SANTA CLARA – When Archbishop Riordan wing Kaia Berridge jumped, his Archbishop Mitty defender did the same. With every eyeball in Santa Clara University’s gymnasium fixed upon the senior wing, the crowd of thousands simultaneously created a collective “oooooh” sound in anticipation of the incredible.
Berridge rewarded the masses with the dunk of the year.
Ignoring both his defender and earth’s gravity, Berridge cocked his right arm back and proceeded to slam the most deafening two points of his career with two and a half minutes left in the Central Coast Section boys basketball championship game.
“I was like ‘I hope he jumps with me’ and then I punched it on him,” Berridge said. “That was the best dunk of my career.”
Archbishop Riordan’s Andrew Hilman (2) shoots the ball against Archbishop Mitty’s Gavin Ripp (10) and Archbishop Mitty’s Caeden Hutcherson (5) during the second half of the Central Coast Section boys Open Division championship at Leavey Center at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, Calif., on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
There were still two and a half minutes in Riordan’s 59-53 victory, but the dunk gave the Crusaders the juice they needed to close out the program’s second Open title in the past three seasons.
“Whew, that was the exclamation point,” Riordan coach Joe Curtin said. “After that dunk went down, I knew we were going to win the game.”
Riordan will be seeded in the Open Division bracket, the highest level, in the NorCal playoffs when those are released on Sunday.
Friday’s slugfest showed that the Crusaders are capable of winning any kind of game against NorCal’s elite.
After defeating the San Jose school in overtime during their first matchup, and blowing the Monarchs out by 20 in the second, Riordan’s third victory over Mitty was an old-fashioned defensive struggle between the best teams in the West Catholic Athletic League.
Mitty turned the game into a halfcourt affair, and the usually up-tempo Riordan was more than happy to oblige in a game where space was earned and every shot was contested. Riordan led 24-21 at halftime, and 40-36 after three quarters.
“The guys left it all on the floor,” Mitty coach Tim Kennedy said. “We’re still kind of in shock, where we thought we had our shots, and we know we had our chances, but they made more plays than we did.”
A 7-0 Riordan run late in the third, which consisted of one Berridge 3-pointer, an Andrew Hilman coast-to-coast layup and a rare easy dunk in transition for Hilman, put the Crusaders up 40-31.
Mitty responded by scoring the final five points of the game, the last basket of the quarter being Gavin Ripp’s soft hook over 6-foot-10 Nes Emeneke’s towering arms.
“It’s a tough loss, losing to them twice now in the finals,” Ripp said. “We just have to come through on Monday, go to practice and get ready for our next game.”
Archbishop Mitty’s Gavin Ripp (10) shoots the ball against Archbishop Riordan’s Zion Sensley (24) in the first half of the Central Coast Section boys Open Division championship at Leavey Center at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, Calif., on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
Two Tyler Jones free throws cut Riordan’s lead to 40-38 with six and a half minutes left in the game, but Mitty wouldn’t get any closer. Dorde Curcic made a three and Zion Sensley was able to leak out for a transition layup to extend Riordan’s lead to seven.
After the teams traded baskets and free throws, Mitty cut the lead to 50-44 with under three minutes remaining. Mitty’s robust student section, positioned directly across from the Kennedy and the Monarchs bench, was never louder than when after the final free throw dropped.
A few scattered groans replaced those cheers after Berridge’s dunk, and then silence after John Tofi made a layup to give the Crusaders a 10-point lead with two minutes remaining.
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“He has the most sick dunks on the team, but he doesn’t show it in the game for some reason,” Riordan’s Jasir Rencher said. “Because oh my gosh, that was crazy.”
Mitty, which qualified for NorCal play as a CCS Open participant, made a couple of layups to cut Riordan’s lead to six again with a little over a minute left in the game, but Riordan kept extending the lead with Rencher free throws.
Riordan’s bouncy wing made it clear that he believed his team was ready for a run through NorCal.
“We’ve proven we’re the best team in the CCS,” Rencher said. “But we’re not done. We want to get a state championship, and that’s what we’re going to do.”
Archbishop Riordan’s Jasir Rencher (4) jumps to block Archbishop Mitty’s Caeden Hutcherson (5) during the second half of the Central Coast Section boys Open Division championship at Leavey Center at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, Calif., on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
Archbishop Riordan’s Andrew Hilman (2) passes the ball during the second half of the Central Coast Section boys Open Division championship at Leavey Center at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, Calif., on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
Archbishop Riordan’s Zion Sensley (24) takes a shot against Archbishop Mitty’s Aaron Biebel (4) during the second half of the Central Coast Section boys Open Division championship at Leavey Center at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, Calif., on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
Archbishop Riordan’s Ryder Bush (5) takes a shot against /m2/ and Archbishop Mitty’s Grayson Jalal (24) during the second half of the Central Coast Section boys Open Division championship at Leavey Center at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, Calif., on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
Archbishop Riordan’s Dorde Curcic (0) passes the ball against Archbishop Mitty’s Tyler Jones (3)during the second half of the Central Coast Section boys Open Division championship at Leavey Center at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, Calif., on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)