Erik Boal
John Jordan said the inexperience of having five sophomores and
four juniors should no longer be a factor 22 games into the season,
but unfortunately for the St. Francis High basketball coach, it was
Friday night against Mission Hills Alemany.
The Golden Knights hurt their cause by missing 37 field-goal
attempts and turning the ball over 23 times. But as much as those
deficiencies plagued St. Francis, it might have been the play of
Brandon Robnett that hurt Jordan's squad the most.
With his cousin, L.A. Laker forward Tracy Murray in attendance at
St. Francis High, Robnett hit six three-pointers en route to a
game-high 29 points -- including 20 in the second half -- as Alemany
atoned for a one-point loss Jan. 17 at home by beating the Golden
Knights, 79-67.
"[Robnett] really hurt us, but I'm disappointed that we didn't
shoot the ball a little better at home," said Jordan, whose squad
(3-19, 1-9 in league) earned its lone league win by posting a 59-58
triumph against the Indians (8-16, 2-9).
"When we get open looks, we need to put them down. In the first
half, we had some opportunities to have the lead, but we turned the
ball over too many times and Alemany turned them into fast-break
layups."
Robnett broke the game open in the third, scoring 15 of his team's 27 points to build a 57-46 advantage entering the fourth.
Scott Burton led St. Francis with 26 points and five steals, Mark
Menzies added 11 points and seven rebounds, and Elliot Jones had nine
points.
