MORGAN HILL >> St. Francis High’s boys basketball team took on a team that competes two divisions higher than the Sharks do in the Pacific Coast Athletic League in the Central Coast Section playoffs on Tuesday.

The outcome wasn’t shocking, and neither was the Sharks’ hustle and fight.

Senior point guard Nash Horton scored 27 points, 14 rebounds, and seven steals, but the No. 5 Sharks fell to the No. 4 Oakwood 86-60 in the Division V quarterfinals in front of a supportive crowd, whose roars echoed in the Hawks’ gymnasium.

“I told them after the game, ‘When you’re in the playoffs, you’re going to run into somebody that’s better than you. That doesn’t mean you have to lose. You just wanna lose playing a good game, and I don’t think we played our best tonight.’ That’s kinda the disappointing thing.

“But, like I told the seniors, St. Francis has a good tradition. We’re probably one of the only (two) teams in Santa Cruz County to make a state-title game. St. Francis has always had tradition, but we are still trying to build it to a consistent team that’s playing in the upper leagues, and I think those seniors did a great job of kinda starting that out for us.”

The Sharks (22-4 overall), who went unbeaten in the Cypress Division after posting a 2-22 campaign a year earlier, held their head high in defeat: they knew they had a great season. They also knew they didn’t play their best when they needed to.

“No matter what, we had a hell of a season,” Horton said. “We went undefeated in our league. And bad games happen, and we had a bad game. And I don’t think tonight’s game reflected our season, at all. … I’ve loved this whole season. We had a great team; we had great chemistry. We’re, seriously, like a family. Our seniors loved each other. I don’t regret not playing last season, but I will say this season was a lot of fun.”

Even at their best, it would’ve been hard to top the Hawks (15-10), the defending CCS D-V champion, who finished in fifth place in the Gabilan Division.

The Hawks rebounded well, passed with deft speed in transition and in their half-court set, and, most important, they made baskets. A lot of them. The Hawks never trailed.

With their win, the Hawks advance to the semifinals. They’ll face No. 1 Woodside Priory (19-6) in Portola Valley on Thursday at 7 p.m.

No. 3 Summit Shasta (22-3) plays at No. 2 Palma (18-6) in Salinas in the other semifinal.

Senior guard Anthony Felix made the Hawks’ first three field goals, staking them to a 7-2 lead, and the Hawks never looked back. He finished with a team-high 22 points.

“I thought we played great as a team” Felix said. “We moved the ball really well. we got up and down the court and played really great defense. It was just, overall, a really good win.”

Horton, who is committed to play baseball at Pepperdine University next year, scored all of his team’s points in the first quarter. The Sharks trailed 20-12 after eight minutes, and 41-25 at the half.

“Going into the game, I thought we had to turn it into a 3-point contest to win it,” Gomez said. “And we did, and they shot better than us. They shot lights out. Looking at it, there was a little bit of a size advantage, but I don’t think that really killed us. It was more, we didn’t really have a good shooting night, and they shot the (heck) out of it.”

The Hawks heated up from beyond the arc over the final 10 minutes of the game, when they made nine of their 11 3-pointers.

Junior guard Damion Brown made four 3s and finished with 12 points for Oakwood, and senior guard Langston Watson scored 10 points.

Horton made a pair of 3s, including a bank shot at the buzzer, to close the third quarter and narrow the Sharks’ deficit to 57-40.

After the Hawks opened the fourth quarter with an 8-0 run to go ahead 65-40, they subbed heavily. Robert Gomez, Horton, Mason Borrego, and Jacob Jimenez contributed to 9-0 run for the St. Francis, and the Hawks’ starters were put back on the floor.

Five Hawks made 3s in the fourth and the crowd grew louder with each basket.

St. Francis’ Gomez scored all nine of his points in the second half, but it wasn’t enough to offset the Hawks’ firepower and teamwork. Isaiah Villalobos and Marcus Gonzalez each scored six points for the Sharks. Jacob Jimenez pulled down 10 rebounds for the Sharks, and Gonzales had six rebounds.

Oakwood scored 98 points in a win over San Jose’s Overfelt in December, and has finished with 80 or more points in four other games.

Asked if the Hawks are going to score 100 soon, Felix said, “I think so. I think we’re gonna get there.”