ATHERTON — TJ O’Brien picked up three fouls in the first half, creating a situation in which he split time between the court, the bench, along with a couple quick trips up into the stands to get his hand taped up by the Sacred Heart Prep trainer.
But in the second half, foul trouble and an injured hand were scarcely factors whatsoever as he poured in 19 of his team-high 22 points to lead SHP to a West Bay Athletic League-clinching 57-49 victory over The King’s Academy.
“No, sir,” O’Brien said, responding to a comment that the injury didn’t seem to affect his shooting. “Got to knock them down in this situation. We really wanted this. We had it on our calendar to come out here and show what Sacred Heart Prep basketball is all about.”
Both teams began the game with high intensity, probably resulting in more turnovers than either coach would have preferred. SHP led 26-23 at halftime. TKA went up 29-26 after hitting a pair of 3-pointers to start the third quarter, but that was the last time the Gators trailed.
O’Brien, the team’s leading scorer on the season at 15.3 points per game, put up his 19 second-half points during a 31-17 run that ensured the win and the league title.
“He’s got one of the quicker first steps I’ve seen in our program, and he can shoot it so well,” SHP coach Tony Martinelli said. “You’ve got to go out and guard him and then he can get by. He makes really good decisions, finishes around the basket, or makes jump stops and kicks it out. He’s just a really complete basketball player.”
With O’Brien knocking down four 3-pointers, SHP (19-4, 9-0) made 10 3s compared to five for TKA.. Point guard Drew Wagner scored 11 points, making three 3s.
“That’s kind of the way basketball is now, the team that makes more 3s typically comes out on top,” Martinelli said. “One of our assistants, Pat Coffey, told me, ‘why don’t we go a little smaller, spread the floor out, open up some driving lanes, probably open the 3-point line.’ That worked to perfection.”
Caleb Hughey did his utmost to keep TKA within contact, scoring a game-high 24 points.
“It’s his first year as a starter, he’s really blossomed,” TKA coach Cameron Bradford said. “We can trust him to get a bucket for us when we need it. He performed tonight at a super high level. I’m really proud of him.”
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Caedmon Dickson added 10 points for TKA (16-6, 7-2).
The Gators have one WBAL game left, at home with Priory on Tuesday. Then almost certainly they will be part of the eight-team Central Coast Section Open Division, a prospect the team relishes.
“When I look at our resume I think we’ve done enough to get us out of D-IV,” Martinelli said. “To be one of the top eight in the section, that’s always a goal of the program. The Open is something these guys have had their eyes on.”
“That’s where we want to be,” O’Brien said. “We know we can compete with anyone.”
