The state finals of high school basketball action in the State of California are upon us with a loaded slate of six boys basketball games on Friday and Saturday at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento. Friday’s lineup is headlined by five-star Onyeka Okongwu of Chino Hills.
Friday’s slate features three games with six different CIF sections represented. In the Division V game, Mt. Shasta faces Foothill of Bakersfield, the Division III game features University of San Francisco and La Jolla Country Day, and the 8:00 Division 1 tip is between James Logan of Union City and Chino Hills.
Division V: Shasta vs Bakersfield Foothill at 12 noon
Mt. Shasta is making its first state title appearance. The Bears are 33-1 and champions of the Shasta Cascade League and the Northern Section Division 5. Their lone loss was on December 7th to Klamath Union of Oregon. They have since won 28 straight games. The Bears beat Dinuba 80-65 on Tuesday behind Kole Riccomini’s 26 points while brother Kaden added 20 points.
Foothill is making its first state appearance since its victory in Division 2 over Menlo-Atherton in 1988. The Trojans are 23-1 and champions of the CIF Central Section Division 4. 6’8 senior Edward Turner leads the team with 17.7 points and is second in rebounds with 9.6. 6’2 sophomore Jaden Phillips averages 16.4 points.
The Pick: Foothill
Division III: San Francisco University vs. La Jolla Country Day at 4:00 p.m.
University High School is looking for its first state title win in five appearances. Their last try was in 2015 when they faced a young Division 1 laden Sierra Canyon team. University is 27-9
and champions of the CIF North Coast Section Division 5 where they beat their league champion and rival Stuart Hall. Senior Charley Moore had 15 points and Max Fried had 14 points in Tuesday’s win over Monterey to advance to the state final.
La Jolla Country Day is making its first trip to the state final. The Torreys are 22-13 and were semifinalists in the CIF San Diego Section Division 1 playoffs. They’ve since won four straight games. The Torreys advanced to the state final following a 71-43 win over Crescenta Valley. Princeton signee Ryan Langborg had a game high 20 points in that win while the trio of James Hapgood, Jayson Taylor, and Ray Lu each had 14 points.
The Pick: La Jolla Country Day
Division 1: James Logan vs. Chino Hills at 8:00 p.m.
James Logan is looking for its first state title after losing in the Division 1 game in 1985 and in 2017, 54-45, to Roosevelt of Eastvale. The Colts are 27-6, champions of the Mission Valley League, and runner-up in Division 1 of the CIF North Coast Section. They won three straight games to advance to Sacramento. The Colts are led by their senior duo of 6’0 Brett Thompson and 6’6 Malcolm Steadman. The younger cousin of Brett, Brah’Jon Thompson, is also a key starter in the backcourt.
Chino Hills heads to Sacramento looking for its third title in four years. The Huskies beat Las Lomas of Walnut Creek in this game last season. Chino Hills is 24-10 this season. USC signee Onyeka Okongwu has been a starter for each of those state title teams. He carried the Huskies to this year’s final with a strong performance of 27 points, 11 rebounds, six blocks in the win over Etiwanda on Tuesday.
The Pick: Chino Hills
The official 52-page program for the finals is available to view online. Click the link below:
http://www.cifstate.org/sports/basketball/2019_State_Basketball_Program.pdf
