TKA begins with CCS Open road win over Bellarmine

CCS BOYS BASKETBALL

The King’s Academy’s Xavier Barnett drives to the basket against two Bellarmine defenders during the first quarter of Friday night’s CCS Open Division playoff game at Bellarmine. photos by Tony Avelar

The King’s Academy’s Hezekiah Sires blocks a shot by Bellarmine’s Luca Chan (23) in the first quarter Friday.

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By Christian Babcock

cbabcock@bayareanewsgroup.com

SAN JOSE — The King’s Academy has come to make noise in the Central Coast Section.

A year ago, the small Sunnyvale school romped through the enrollment-based CCS Division IV playoffs, won a NorCal regional title and nearly took home a state crown.

This year, the Knights reached the CCS Open Division bracket as the No. 5 seed, poised to compete against West Catholic Athletic League heavyweights.

On Friday night, TKA showed that it can do more than just compete. The Knights controlled their matchup with No. 4 Bellarmine throughout, holding the lead by at least seven points after every quarter and methodically navigating their way to a 46-35 win that delivered one message.

“They put TKA on the map tonight,” Knights coach Cameron Bradford said. “So I’m super excited. I’m just super proud of the guys.”

King’s Academy (22-3) faced quality competition in nonleague play, beating Amador Valley and losing a close game with Archbishop Mitty. Those experiences gave the Knights confidence they could compete with any team.

On the home floor of one of storied programs in the WCAL, TKA proved itself right.

“I know no one else believed in us, but we knew in that locker room that we had a great chance to go out here and make it happen,” Bradford said. “The guys stuck to the game plan and were gritty, tough, together. So I’m super proud of the team.”

“We’ve really been doing great,” said sophomore star Boss Mhoon, who played in his third game since returning from a fractured ankle. “Beating a WCAL team as a smaller school, it feels great.”

The Knights went up six in the fourth quarter on Adrian Barnett’s quick layup thanks to a nice post feed from Hezekiah Sires.

TKA further sealed the outcome with a huge corner 3-pointer by Claxton Ladine that stretched the defeat near double digits.

“We weren’t making shots,” Bellarmine coach Alex Sarrett said. “They controlled the momentum. They just got cleaner looks than we did, so credit to them.”

Now the Knights will get ready to head up to San Francisco to face top seed Archbishop Riordan, the favorite to win the Open and the two-time defending champion. Bradford said Friday’s win gives TKA the confidence to compete with any team in the section.

“We know Riordan is gonna be a tough animal, whole different animal,” he said, “but we’re excited for the challenge, and we’re ready to get after it.”

Mhoon led TKA with 11 points, and the Knights got balanced scoring contributions from Barnett (9), Ladine (7), Sires (7), Scotty Beamish (5) and Xavier Barnett (5). Will Corbett and Brennan Williams led Bellarmine (16-9) with 12 points each.