Senior
Ethan Johnson of Sierra Canyon (26-4) hit a 3-point basket with 5.3 seconds left to give the Trailblazers a 68-67 lead.
With 2.1 seconds remaining and the ball near mid-court, Yessoufou caught the inbound pass near the elbow and drilled the game-winning jumper as time expired.
See footage of the dramatic finish in the video courtesy of the NFHS Network.
Tounde Yessoufou, shown here in action against Branson in January, entered Tuesday's game averaging 33.1 points, 10.4 rebounds, 2.6 steals and 2.1 assists per game. (File photo: Dennis Lee)
Yessoufou is rated as the No. 3 player California in the Class of 2025 by
247Sports with offers from the likes of Arizona, Kansas and UCLA. The native of Benin came up with big shots all night for St. Joseph (31-3) while playing lockdown defense.
The loss closes out the careers of Sierra Canyon seniors
Justin Pippen and Arkansas pledge
Isaiah Elohim, who had a double-double. Junior
Bryce James also had several key shots, including a 4-point play that gave the Trailblazers a 57-55 fourth quarter lead.
St. Joseph represented Northern California in the CIF Open Division championship game last year but fell to
Harvard-Westlake (Studio City). This year the Knights were placed on the Southern California side of the bracket. The Knights will take on No. 14
Roosevelt (Eastvale) on Saturday in the regional semifinals.
