SACRAMENTO — For the first time in school history
San Marin (Novato) has won the California Division V championship with a 89-64 victory over
Sylmar on Friday at the Golden 1 Center.
The Mustangs trailed 50-47 midway through the third quarter before ripping off an 18-3 run led by
Miller Morgan. The senior finished the title game with 25 points, four rebounds, four steals and three assists.
"We as a team came together and said pack the paint," Morgan said on the run. "We got so many steals and we put it together on the defensive end."
San Marin continued its momentum into the fourth quarter by scoring the first 12 points to extend the lead to 79-56 before the Spartans scored their first points of the final frame.
The Mustangs forced 24 turnovers in the game which led to 21 fast-break points.
"I think the pace was to our liking," said head coach Chris Lavdiotis. "We knew they would try to make it chaotic. These guys never let up, we like that pace."
Morgan, alongside fellow seniors
Grant Means,
Kellen Dunning and
Jackson Young combined to score 68 points in the game and helped the Mustangs jump out to a 31-17 lead in the first half.
San Marin won its first state championship in school history 89-64 over Sylmar on Friday at Golden 1 Center. Miller Morgan scored 25 points and Jackson Young pulled down 10 rebounds while scoring 15. (Photo: David Steutel)
Sylmar then had a 14-0 run of its own led by senior
Rob Winn and sophomore
Aiden Garcia. The Spartans continued their strong play into the third quarter and led 50-47. Winn led the Spartans with 27 points while Garcia had 14.
"They did a good job of slowing us down in the beginning and in the third quarter," said Sylmar head coach Bort Escoto. "We did a good job of playing our game in the second quarter."
San Marin got to Sacramento after taking down top-seeded
Mission San Jose (Fremont, Calif.) in the semifinal 56-46. It was a rematch after Mission San Jose had beaten San Marin 49-45 on Feb. 25 in the North Coast Section playoffs.
"When we got beat by Mission San Jose, it was a major disappointment," Lavdiotis said. "These guys focused on everyday and for the last six days I've been in a dream. I cannot be any happier for all of these guys and especially the eight seniors. Don't wake me up, it's been fabulous."
