SACRAMENTO — A basketball season that a couple of weeks ago some St. John Bosco faithful might have considered a failure turned into a celebration Friday night after the Braves won the state Division I championship at Golden 1 Center.
“The fact we get to hang a banner, our legacy will be forever,” said senior guard Jack Turner, who scored 20 points and made seven of 10 shots, including four of six from three-point range, in a 78-62 victory over San Ramon Valley, delivering St. John Bosco its first state title since 2014.
There were high expectations for the Braves (28-7) when they started the season ranked No. 1 in Southern California by The Times. They finished second behind Santa Ana Mater Dei in the Trinity League, went 1-2 in the Southern Section Open Division playoffs, then regained their mojo in the Division I regional playoffs with close wins over Windward, Damien and Mater Dei in overtime.
“I have great pride we were able to stay the course,” St. John Bosco coach Matt Dunn said. “Our guys were able to rally.”
The core trio of Turner, Brandon McCoy (18 points) and Elzie Harrington (12 points, seven assists) started trusting one another and their teammates.
“Brandon, Elzie and Jack did an amazing job making their teammates better,” Dunn said.
Chris Komin made a trio of three-pointers and had 11 points. Dominic Perfetti had nine points. And sophomore Max Ellis chipped in two threes. St. John Bosco made 11 of 22 shots from three-point range. Playing at Crypto.com Arena earlier this season was good preparation.
“Yeah, we played terrible that game but got out our jitters,” Turner said.
Even with starter Kade Bonam unavailable in the state playoffs because of a foot injury, the Braves displayed the urgency and teamwork to finish in style. They made five threes in the first quarter en route to a 28-11 lead.
Dunn, who won a state title coaching at Damien, faced lots of challenges this season and never stopped teaching and cajoling as he tried to help St. John Bosco reach its potential.
Luke Isaak led San Ramon Valley with 18 points.
Bishop Alemany 63, Santa Cruz 53: Michael Lindsay, the nephew of Basketball Hall of Fame player Reggie Miller, turned his final game into a moment to cherish on an NBA court. He scored 25 points, including two three-pointers that would have left Uncle Reggie smiling.
Most importantly, he led Bishop Alemany to a state Division III state championship for the Mission Hills school.
“I feel great,” Lindsay said.
He enjoyed his three-pointers, but he also had a dunk too. His basketball days are over because he’s headed to Idaho State to play defensive back.
“No regrets,” he said. “I’m happy to play football.”
Said coach Mike Dulaney: “That guy is such a spark plug and plays the game so effortlessly. We got to get him to do intramural or something.”
Bishop Alemany (25-15) barely made the Southern Section playoffs with a 15-15 record, winning its final regular-season game and getting a forfeit win to reach the .500 record needed to be considered for an at-large bid. Once in the postseason, there was no stopping the Warriors, who were tested by the likes of Harvard-Westlake, Crespi, Sierra Canyon and Sherman Oaks Notre Dame in the powerful Mission League.
“That prepared us,” Dulaney said. “We got hot at the right moment coming out of Mission League.”
It has been tough to score inside against Alemany because of its rim protectors, 6-foot-9 Samuel Mbingazo and 6-8 Bourgeois Tshilobo. They combined for seven blocked shots and 16 rebounds Friday. Jared Mims had 14 points and eight steals.
Sophomore Demarco Hunter had a terrific game for Santa Cruz, contributing 22 points and 12 rebounds.
Athenian 67, Verdugo Hills 49: The bus trip to Northern California started with a stop in Stockton, where Verdugo Hills coach Jared Gibson went to school. His mother made dinner for the Dons’ players Thursday night — lasagna, fried chicken, two chocolate cakes and six loaves of bread.
If only the state Division V championship game went as well as the home cooking. The Dons (25-12) struggled from three-point range, making seven of 34, and were beaten by Athenian in their first state championship appearance.
Gibson had nothing but praise for a team that won the City Section Division II championship and plays in probably the smallest gym in Southern California.
“I walked into that gym 17 years ago,” Gibson said. “1959 was the last league title. These guys are champs.”
There are 11 seniors on the Dons’ roster. Gibson calls them his “COVID babies” because during the pandemic, he was spending hours on Zoom talking with them instead of training them in 2021.
In his final game, Jabez Agustin made five threes and finished with 15 points. Alexander Martinez had 12 points and Georges Abdulnour added 11 points.
Athenian, which made 15 of 16 free throws, received a standout game from 6-3 senior guard Evan Lucas, who had 20 points and 11 rebounds. He scored nine consecutive points in the second quarter to help the Owls pull away. Athenian led by as many as 18 points in the first half during a game the Dons never led.
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