SACRAMENTO, CA – The difference between the way the season started for Bishop Montgomery-Torrance and the way it ended in some ways is a little hard to believe but in other ways it was only fitting for the Knights and Coach Doug Mitchell.
Bishop Montgomery (31-2) shook off a season-opening loss to Bishop O’Dowd at the NorCal Tip-Off Classic to grind its way through to get right back where they started.
First, they captured the CIF Southern Section Open Division crown followed by winning the Southern Regional Open Division title before the season culminated in a wild 74-67 CIF Open Division state championship victory over Woodcreek-Roseville last Saturday night at the Golden 1 Center.
“A lot people overlooked us at the start of the season, but we knew we were good,” said Mitchell, who upped his record in CIF state championship games to 4-1. “We were the No. 1 team in the state. It was a group that never lost faith. They just found a way to win.”
Woodcreek got a huge performance from junior sensation Jordan Brown but it came after a very slow start for the local boys and wasn’t enough to overcome the depth of the Bishop Montgomery attack led by Oregon State-commit Ethan Thompson.
Brown had 35 points to set the Open Division scoring record and tie for No. 6 all-time for most points in a CIF state title game, and added 17 rebounds, but he and his Timberwolves teammates never really recovered from a 17-4 deficit after the first quarter that grew to 33-19 at the half, despite outscoring the Knights 48-41 in the second half in front of a delirious and plentiful crowd of supporters that made the short trip down from the Sacramento suburb.
Still, this game belonged to a Bishop Montgomery team that came in the season No. 1 in the state in every pre-season rankings and No. 7 in the nation by Ballislife.com, where according to Ballislife and Cal-Hi Sports boys basketball analyst and ranker Ronnie Flores is exactly where they will finish to end the season. In fact, on Tuesday, Bishop Montgomery was named the Cal-Hi Sports State Team of the Year.
However, after Bishop Montgomery lost to O’Dowd to open the season their pedigree took a hit, and it’s taken them until now to get back to the top to stay.
It started back in late February when during the same week the Knights beat Cal-Hi Sports No. 1 Sierra Canyon in the CIFSS Open playoffs and Mater Dei-Santa Ana beat No. 2 Chino Hills. That made Bishop Montgomery No. 1 and Mater Dei No. 2, and it stayed that way after the Knights beat Mater Dei in the title game, and then ran the table in the Southern Regional Open Division by beating Chino Hills in the semis and then Mater Dei again in the finals before coming to Sacramento to claim the grand prize.
Bishop Montgomery was led by Thompson (team highs 26 points, eight rebounds and four assists) in this game and all season long, but what made the Knights the the state’s best was its balance, focus and resolve. All five starters stepped up at key moments of the season and in recent games.
San Diego St.-bound Jordan Schakel made big shots after injuries slowed him in November and December. This game was no different, as Schakel’s three-pointer gave the Knights a 40-21 lead. His production was a big factor in the game, as he made 4-of-7 on 3-pointers and finished with 20 points. As a team, Bishop Montgomery made 9-of-18 on 3-pointers. Junior David Singleton added 14 points, seven rebounds and six assists, and sophomore Gianni Hunt chipped in with 10 points, six rebounds and four assists.
Woodcreek had only one bad outing all season, which ended up being against a Harvard-Westlake-North Hollywood team that came back to win a CIF Southern Section title and that loss was less than 24 hours after a tough loss to Chino Hills.
The NorCal champions showed major resolve in battling back after its slow start, and the Timberwolves were too good just to go away quietly, as Brown started racking up the fouls on the smaller Knights defenders and cutting into the deficit. In the end Bishop Montgomery just had too many weapons to allow Woodcreek to come all the way back for a win. Besides Brown the only other Woodcreek player in double-figure scoring was Tyrell Roberts with 15 points.
“That first quarter definitely put us in a hole,” Woodcreek Coach Paul Hayes said. “We just couldn’t get that one stop but we hold our heads high. Thousands of people came out to support these kids because of everything they’ve done this season and this loss doesn’t diminish that at all.”
For Thompson it was a family affair come full circle, and he came through big time for the Thompson clan.
“We knew what we were capable of doing so we came out every game and had a chip on our shoulder,” said Thompson, who teamed with older brother Stevie Thompson Jr. to lead Bishop Montgomery to a CIF D$ title as a freshman. “We just needed to go out and work hard on every possession.”
Their father Stevie Thompson Sr., who won back-to-back CIF Division I titles at Crenshaw-Los Angeles in 1985 and 1986, was in the stands with Stevie Jr. rooting on his son.
Now Ethan has one upped his brother and has two state titles just like his father.
Division I
Roosevelt-Eastvale 54, James Logan-Union City 45
The Friday night nightcap at the Golden 1 Center got a slow start for both teams but it wasn’t long before Roosevelt 6-5 senior forward Matt Mitchell took over to lead Roosevelt to its first ever state title in its first championship appearance.
After Logan scored the first points of the game on two free throws by senior Edra Luster with 4:41 remaining in the first quarter, Mitchell answered with a bucket and his Mustangs never looked back, as Roosevelt rolled to its first ever state title in its first championship appearance. With the victory, Roosevelt becomes the second Riverside County team to ever win a CIF state title, joining the 2001-02 King-Riverside team.
Coach Steve Singleton won his second CIF state championship and became only the third head coach to won a boys CIF state title at two different schools. The time it happened actually occurred on the same day as earlier last Friday Harvey Kitani got a D5 title with Rolling Hills Prep-San Pedro after previously winning at Fairfax-Los Angeles. Frank Allocco was the first after winning at both Northgate-Walnut Creek and De La Salle-Concord.
This state title-winning team was a lot different than the first. In 2001-02, Singleton inherited a nationally-ranked Dominguez-Compton team that included NBA big man Tyson Chandler. This team had to fight and scratch with BIG VIII League rival Corona Centennial the past two years to gain statewide acclaim. Singleton molded this veteran unit into a club tough enough to defeat its rival five times, including in the SoCal D1 regional final, and then they held off a Logan team that played hard to the end.
“I’ve known Harvey for a long time and to be mentioned with someone like him is humbling,” Singleton said. “Winning at Dominguez was great but this is more special because it’s my program, my footprint. This is the ultimate goal and we got it today.
Roosevelt (26-8) led 10-8 after one quarter and then began to take control from there leading 27-20 at the half with Mitchell scoring 13 points and five rebounds.
Logan (28-6) trailed by near double digits for most of the second half. Trailing 39-29 to begin the fourth quarter they went on a short run and had a chance to cut it to four with just over five minutes but they ran out of gas.
Cal State-Fullerton-committed Mitchell, considered one of the top players in the state, finished with 24 points, 14 rebounds, five steals and three blocks, and he was 9-of-10 on free-throws. No one Mustangs player was in double-figure scoring, as Cal-bound shooting guard Jemarl Baker struggled from the field and finished with nine points. Other key contributors were Xavier Preston (eight points, 4-of-5 from field) and John Davis with six points as he made both of his shots from the field and the free-throw line.
“It’s a great feeling knowing all the hard work paid off,” Mitchell said.
Noah Conner led Logan with 14 points, sophomore Gabriel Hawkins came off the bench for 13 points, and Jordan McCoy chipped in for 10. A big factor was Logan leading scorer Ryan Padilla went down with an ankle injury seven minutes into the game and did not score.
“We played solid on defense, but not having Ryan no doubt hurt,” Logan Coach Mel said Easley, whose Colts now fall to 0-2 in state title game appearances.
