OCEANSIDE – The Cambridge School is a private kindergarten through 12th grade Christian school in Rancho Penasquitos. Enrollment: 401. High school students: 157.
The Griffins have been competing in CIF San Diego Section sports for eight years. Before Thursday night, the Griffins were still looking for their first championship in any sport.
Now, the hunt is over.
Led by fourth-year player Malachi Francisco, who scored 20 points, Cambridge wrapped up that first title in convincing fashion, defeating Southern California Yeshiva 50-36 at MiraCosta College to win the Division 5-AA title.
When the final seconds ticked off, the 6-foot-3 Francisco jumped into head coach Jake Goodwiler’s arms. Goodwiler stands a sturdy 6-5 and did not tumble.
Said Goodwiler: “It’s cool to make history.”
The No 1-seeded Griffins (14-10) lost in the semis last year and were not content.
“I know for Malachi, that left a sour taste in his mouth,” said Goodwiler. “He wanted it badly.”
Said Francisco, “After last year, we had it in our mind to come back stronger. We put in a lot of hours in the offseason.”
Second-seeded Southern California Yeshiva (12-10) is an all-boys Orthodox Jewish school. The entire enrollment is 26 students; 11 play basketball. The players play with kippahs on the crown of their head.
The Hawks also were also looking for their section title in any sport. For eight minutes the game was close, SCY leading Cambridge 12-11 at the end of the first quarter. Then came a frustrating, hard-to-believe second quarter.
The Hawks took 18 shots. Only one went in. By halftime, Cambridge led 22-14.
The shooting woes only continued for the Hawks. They finished the game 13 of 78, 16.7%.
“Weirdest game ever,” said SCY coach Reynell Mills. “There was a lid on the basket.”
Cambridge’s defense played a factor in the poor shooting.
“On the whiteboard before the game I wrote, ‘Defense is going to win the game,’” said Goodwiler. “That’s what it came down to.”
Kevin Chin scored 13 points for Cambridge. SCY’s Nadav Aron led all scorers with 21 points.
As for Francisco, he was impossible to miss. He wore a pink hightop Puma on his left foot and a purple one on his right foot.
“It’s a fashion statement,” said Francisco. “I wanted to add a little flair. I always have my eye out for vibrant uniforms, vibrant shoes. People see the shoes from the stands, they know who it is.”
Said Goodwiler: “He plays with fire and he plays with flair.”
— DON NORCROSS
Pacific Ridge beats Chula Vista for Division 5 title
CHULA VISTA – Pacific Ridge School survived a turnover-filled second half and hung on to beat Chula Vista 46-38 Wednesday in the San Diego Section Division 5 championship game at Mater Dei Catholic.
Coming off back-to-back 9-19 and 6-22 seasons, the Firebirds advance to the Southern California Regionals with a 28-2 record.
The Spartans hadn’t had a winning season since 2007-08 when they went 13-12. In the last 16 years, Chula Vista was 141-266.
“As a senior, this means a lot,” said Pacific Ridge 6-foot-8 Max Leong, who finished with eight points, 13 rebounds and blocked a pair of shots. Especially, coming off last season, I didn’t know what to expect. But we turned the culture around, came together. And this is the best feeling.”
Pacific Ridge, which last won a CIF title in 2015, used a 17-4 run from the end of the first quarter to halftime to take a 25-11 lead at the break.
The Firebirds dominated the boards and contested every shot.
Giovanni Contreras, who averages 20.3 points a game for Chula Vista, was scoreless in the first half.
Elijah Gillespie, one of Chula Vista’s top players, was called for four fouls in the first half; teammate Gabriel Ruiz had three fouls.
Neither played in the third quarter.
Pacific Ridge survived a sloppy, nine-turnover third quarter, and still led by 10 heading into the final eight minutes.
A pair of long 3-pointers by Alex Besio and a seven-point quarter from Gavin Fletcher kept Pacific Ridge in the lead.
Fletcher’s free throws with 11 seconds to play put a cap on the win.
“We came out hot and played most of the game with a cushion,” said Fletcher, a sophomore. “Our plan was to be patient, but even with a lead you feel pressure.
“After last season, we were all interested in seeing how this season would go.
“Obviously, it has gone better than we could have expected. “A lot of our success goes to Max. He does a lot of the dirty work that allows the guards the freedom to play loose.”
Fletcher led the Firebirds with 13 points and Besio added 12.
The Firebirds outrebounded Chula Vista (23-7) 37-17 with Zane Patel and Rey Dickey backing Leong with five rebounds each.
Contreras scored all 13 of his points in the second half, eight in the third quarter, but the Spartans never got closer than five points.
Gillespie fouled out with 5:33 to play and finished with four points.
— JOHN MAFFEI
Tri-City beats Del Lago for Division 4 title
CARLSBAD – After a back-and-forth first three quarters, Tri-City Christian High School made enough plays down the stretch to beat Del Lago Academy 53-49 in the CIF San Diego Section Division 4 boys basketball championship at Sage Creek High School on Thursday night.
Tri-City Christian (20-9) won the San Diego Section Division 5-AA title last season in head coach DeeJay Jones’ first year. Moving up two divisions this season, the Eagles captured the Pacific League title, splitting their season series with Thursday’s opponent, Del Lago.
“This group is special,” Jones said. “It’s remarkable to see all the work these guys have put in, even before the championship we won last year. Everything has been a process of just trying to get better and get back to this stage and I’m proud of every one of them.”
Del Lago (17-15) jumped out to an 8-0 lead to start the game behind sophomore forward Kyeler Burns. Tri-City Christian cut the lead to 15-12 at the end of the first quarter and ended the first half on an 8-0 run to take a 30-27 lead into the halftime break.
Del Lago responded with a strong third quarter led by sophomore forward Dawere Tut. The Firebirds won the quarter, 15-10, to take a 42-40 lead into the final eight minutes. Tut, one of three Del Lago players to finish in double figures, led the Firebirds with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Tri-City Christian regained control in the final quarter, limiting Del Lago to four points over the first seven minutes of the quarter. Trailing 50-46 with 12 seconds to play, Del Lago’s Kyeler Burns knocked down a three-pointer from the corner to cut the lead to one. The Firebirds fouled Tri-City’s Dre Cleaves who proceeded to make both free throws. Del Lago rushed the ball up court and fired an errant shot from half court, leading to a rebound and more free throws for Tri-City with less than two seconds to play.
Cleaves, a junior win, led the charge for the Eagles, finishing the night with 22 points and seven rebounds.
The Eagles had eight players score on the night, going along with their season theme of a balanced attack. Junior guard Jeramiah Turner, the Pacific League Player of the Year, had eight points for Tri-City while Garry Dillard and Caleb Williams each finished with six points.
“I don’t have a guy; that’s kind of what we teach,” Jones said. “We’ve gotta play team basketball. One night it could be somebody doing something and the next night somebody else. That’s what we as coaches preach to these kids, if you’re open shoot it and we hope that we build confidence in them.”
— BODIE DESILVA
