Ryan Pettis, ignited by his slam dunk, leads Serra to CCS playoff win over Sacred Heart Prep

SAN MATEO — It took a while for Ryan Pettis to get it going. But once he did, he made a big difference in Serra’s 59-49 victory Friday over Sacred Heart Prep in the Central Coast Section Open Division Pool A playoffs.

Pettis, a 6-foot-3 senior headed to play college ball across the country at Fordham, didn’t score until midway through the second quarter when he ripped home a slam to cap a 10-0 run that gave Serra a 19-16 lead.

He went on to score a game-high 22 points.

“Ryan was huge tonight,” Serra coach Chuck Rapp said. “Once we started moving the ball better, we got some better looks. Then Ryan made some plays, kind of took over the game a little bit. Did everything but sweep up the floor after. He was the D-I guy on the court today, and you could tell.”

No. 5 seed Sacred Heart Prep (20-5) jumped out to a 16-9 lead after one quarter. The Gators shot 50 percent that quarter (6 of 12) with point guard Drew Wagner knocking down two 3-pointers and scoring eight points.

But No. 4 seed Serra (18-7), long known for a fierce defensive approach and a physical style of play, turned the game all around at the outset of the second quarter, forcing the Gators to miss their first seven shots.

“Not push them around, per se, but yeah, the more physical the better,” Rapp said. “If it ain’t rough it ain’t right. The WCAL prepares us for that. It’s a grind and iron sharpens iron. Get out of that WCAL cauldron, you’re battle-tested, battle-hardened, and I think you saw that tonight.”

To go along with that defensive effort, the Padres scored on five consecutive possessions. Mikey Ballout hit a pair of buckets, Alex Naber made two free throws, Andrew McDowell scored down low and then Pettis put the finishing touch on that 10-0 run with the dunk that brought the house down.

“When you start missing shots it affects your defense a little bit,” SHP coach Tony Martinelli said. “I thought our energy level dipped, we got a little frustrated missing those shots that went in early. It started showing up on an extra rebound here and there, second and third opportunities for Serra. You can’t give a good team extra opportunities. They’re going to hurt you.”

Sacred Heart Prep may have been a bit down at that point, but certainly not out. TJ O’Brien hit a 3-pointer in the final minute of the first half to tie the score 24-24 before McDowell made a 3 at the buzzer to give Serra a 27-24 halftime lead.

SHP gained its last lead of the game at 33-32 after an offensive-rebound basket by Alex Osterloh. Serra scored the last six points of the third quarter as Pettis connected on back-to-back jumpers, and that was the start of a 19-5 run, culminating on a fastbreak layup by Angelo Ghattas, that put the game away.

Wagner led the Gators with 15 points. In addition to the 22 scored by Pettis, Ballout had 11 for Serra.