SAN JOSE – Not many people gave Milpitas much of a chance to win Friday at Bellarmine. Public schools in the Central Coast Section Open Division have had an abysmal historical track record going up against the private school powers that have ruled CCS basketball for so many years.
But no one was asking the Milpitas players and coaching staff.
“We had other plans,” Milpitas coach Champ Wrencher said after his team pulled off a stunning 55-44 upset victory. “We’ve been scouting these teams. Not to get ahead of ourselves, but we were preparing, what if. We watched Bellarmine play several times. We wanted to be here, wanted the opportunity. We knew we could win.”
Milpitas is the first public school to beat a West Catholic Athletic League team since the CCS went to Open Division pool play in 2021. Since CCS originally added an Open Division in 2013, public schools are a combined 5-30 vs. WCAL teams.
Bellarmine (17-8), the No. 3 seed, jumped out to a 13-5 lead and led throughout the first half.
No. 6 seed Milpitas (22-3) turned it all around at the start of the third quarter. The Trojans trailed 30-24 before they went on a 10-0 run to take their first lead of the game. Lamont Davis and Isaac Sisay scored on the inside to start the run. Dylan Nguyen’s layup on the fastbreak tied it and Sisay’s baseline jumper put Milpitas on top. Two free throws by Jacob Wrencher concluded the run and the Trojans never looked back, making it a 10-point lead early in the fourth quarter.
“We knew we could do this,” Sisay said. “Rely on our defense, we knew our offense would come. We believe in ourselves.”
Sisay, Wrencher and 6-5 sophomore Pranav Krishnan scored 14 points apiece. Nguyen added 10. Krishnan, who came off the bench, provided a big boost to get Milpitas going early with nine first-half points.
“He’s the best sophomore in this area in my opinion,” coach Wrencher said. “He’s an X factor coming off the bench as a sixth man. He’s very talented, could start for a lot of teams. We’re fortunate to have him.”.
Will Corbett led Bellarmine with a game-high 17 points. Cam Razavi scored 13.
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“They beat us by an 11-point spread and we took out a kid averaging a double-double,” Bellarmine coach Alex Sarrett said, referring to Brennan Williams, who Sarrett said missed the game due to health issues. “Take away a starter averaging a double-double, that puts a strain on our rotation. But give them credit, they were more physical, did a good job on the rebounds. They made layups and we did not.”
Sarrett said he hoped to have Williams back Monday when Bellarmine hosts Serra. Milpitas will travel to San Francisco to take on No. 2 seed St. Ignatius, a 69-56 winner over Serra, in a matchup of the two Pool B first-round winners.
A tall task for the Trojans?
“We played them at St. Mary’s over the summer,” Wrencher said. “We lost by one. It was a great game, so this will be another great game.”
