While it may not have been the prettiest basketball game ever played, it was definitely an effective one as far as The Bishop’s School Knights are concerned. With a CIF Division IV title hanging in the balance last Saturday afternoon at the University of San Diego, Bishop’s used a tough defense to limit rival Francis Parker to 12 second-half points, en route to a 46-30 victory. The win gave the Knights the CIF gold and a first-round home game (March 10) in this week’s state playoffs. After falling behind 6-0 to start the game, Bishop’s righted the ship and carried a 26-18 lead into intermission. As he has for much of the year, junior Malik Love hit a key basket (3-pointer to end the second quarter) and give the Knights momentum at the half. “Our trademark is defense,” Bishop’s head coach Tom Tarantino said afterward. “Malik (hitting big shots) has done that all season. Each time we’ve played Parker the games have been closer, and we just needed to relax out there and let ’er rip.” Both teams struggled for offense in the third quarter, with a combined 10 points scored. Carrying a 32-22 lead into the final eight minutes of play, Bishop’s increased its advantage to 41-28 with 2:36 remaining in the game on a basket by senior Stephen Kaiser, essentially closing the door. While Love hit some big baskets to finish with 13 points, senior teammate David Stotelmyre tallied a game-high 14 to lead the way. “They (Francis Parker) play a Princeton-type offense and we were focused on our defense,” Stotelmyre said, noting that defense defines the Knights. “Winning the CIFs was our first goal of the season,” he added. While he won’t have some teammates with him next year due to graduation, Love could very well be back fighting for a CIF title. “This (winning CIFs) was our main goal at the start of the season,” Love said. “We came out today a little sluggish, but we take pride in our defense, and we did a good job against a team who we’ve played now three times this year. It is tough to beat a team three times because they know your plays and they play us hard.” Bishop’s fought hard but was eliminated March 10 in the state playoff versus Inglewood Morningside, 45-43.
