Live! CIF Northern California basketball finals

Live updates from the CIF Northern California championships Saturday. Look for video, photos, quotes, quips and stats to be added throughout the day.

From Sleep Train Arena, Sacramento 
All videos by MaxPreps videographer Chris Spoerl

BOYS
Open Division
Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland) 70, Capital Christian (Sacramento) 60

The Bishop O’Dowd boys basketball team was expecting Capital Christian’s best shot and it got it to start each half.

What they weren’t expecting was a 29-point explosion from Michigan-bound D.J. Wilson, but despite it all, the Dragons swung back and had plenty in reserve to post an impressive Northern California Northern California Open Division title-game victory at Sleep Train Arena Saturday.

A gimpy 6-foot-10 junior Ivan Rabb had 26 points, 13 rebounds and six blocks and Paris Austin added 18 points as the Dragons (28-4) rolled to their eighth NorCal title win. They’ll play three-time defending champion Mater Dei-Sana Ana, a 59-54 winner over Westchester-Los Angeles.

“Capital Christian made us dig deep,” O’Dowd coach Lou Richie said. “We struggled at times but Capital Christian had a lot to do with it. We’re a pretty resilient group. Our will to win is pretty fierce.”

But the Dragons aren’t just scrappy. They play tough in the post, push hard in transition, pass beautifully and they have plenty of good shooters. When Capital Christian, which lost by 27 to O’Dowd in January, came out to a 9-5 lead and had the home crowd rocking, the Dragons struck on the break, getting fastbreak hoops from Austin, Shane Farley and Rabb. By the end of the quarter, O’Dowd led 21-12 and was on its way.

Capital Christian wilted the rest of the half and trailed 41-25.

“We gave them a run but you have to hand it to them, they're a really good team,” said Wilson, who made 12 of 23 shots and added six rebounds and four assists.

Capital Christian Opened the second half on an 11-4 run, but then the Dragons really turned it on, especially Rabb, who sustained a sprained ankle in a semifinal game Tuesday and didn’t practice for three days. He had four dunks the final four minutes of the third, three on beautifully ally oop passes — two from Austin and one by Juwan Anderson.

O’Dowd led 62-52 heading into the fourth and the lead never got inside 10 points.

“We knew they were going to come hard at us, but we just played our game,” Rabb said. “Now we have one more to get it all done.”

Getting it done against the 10-time state champion Monarchs will obviously be a steep challenge. Led by National Player of the Year contender Stanley Johnson, Mater Dei beat Bishop O’Dowd 63-59 in the finals of Tarkanian Classic in December. The game went to overtime.

Last season, Stanley, then a junior stalwart, outdueled McDonald’s All-American Aaron Gordon and Mitty in the state finals. Now Rabb, considered one of the nation’s top juniors, hopes to do the same to Stanley.

And come home a winner.

Stanley and Rabb play on the same summer AAU team.

“Stanley is my boy,” Rabb said. “I found out how competitive he was during the summer. He hates to lose. But so do we. So do I. We’re both competitors. I can’t wait.”’

Capital Christian coach Devon Jones might have to wait a spell to have a team as talented as this one. Rather than dwell on that, he played kudos to both squads.

"We competed hard and I'm proud of the guys," he said. "Maybe a little bit better defense and it's a closer game. DJ really stepped up and he had the game of his career. He's going out the right way."

Bishop O’Dowd 70, Capital Christian 60

CAPITAL CHRISTIAN (28-4)
Uchenna Iroegbu 3-7 1-2 9,  D.J. Wilson 12-23 3-5 29, Marcelas Perry 0-4 0-0 0, Tyler Jennings 3-7 0-0 7, Nifae Lealao 3-6 1-2 7, Justice Mosely 3-9 0-0 6, Nick Aibuedefe 1-3 0-0 2, Tiegen Jones 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 25-60 5-9 60.

BISHOP O’DOWD (28-4)
Paris Austin 6-10 4-6 18, Shane Farley 3-7 0-0 6, Juwan Anderson 2-5 0-0 4, Jackson Kalmbach 1-3 6-6 9, Ivan Rabb 13-21 0-1 26, Desmond Chatman 2-6 0-0 5, Austin Walker 0-1 0-0 0, Franklin Longrus 0-1 0-0 0, Parker Hagmaier 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 28-56 10-15 70.

Capital Christian 12  23  17  18  -  60
Bishop O’Dowd  21  26  15  14  - 70

3-point goals: Capital Christian 5-18, Bishop O’Dowd 4-10. Rebounds: Capital Christian 28 (Wilson 6), O’Dowd 40 (Rabb 13), Assists: CC 8, O’Dowd 10. Turnovers: CC 11, O’Dowd 13.



Next page: DI boys — Miraculous buzzer-beater can't curtail Monte Vista versus Freedom