OAKLAND — Before its Northern California Open Division game Friday night, St. Francis heard all about Bishop O’Dowd’s Ivan Rabb, the 6-foot-11 McDonald’s All-American who stars for the state’s top-ranked team.
Hype, however, is one thing. The real deal, it turns out, is so much more.
St. Francis got a heavy dose of Rabb as Bishop O’Dowd began defense of its NorCal Open championship with an impressive 76-55 victory over the West Catholic Athletic League champs before a packed house at Laney College.
Rabb had 21 points at halftime and finished with 30 points, 14 rebounds and three blocks before calling it a night with 3:14 to play and his team comfortably ahead.
“On film, he looks dominant,” St. Francis guard Curtis Witt said. “But this is the first time I’ve seen him live. He’s in control all the time.”
St. Francis kept the score somewhat close into the second quarter, but a late run sent top seed Bishop O’Dowd to the locker room with a 15-point cushion. The Dragons’ lead never dipped below 14 in the second half as they advanced to play Tuesday against Folsom, the next step toward what they hope will end with the state championship they did not win last season.
“We’re moving in the right direction,” Rabb said. “We still have a lot of work to do. We just want to continue to get better every game and every practice.
“We know it’s not going to be easy. We’ve got to play well, and we’ve got to stay humble. If we do those things, we’ll be fine.”
It was clear from the game’s first minute that Rabb would be a huge problem for St. Francis, which was seeded eighth because of its two-point loss to Serra in the Central Coast Section Open Division championship game a week earlier.
Rabb had five points in the first 53 seconds and 13 by the end of the first quarter while getting St. Francis’ post players, Joseph Mihanovic and Peter Hewitt, into foul trouble. Mihanovic had three fouls in the first six minutes.
“The guards did a good job of getting us the ball,” Rabb said. “We were aggressive when we caught it, and that’s definitely what helped them get into foul trouble.”
Hewitt said the fouls were a big factor.
“That hurt us the most,” the 6-9 junior said. “They got a lot of calls their way. We’ve just got to learn from that.”
Darius Thomas led St. Francis with 16 points.
The outcome was a tough way for St. Francis to end a season that included two victories over Serra and its first NorCal Open appearance. But the roster is dominated by juniors, so the Lancers should be a threat again next season.
“We had a great season, a great learning season,” Hewitt said. “Next year is going to be a different year, We’re really excited.”
