Live! CIF State Basketball Championships Friday

Division V
St. Joseph Notre Dame (Alameda) 57, Renaissance Academy (La Canada) 32

The St. Joseph Pilots didn't just wipe out a bad memory. They burned it.

They did it before the game by burning a photo coach Don Lippi had kept of his team sprawled on the floor following a 47-46 loss to Horizon Christian at the buzzer last year after squandering a 7-point lead in the final 25 seconds.

They did it on the court Friday with 61 percent shooting, a ferocious zone defense and 21 points and 16 rebounds from 6-foot-7, 240-pound Long Beach State-bound Temidayo Yussuf who after last year's game was inconsolable. Friday he and his teammates flailed fists and celebrated every basket, perhaps loudest when popular senior reserve Eilijah Fisher scored a late fastbreak basket.

"It's unexplainable," said Yussuf, when asked to express his feelings. "We just knew we wanted to end today with a smile and not a frown."

Spurred also by fiery 66-year-old coach Lippi and a raucous student body, the Pilots (31-5) simply grabbed hold of a title it thought it had secured a year before, shook it, and stymied a team that went scoreless in the second quarter and for a span of more than 11 minutes.

Frankly, Renaissance Academy (24-8) never had a chance or knew what hit them. Not after the Pilots took Lippi's photo and burned it in a trash can before boarding the team bus in Alameda. It was a symbolic gesture Lippi is known to do.

"We burned it to erase a game 12 months ago," Lippi said. "Now we need a new picture."

Friday's will be one of joy and celebration for the Pilots, who got 14 points on 7 of 9 shooting - all from the paint - by 6-4, 220-pound junior Lamont Banks.

Esteban Lovato and impressive freshman Jade' Smith combined for 14 points for the winners, who worked the ball constantly inside. The Pilots took only four free throws, less than the six they missed in the final minute last year.

Renaissance Academy, which closed within 20 only three times in the fourth quarter, bot 12 points from Marquise Mosley and 10 by KJ Okmanas.

Wildcats' coach Sid Cooke said his young team was simply in over their head against the more experienced Pilots.

"They had players in that had played in this game two and three times," Cooke said. "It showed. They played with poise. They earned it. We could have played better but I'm not sure it would have mattered. Nobody expected us to be here."

Asked how long it took to get over last year's loss, and the Long Beach State-bound Yussef said: "Until today, that's how long."

St. Joseph 57, Renaissance Academy 32

RENAISSANCE ACADEMY (24-8)
K.J. Okmanas 2-8 4-4 10, Alex Mkrtchyan 0-4 0-0 0, Marty Gaizauskas 2-6 0-0 4, Marquise Mosley 5-14 2-7 12, Steve Herve 1-6 4-4 6, Kosta Jankovic 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 10-40 10-15 32.

ST. JOSEPH (31-5)
Jade Smith 3-6 0-0 6, Esteban Lovato 3-3 1-1 8, Marcus Harris 0-0 0-0 0, Lamont Banks 7-9 0-0 14, Temidayo Yussuf 10-18 1-1 21, JEllijah Fisher 1-1 0-0 2, Miles Harris 2-4 0-1 2, Darne Duckett 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 27-44 2-4 57.

RA       8   0   8  16  -  32
SJ      16 13 12  16  - 57

3-point goals: RA 2-18, SJ 1-3. Rebounding: RA 16 (Herve 6), SJ 36 (Yussuf 16). Assists: RA 2, SJ 9 (Harris 4). Turnovers: RA 10, SJ 14. 

Preview
Win streaks: RA 12, SJ 13
State record: RA 0-1, St. Joseph 4-5
Points per game (allowed): RA 60.1 (44.8), SJ 58.2 (46.6)
Terrific trios: Renaissance Academy — F Steve Herve, G Marquise Mosley, G Marty Gaizauskas. St. Joseph Notre Dame — F Temidayo Yussuf G Marcus Harris, F Lamont Banks
Notes: RA lost its only state game to Branson (Ross), 40-33 in 2008. … Mosley hit a game-winning 3-pointer with 5 seconds left in a 58-55 win over View Park in the regional final. … SJND has won three straight, 4 of 5 and 6 of 8 NorCal titles. … Yussuf, a 6-7 forward, averages 23 points and 12 rebounds per game.
Predicted winner: St. Joseph Notre Dame Please click ahead to see the girls' action, leading with Canyon Springs' first state title