St. Joseph wins Open Division title

Joe Bailey, Santa Maria Times, Calif.
·3 min read

Jun. 12—The best basketball team in the Central Section?

There's now no denying which team that is.

St. Joseph passed its final test in section play Friday night and added another trophy to its mantel with a 70-64 win in Fresno, beating San Joaquin Memorial in the CIF Central Section Open Division final.

It's the first CIF boys basketball title for the school since the Knights made the move to the Central Section three years ago. The Knights' most recent divisional championship was the one the JoJo Walker-led team won in 2015-16 when the program was in the CIF Southern Section.

St. Joseph is now 27-2 on the season and will find out its state playoff path Sunday when the CIF State SoCal Regional brackets are released. Now that the Knights have their Central Section title, they turn their focus to a run at a state championship.

Sam Bazunga led the Knights with 19 points and 11 rebounds. Angel Ortiz added 14 points, four rebounds and three assists and senior Jincho Rivera had 12 points and 10 rebounds for St. Joseph. Junior Dre Roman added 13 crucial points and Steven Vasquez, another senior, had eight points. Sophomores Luis Marin and Caeden Hamilton added two points apiece to round out the scoring for the Knights.

Vasquez led St. Joseph with six assists. Rivera had four assists. Bazunga had two blocks.

This team could wind up as the greatest in the program's storied history. Their only losses this year are to Chatsworth Sierra Canyon and Sacramento Capital Christian. Sierra Canyon, the two-time CIF Southern Section Open Division champ, lost in the Southern Section's Open title game Friday night in Los Angeles.

Memorial was awarded the No. 1 seed in the Central Section's Open Division playoffs. The Panthers fell to 22-2 on the season with Friday's loss.

St. Joseph fended off the No. 3 seed Clovis West in the Open Division semifinals last week, winning 87-83 in one of the most well-played games ever held in Hofschulte Gymnasium.

The Knights had to pull away from the Panthers Friday to claim the championship.

St. Joseph did race out to a 7-0 run, but the Panthers went on a run themselves and cut the lead to 9-7 and then 15-14. Memorial eventually led 19-17 after the first quarter and 39-35 at half.

Memorial jumped out to a 44-37 lead early in the third quarter. A basket from Dre Roman cut the lead to 44-41 before senior Angel Ortiz gave the Knights the lead back at 47-46. A 3-pointer from Steven Vasquez, another senior, gave St. Joseph a 52-46 lead.

The Knights out-scored the Panthers 20-10 in the third quarter to lead 55-49 heading to the fourth. A Jincho Rivera dunk gave St. Joseph a 61-56 lead. Memorial tied the game at 63 before Ortiz hit a jump shot from the elbow to put the Knights up 67-63.

They were able to close it out from there from the free throw line.

So far, the Knights have an unbeaten Mountain League championship and the Open Division championship, the highest honor in the CIF Central Section. Can the Knights make a run at a state title? They'll learn what division they'll be playing in and who they'll play on Sunday.

The regional finals are set for Saturday, June 19.