SACRAMENTO — Batman had Robin and in the Mitty boys basketball team’s case Ben Kone had Sebastian Much.
Mitty’s dynamic duo combined for 40 points and 24 rebounds to lead the No. 2-seeded Monarchs to a 54-40 victory over top-seeded Sacramento in the CIF NorCal Division II basketball championship Saturday afternoon at Sleep Train Arena the home of Sacramento Kings.
Kone, who was celebrating his 17th birthday Saturday, finished with game-highs of 23 points and 17 rebounds while Much added 17 points and seven rebounds.
“I think we’re a great combo,” said Much. “If something goes wrong I dump it down to him in the post they collapse on him he kicks it out to me. We are pretty deadly together.”
Much made his return on Wednesday against Cosumnes Oaks after missing two months due to a hip/pelvic injury.
Much scored eight points in the semifinals against Cosumnes Oaks but Saturday said he looked and felt more in sync with his teammates.
“I had a feeling that I would be a big part of the team,” said Much. “I wouldn’t have it any other way. I play with great guys and there’s other great players on this team. It isn’t just me it’s a team effort.”
Mitty (20-10) will face La Mirada (30-5), which beat Lawndale 49-40 in the D-II SoCal Championship game, next Saturday at Haas Pavilion in Berkley at 4 p.m. in the CIF State Championship.
The Monarchs were able to slow down the pace on defense, which was to its favor as they held the Dragons to only 27 percent shooting on 15-of-55 from the field in the game.
Mitty played to a slow grind it out style to counter the athleticism of the Sacramento.
“They have so many weapons from the wings and our guys did a great job closing out gaps and contesting their shooters,” said Mitty coach Tim Kennedy. “Every one of these guys stepped up. There were no open lanes for them when they were shooting and usually when they shot a ball there was a hand in their face.”
After a slugfest of a first half, Mitty and Sacramento were tied 18-18 going into intermission.
With the game tied 22-22 with just under five minutes to play in the third, Mitty went on an 8-0 run to make it 30-22 and Sacramento wouldn’t be able to get within a single field goal the rest of the game.
“Hats off to Mitty because they did their homework,” said Sacramento coach Derek Swafford. “They knew if they kept the score low they would have a chance to win the game and they did just that. They have that desire to win and a culture that’s used to winning and playing big games.”
Sacramento (28-6) who in its two NorCal games was averaging 78.5 points per game, was held to 40 Saturday.
Solomon Young, a highly recruited 6-foot-7 forward, led the Dragons with 11 points, six rebounds and three blocks. Sayvon Hines had 10 points, Andrew Williams eight and Christian Terrell chipped in with seven points, seven rebounds and four assists in the loss.
“I’m glad we made it this far in making it to the championship,” said Young. “Hopefully we can get back here and make it to state next year.”
The Dragons are primed to make another deep NorCal title run as Swafford will return 16 of his 17 players next year.
Along with Kone and Much, Mitty got some big contributions from its role players namely Nick LaBruna and Cameron Korb.
LaBruna scored six points but added 14 rebounds and Korb — who was battling a stomach illness all game — hit two huge 3-pointers in the fourth quarter.
“Cam puked his guts out in the first (half) than hit two huge 3s in the fourth,” said Kennedy. “He does all the dirty work and Nick has been a workhorse all year and guys just can’t figure out that left hand of his. These guys are such competitors and they showed it tonight.”
With the win Mitty has now won its fourth NorCal title in the last five years Saturday.
“We’ve come a long way,” said Kone. “In basketball you have runs and ups and downs - it’s like life. It’s more compacted of course but we battled through it and did it together.”
Celebrating his birthday Kone couldn’t be happier with the performance of his teammates as they gave him one of his most memorable birthday gifts yet.
“I just love my team,” said Kone. “I got to find my teammates — we win I don’t win, we win. That’s the main thing it’s family and that’s what we are.”
