St. Ignatius makes most of its first NorCal Open game, routs Sheldon

In the 13 years that the CIF has had an Open Division for its state basketball playoffs, Sheldon-Sacramento has been a fairly consistent presence.

St. Ignatius has not.

Well, so much for experience.

SI, making its first appearance in the state’s top bracket, broke open the first-round game in the second quarter and didn’t let up after halftime as the San Francisco school coasted at home to a 72-54 victory.

St. Ignatius, seeded third, moves on to play second-seeded Salesian in the semifinals on Saturday night at Contra Costa College.

Sixth-seeded Sheldon finished 27-6.

Ty Landers had 15 points and Raymond Whitley finished with 14 points to lead a balanced Wildcats offense.

The defense was just as impressive as SI held Sheldon star Baron Sabir to seven points. The junior came in averaging 24.2.

For the West Catholic Athletic League, SI’s victory was a welcome sight after the league’s six teams that played Tuesday all lost.

Fortunately for the WCAL, its top two teams (Archbishop Riordan and SI) are in the Open.

Sheldon was back in the state’s top division after a three-year absence. It was the Sacramento school’s eighth appearance in the Open overall since the CIF added the division in 2013, matching De La Salle and Salesian for second-most behind Modesto Christian’s 11.

But this one went sideways in a hurry for a Sheldon program that won NorCal Open championships in 2018 and 2019.

SI, coming off a lopsided loss to rival Riordan in the Central Coast Section Open final on Friday, built a 38-24 halftime advantage that expanded to 55-29 by the end of the third quarter.

In a division that typically has games decided at the end in dramatic fashion, this one had no drama down the stretch as SI improved to 25-4.