Ten Best + 1: Saint Augustine vs San Ysidro

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In one of the most ballyhooed matchups in recent San Diego hoops history, top-ranked St. Augustine took control of the game in the second quarter and never looked back, advancing to Saturday's Open Division championship with an 83-67 win over the fourth-seed Cougars. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>But across the board, the game lived up to the hype, with big performances from the players you'd expect, and some you might not expect. Here's my breakdown with the Ten Best.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3>Best performances</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Ty Ingram, 2026 G, San Ysidro</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In a game where a balanced Saints team neutralized San Ysidro's star duo, it was Ingram that kept the Cougars in the Game. The 6-3 freshman hit 8 threes out of 9 attempts and scored a game-high 30 points, serving notice to the county that he's up next. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Lolo Rudolph, 2024 G, St. Augustine</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The speedy 6-2 point guard, who was recently named to the Japanese U20 National Team, came up big during the most important stretch of the game. Rudolph walked into consecutive three pointers, showcases his improved stroke, and then scored and assisted on baskets to help Saints push its lead from 2 to 12 by halftime. Rudolph was slowed a bit in the second half after a hard spill, but still finished with 16 points. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3>Best defenders</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>[player_tooltip player_id='994949' first='Jaden' last='Matingou'], 2023 G, St. Augustine</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Matingou, arguably the region's top perimeter defender, did an excellent job using his length and lateral quickness to make things difficult for San Ysidro star guard [player_tooltip player_id='1069091' first='Mikey' last='Williams']. Matingou only ceded 7 points to Williams when the two were paired against each other. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>[player_tooltip player_id='994915' first='Derrius' last='Carter-Hollinger'], 2023 F, St. Augustine</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>I thought Carter-Hollinger's performance against JJ Taylor was crucial to the Saints win. Saints head coach Mike Haupt trusts the 6-6 forward in his individual matchups and usually leaves him to fend for himself without a double team, and Carter-Hollinger was impressive isolated on Taylor. He used his length and quickness to beat Taylor to his spots and force him into difficult shots. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Steven Glynn, 2025 W, San Ysidro</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Glynn had a couple of highlight stops on Saints guard [player_tooltip player_id='992479' first='Jurian' last='Dixon'] in the first half and effectively neutralized him until fouling out in the third quarter. I think Dixon only had 8 points until that point, then scored 9 in the fourth quarter against other defenders. Only a sophomore, the 6-5 wing has a chance to be a special perimeter defender in coming years. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3>Best glue performance</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>[player_tooltip player_id='1502799' first='Ian' last='De La Rosa'], 2024 W, St. Augustine</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 6-4 junior didn't have his best shooting night, but he does so much that doesn't show up on the stat sheet. His helpside defense and hustle to 50/50 balls gave Saints several additional possessions, plus his ability to rebound on both ends helped to neutralize the Cougars size advantage. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3><strong>Star Watch</strong></h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>[player_tooltip player_id='992479' first='Jurian' last='Dixon'], 2023 W, St. Augustine</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Dixon used a fourth-quarter spurt to keep San Ysidro at bay for good, finishing with a team-high 17 points. the Saints went to Dixon on four straight possessions in the fourth quarter - he responded by going 4-4 with three midrange scores and walked into a three. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Despite only an average game by Dixon's standards, he moved a step closer to wrapping up back-to-back player of the year awards in San Diego. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>[player_tooltip player_id='1069091' first='Mikey' last='Williams'], 2023 G, San Ysidro</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 6-3 Memphis signee was limited to 12 points, but showed flashes of the downhill scoring ability that make him such a tough cover. There are times where he gets into the paint so easily, it frustrates you that he doesn't do it more often. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>JJ Taylor, 2023 W, San Ysidro</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Taylor scored 15 points and showcased some of the inside-out scoring that makes him a tough matchup in San Diego. At 6-8, he handles the ball like a guard and is tough to keep out of the paint when he goes downhill. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3><strong>Best low post scorer</strong></h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>[player_tooltip player_id='1502808' first='Andrei' last='Tovar'], 2024 F, San Ysidro</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Tovar didn't get a ton of touches, but early on he did a solid job of carving out space on the offensive boards and forced Saints to adjust its defense to limit his impact. Tovar has good hands and footwork and as a 6-8 center does a good job of using his body to establish position and finish when given touches. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3><strong>Best shooter</strong></h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Vincent Ricchiuti, 2023 SG, St. Augustine </h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ricchiuti early on hit a pair of threes to stop San Ysidro's momentum and keep the Saints ahead or give them the lead. At 6-5+, he has really good size and can get his shot off against smaller defenders. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->