Rolling Hills pulls off 47-46 victory over Watsonville St. Francis for its first Division V championship
Harvey Kitani was the basketball coach at Fairfax for 35 years. He was 2-0 in state championship games and is so superstitious that he made sure to repeat as many things as he could this weekend to make sure his new school, Rolling Hills Prep, might have the same luck as the Lions.
So he took the players to Buca di Beppo restaurant. And his coaches on Friday morning bought the same turkey sausage bagel sandwich as they did during wins in 2004 and 2007.
Rolling Hills Prep needed all the luck it could get to pull out a 47-46 victory over Watsonville St. Francis to win its first state Division V championship on Friday morning at Golden 1 Center.
St. Francis failed to connect on a three-point shot attempt as the buzzer sounded. Rolling Hills was able to overcome a six-point halftime deficit.
Chris Koon, who was playing for the Bishop Montgomery JV team last season, finished with 13 points for Rolling Hills. JT Tan had 12 points and Alex Garcia 11. Jason Gallo had 15 points for St. Francis, but only two came in the second half.
Kitani became the second coach in state history to win championships at two different schools.
“I feel even better because of where they came from,” he said referring to his team’s development over the course of the season.
Division III: What a battle of point guards it was. Myles Franklin of Villa Park scored 28 points, making 13 of 14 free throws. He made two free throws with 9.1 seconds left to send the game into overtime.
Niamey Harris of San Francisco Mission scored 31 points. He kept producing big baskets and in the end led his team to an 82-75 victory over Villa Park.
“They certainly showed why they have lost only one game this season,” Villa Park Coach Kevin Reynolds said of the 35-1 Bears.
Girls
Division III: “Amazing freshman” is how Fullerton Rosary Coach Rich Yoon described 5-foot-7 guard Katherine Goostrey.
All Goostrey did was score 26 points to lead Rosary (30-5) to the state Division III championship with a 62-45 win over Moraga Campolindo.
“Best freshman I’ve ever had,” said Yoon, in his 26th season. “She’s one of those kids who’d run through a wall for you.”
Rebekah Obinma had 12 points and 17 rebounds. Camille Lira added 10 points, six assists and 11 rebounds. Haley Van Dyke led Campolindo with 25 points and 22 rebounds.
Division V: Zion Gabriel of East Palo Alto Eastside College Prep set a state championship game record with eight three-pointers in Eastside’s 63-40 victory over Rolling Hills Prep. She made eight of 16 threes and finished with 26 points.
It was the most threes by any girl or boy in championship game history. Klay Thompson, now with the Golden State Warriors, made seven threes in 2008 for Santa Margarita. “It’s amazing to break [the record] and I feel a little overwhelmed,” Gabriel said.
Follow Eric Sondheimer on Twitter @latsondheimer
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