Double OT buzzer-beater! SHP endures past Branson

By VYTAS MAZEIKA | vmazeika@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
SHP’s Charlie Selna hits buzzer-beater in double OT to topple Branson in NorCal D-I boys basketball quarterfinals. 

ATHERTON — Sister Sally Rude is a member of the Oakwood Community on the campus at Sacred Heart Prep.

She joined the rest of SHP fans inside the gymnasium Thursday night for a double-overtime thriller in the NorCal Division II boys basketball quarterfinals.

Sister Rude didn’t join the student body as it stormed the court following Charlie Selna’s game-winning shot at the buzzer for a 55-53 victory over visiting Branson, but her friend’s eyes fixated on the nun’s reaction.

“Immediately when I made it I saw her in the corner and she was jumping up and down,” Selna said. “That was an awesome sight. It was probably the highlight of my year so far.”

The third-seeded Gators (23-5) appeared in command midway through the fourth quarter, but couldn’t ice the game in regulation while going 3-of-8 from the line in the last 2½ minutes.

“It’s been a struggle at times this year,” said SHP coach Tony Martinelli, referring to the free-throw shooting. “Yeah, we missed a few of them and that opened the door for Branson. They kicked it down.”

No. 6 seed Branson (31-3) managed to erase a 12-point deficit and forced overtime off an inbound play to 6-foot-5 forward Lukas Prongos with 2.5 seconds left in regulation.

Exhausted after 32 minutes of nearly nonstop action, neither team managed to score in the first OT, as the Bulls missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 3.9 seconds to go.

“I’d give 10 years of my life for games like that,” Martinelli said. “That’s as good as it gets. To me, that’s why I love coaching basketball so much. You just forget these guys are still kids playing at this kind of level, it’s so impressive sometimes.”

Branson found itself behind 53-51 with 32.2 seconds left in the second overtime, but once again Prongos, who finished with a game-high 21 points, pulled the teams even.

“He had this matchup in his skill-set versus their bigs, so he had an advantage,” Branson coach Jonas Hosnick said. “Bottom line is we struggled against their zone. It hurt us. Against man-to-man we scored often and quickly, right? So it was really smart of those guys to go zone.”

With plenty of time on the clock, the Gators calmly dribbled up the court, swung the ball out to Everett Banks on the perimeter, who fed Selna in the paint for the game-winner as the horn sounded.

“You love that about seniors, right?” Martinelli said of Selna. “He’s not going to play in college, even though he definitely could. So knowing the finality of NorCals that this could be his last basketball game, I couldn’t have drawn it up any better to get it to the right guy.”

Selna, who stands 6 feet, 7 inches tall and weighs 215 pounds, stepped onto the hardwood just in time for the season opener. He spent the fall on the gridiron alongside a familiar assistant coach in his father Brian, a St. Francis grad who played football at Santa Clara University.
His toughness in the trenches as a tight end/tackle/defensive end proved pivotal in traffic Thursday night.

“I want to do everything I can to keep going with this team,” said Selna, who lauded Banks for the assist. “I love all my guys, I love all my coaches.”

Selna and fellow co-captain Jai Deshpande finished with 10 points apiece, while sophomore point guard Aidan Braccia scored a team-high 13.

“He’s a basketball-only guy,” Martinelli said. “And guys like that rise in the big moments. He’s played competitive AAU his whole life, so he’s gone against some of the best competition in the area and across the nation, really. So these kind of moments, he lives for them.”

He added: “Happy that I get to coach him for two more years.”

In a defensive grind for most of the night, Branson trailed 23-14 at the half and 31-23 entering the fourth quarter.

The Bulls also managed only 14 points in the first half during the North Coast Section Division III semifinals, and dug an early 16-4 deficit in Tuesday’s opening round of NorCals.

“We’ve had problems scoring in the first half,” Hosnick said. “I don’t know what we’re doing wrong, but the pattern held true to tonight. But, hey, obviously happy and proud of the guys for the way they fought back. We had a chance to win it.”

 
The Gators advanced to Saturday’s semifinal at No. 2 seed St. Patrick-St. Vincent (24-10) — a rematch of the season opener for SHP, which lost 68-65 on a neutral court.

This time it’s a road contest on a quick turnaround.

“I love getting to the office, getting film together, preparing, not sleeping, getting up in the morning, watching more film, getting to go into practice, put a game plan in and then you’re playing the next day,” Martinelli said. “That’s about as it good as it gets. It feels like the NCAA tournament must feel to some of those coaches.”

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Sacred Heart Schools Atherton

Sacred Heart Schools, Atherton

150 Valparaiso Ave
Atherton, CA 94027
650 322 1866
Founded by the Society of the Sacred Heart, SHS is a Catholic, independent, co-ed day school for students in preschool through grade 12