SACRAMENTO – The
Pleasant Valley (Chico) boys basketball team recovered from a 10-0 deficit to start the game, survived a see-saw fourth quarter and beat
Venice (Los Angeles) 57-53 Friday in the CIF Division III final at Golden 1 Center.
"It was a game of runs," Gondoliers coach David Galley said. "We hit five 3s in the first quarter, they made a comeback. ... That was one of the best coached teams I've faced and that's why they were successful."
Venice stormed out of the introductions with an
Aidan Donald basket, a
Tyler Hunt bucket followed by a pair of treys from
Oscar Lopez for the 10-0 lead less than two minutes into the finals.
"Those 3s were on me," said PV's
Ned Joyce. "I didn't know he (Lopez) could shoot like that. I needed to fly out and I didn't."
But the 32-3 Vikings counterpunched with
Noah Thomas' personal 8-0 run, though the Gondoliers continued their hot shooting on the way to leads of 26-14 and 28-20. PV began to reel in Venice toward the end of the second quarter, sparked by Joyce's top-of-the-key, NBA-range 3-pointer and a
Chase Mitchell transition dunk that cut the lead to 28-25.
"It was a rough start, but we had faith," said PV coach Tim Keating.
Tim Keating and Pleasant Valley celebrate their CIF Division III title Friday at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento. The Vikings erased a 10-0 hole at the start of the game to beat Venice 57-53.
Photo by David Steutel
Pleasant Valley took its first lead on a Thomas triple with just over two minutes left in the third quarter.
"I don't think there was ever any doubt (we'd make a run)," said Thomas, who finished with a game-high 22. "We knew it's a 32-minute game and we had to play to
the end."
Thomas added a pair of free throws before Hunt, a threat from range and in the paint who gave the Vikings trouble most of the night, scored five straight to trim the lead to 45-43 with 70 seconds left in the third.
Joyce opened the fourth quarter with his second NBA 3-pointer and one of four triples on the night. Joyce, who finished with 14 points, said he had attempted one 3-pointer in the past eight games.
"I told him at one point 'Dude, just shoot the ball,' " Thomas said.
PV's Noah Thomas goes up for two of his game-high 24 points in the Vikings' 57-53 win Friday over Venice in the CIF Division III finals.
Photo by David Steutel
Venice made its final push midway through the quarter as
Devyn Johnson hit a trey to knot the game at 50 before Lopez's corner 3-pointer wrestled by the lead for the Gondoliers.
But Joyce hit a bucket down low before canning his fourth 3-pointer on the Vikings' next trip down the floor to put PV up 55-53.
And when Thomas sank both ends of a one-and-one that pushed the edge to a two-possession game, the large PV cheer section began to celebrate its second state title in three seasons.
"I was scared when I stepped up and thought 'What if I miss one and they come back and shoot a 3,' " Thomas said. "But I just hyped myself up."
Tyler Hunt looks to score for Venice in its 57-53 loss to Pleasant Valley on Friday. Hunt had a team-high 22 in the loss.
Photo by David Steutel
21, 10, 14, 8 - 53
10, 18, 19, 10 - 57
Gondoliers - Donald 4, Decena 6, Johnson 6, Lopez 15, Hunt 22
Vikings - Mitchell 3, Garretson 4, Kremer 12, Joyce 14, Thomas 22
3-pointers - VH: 10 (Hunt, Decena 2, Johnson 2, Lopez 5); PV: 7 (Thomas 3, Joyce 4)
