SACRAMENTO – It's all about being grateful,
Stuart Hall (San Francisco) boys basketball coach Charley Johnson said. The pandemic taught him that. He's thankful for for his school, the security guards, the bus drivers, the student body.
But after Friday's 56-45 win over
Chaffey (Ontario) in the CIF Division V championship game at Golden 1 Center, Johnson was mostly grateful for his players.
The backcourt of
Brandon Lum and
Jackson Jung
combined for 43 points, the Knights outscored Chaffey 24-3 from the
3-point line and outrebounded the Southern California champion
while winning their first state title. They lost in the 2018 state title game to Villa Park (Los Angeles), 74-62.
"I told them before the game that I loved them," Johnson said. "But I told them I'd love them even more if you win."
Stuart Hall celebrates its first state championship.
Photo by David Steutel
They took control early thanks to the perimeter shooting of Lum (22 points) and Jung (20) and some scrappy play from
Sterling Luddington-Simmons (nine rebounds, five steals) and
Maverick Malabey (eight rebounds) to help erase the 2018 loss.
Like that game, The Hall had 10 rooter buses bring 500-plus fans to the game. The school took the day off to cheer on the Knights (22-12), who took leads of 11-6 at the end of the first and 30-16 by halftime.
Chaffey, which got 13 points from
Tyler Terry and eight points and eight rebounds from
Adrian Gutierrez never got inside nine points the second half. The Tigers, who finished 24-13, made just 14 of 48 shots (29.2 percent) to 38.3 percent for the Knights (18 of 47).
"It was really a tale of making shots and not making shots," Chaffey coach Erik Crull said. "But hand it to Stuart Hall. They had a game plan and executed it. We didn't play our best and if we had a seven game series it might have been different. But kudos to Stuart Hall. They earned it.
"Never in a million years did anyone think we'd get here. I'm proud of our guys."
Johnson said he was confident in his group all week. He liked their spirit and confidence. He wasn't surprised they were able to connect on eight 3-pointers, evenly divided between Lum. and Jung. Most teams resist shooting long distance in NBA arenas. Chaffey tried just six 3-pointers. Stuart Hall tried 28.
"These kids are a bunch of ballers," Johnson said. "It wasn't a big deal to them to come to a big arena and make shots."
But it was a big deal to finish as champions. Not just for his team.
"It's way bigger than the team," Johnson said. "Our whole community is pumped."
Chaffey - 6, 10, 9, 20 - 45
Stuart Hall - 11, 19, 13, 13 - 56
Tigers - Jackson 9, Terry 13, Clark 7, Gutierrez 8, Nunley 5.
Knights - Ludddington-Simmons 5, Jung 20, Lum 22, Rayford 2, Goodman 4
3-pointers - C: 1 (Chavez). SH: 8 (Lum 4, Jung 4).
Tyler Terry, Chaffey
Photo by David Steutel
Brandon Lum, Stuart Hall
Photo by David Steutel
Jackson Jung, Stuart Hall
Photo by David Steutel
