by Matthew Suh ’24
San Jose, Calif. — A mild crowd shuffled into Patrick Wayne Valley Memorial Gymnasium on Friday night as the Serra Padres traveled down to San Jose to face the Bellarmine Bells. After a surprise National Anthem performance from Rafe Ryan ‘24, the Bells started off strong and never looked back until they blew the lead and collapsed in the fourth quarter.
From the beginning, the matchup was expected to be close as the Bellarmine and Serra were both 1-2 in WCAL (West Catholic Athletic League) play. Bellarmine ranked #4 in WCAL and Serra ranked #5. Bellarmine was missing a key player in Bray Harris ‘25, and Serra was missing a key player in Ryan Pettis ‘24. Bellarmine was coming off a big loss, and Serra was coming off a big loss.
On a night when Bellarmine only averaged 9.5 points per quarter, Bellarmine’s lock-down defense is what allowed them to be so successful. Bellarmine started off strong with key baskets made by Julian Gospich ‘24 and Nick Corbett ‘24 and was able to maintain a lead over Serra all night until the fourth quarter.
With just 2 minutes and 56 seconds remaining in regulation, Serra’s guard, Mikey Ballout ‘25, was able to come up clutch and tie the game at 33-33. The Bells struggled to find open looks on the following possession and Ballout ‘25 was able to cash in on another clutch two-pointer. As Bellarmine struggled to find clean looks, Serra took full advantage as Ballout ‘25 cashed in on a dagger 3-pointer to silence the crowd at home. Noah Custodio ‘24 was able to connect on a meaningless 3-pointer before Serra ran out the clock and took home the win.
After playing with a lead all night, Bellarmine’s inability to score in the fourth quarter led to their demise. What turned out to be a low-scoring, back-and-forth defensive game between these two all-boys schools made every missed shot 10x more important.
With a 6-8 overall record (1-3 WCAL record), the Bellarmine Bells will look to bounce back in a big way against the St. Ignatius Wildcats this coming Tuesday (1/16) at Patrick Wayne Valley Memorial Gymnasium.
Missed the game? Check out Bellarmine’s broadcast below!
Serra vs. Bellarmine | Basketball Broadcast (Click Here)
Matthew Suh is a staff writer and contributor for The Bell Online, Talking Points Sports, and The Press Box. Follow Matthew on Twitter @matthewsuh.