Division I Boys’ Basketball Playoffs : Mt. Carmel 58-40 Loser to Santana

John Bobof, Santana High School boys basketball coach, knew that if the top-seeded Sultans were going to reach the Division I final, it would have to beat the spread.

Santana was able to find a crack in the fourth-seeded Mt. Carmel spread offense late in the second quarter Tuesday night and went on to an easy, 58-40 semifinal victory at Mira Mesa High School.

Santana will play seventh-seeded Morse in the Division I final Friday at the Sports Arena.

“As soon as we got ahead, it forced them out of their game plan,” Bobof said. “The first half, we couldn’t do anything right.”

Except for center Stu Back.

Back began to take control at the end of the second quarter. With Mt. Carmel leading, 22-18, Back blocked a shot that turned into a fast-break basket by Scott Thompson. With 42 seconds left in the half, Back drove inside for a layup and was fouled. His subsequent free throw gave Santana a 23-22 lead at the half.

Back scored again on a turn around jumper to open the third quarter. The basket kept the momentum in Santana’s favor, and the Sultans scored two more baskets for a six-point run and a 29-22 lead.

“If we had got behind again, it would have been a different ball game,” Bobof said.

But Santana (23-2) never did and seemed to put the game away after a wrestling match between Sultan guard Tim Barry and Mt. Carmel guard Chris Conrad.

The two were wrestling at midcourt after diving for a loose ball. Barry ended up with a bloody nose, but the referees did not call any fouls. Instead, Mt. Carmel’s Jeff Borja and Pat Consla were assessed technicals for leaving the bench during the tussle.

Barry, with a piece of cotton stuffed in his nose to help stop the bleeding, went to the line and made four consecutive technical free throws to give Santana a 37-26 lead.

“That definitely helped change the momentum,” Bobof said.

Mt. Carmel (17-10) rallied to score five consecutive points and cut the lead to 37-31, but Santana regrouped in the fourth quarter and outscored Mt. Carmel, 21-9.

Back finished the game with 22 points, including 10 in the fourth quarter.