SACRAMENTO – Clovis North (Fresno), the giant slayer of the CIF Northern Region Division I bracket, finally met its match in a 65-57 loss to
Damien (La Verne), the south's top seed in Friday's D-I finals at Golden 1 Center.
The 13-seeded Broncos had left a wake of upsets on their four-game trek up and down the upper half of the state, knocking off the North's 1, 3, 4 and 5 seeds.
"These guys are fierce competitors and don't like to lose," said Damien coach Mike Leduc, who won his first state title after a lengthy coaching career. "So when adversity and you have the chance to fold, they seem to rise up."
Spivey, who finished with 17 points, was the catalyst early for the Spartans, while R.J. Smith added 15 and Xie scored five but provided an in-your-face presence defensively.
Oladokun also scored five, but chipped in four blocks and nine rebounds, while Kaleb Smith posted 23 points on 9-of-11 shooting.
Damien celebrates its 65-57 CIF Division I state title victory Friday over Clovis North at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
Photo by David Steutel
"It's a great feeling," Kaleb Smith said of grabbing the D-I title. "You work hard and as a kid you think about this."
But Clovis North didn't win four NorCal games - all on the road and by a total of 10 points - for fun. Trailing by as much as 20 in the first half, the Broncos kept chipping away, pestering the Spartans on the defensive end.
"To get here is difficult and to win it is difficult," said Clovis North
coach Tony Amundsen. "Tonight we struggled with turnovers and I think
if we clean it up we have a shot."
Trailing 53-38 heading into the fourth quarter,
Jaylen Bryant hit a field goal and
Jordan Espinoza added a pair of buckets to get Clovis North within 11 at 53-42 two minutes into the final stanza.
Damien's Kaleb Smith goes up for two of his 23 points in the Spartans' 65-57 win over Clovis North.
Photo by David Steutel
"The big talk during the timeouts was to cut down on turnovers," Amundsen said.
Bryant's jumper cut the lead to 56-44, but Smith answered with a 3-pointer before
Connor Amundsen, the coach's son, scored six straight for the Broncos to cut the lead to 60-51. He finished with a game-high 25.
But Damien wouldn't let the Broncos get any closer than eight on Amundsen's final bucket.
"As a coach, I want all my players to do well," Tony Amundsen said. "But as a dad, I'll probably reflect on this later."
Clovis North's Connor Amundsen scored a game-high 25 in a losing effort for the 13th-seeded Broncos.
Photo by David Steutel
- 22, 11, 20, 12 - 65
Clovis North - 12, 10, 14, 21 - 57
Spartans - Xie 5, Oladokun 5, R. Smith 15, Word 17, K. Smith 23
Broncos - Chaudhary 1, Calvillo 5, Jones 6, Bryant 10, Espinoza 10, Amundsen 25
3-pointers - DH: 4 (Word, Xie, K. Smith 2); CN: 5 (Calvillo, Jones 2, Amundsen 2)
