CCS opponent — at Bellarmine.
The CCS seeding committee meets on Feb. 16 to decide the brackets.
SHP senior guard Aidan Braccia, who will be playing for Belmont University (Nashville) in the fall, enjoys playing with this group. A lot.
“Where do I start?” he said rhetorically when asked about what he likes about the team. “We love to run, we love to shoot, we’re averaging 70 points a game, which is awesome, and we have to play defense.”
Sacred Heart Prep scores at a 72.0 per game pace while allowing 45.0 per contest. Pinewood is the next best offense, averaging 58.3. Two other teams allow 50.5 points a game.
“Off the court we hang together,” Braccia said. “We’re best friends. Emmer Nichols gives everything he has in his heart. Kevin Carney, who has worked so hard the past four years, it’s awesome the way he’s playing. Sachit Sinha … this whole group has just worked hard preparing for the season.”
The Gators surpassed last year’s total of 1,507 points in 22 games with their effort against Menlo. They have 1,513 points in 21 games.
Sam Reznik led Menlo with six points.