Boys’ basketball: Gardena Serra makes history
This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.
BAKERSFIELD _ Gardena Serra (34-2) has become the first California high school to win state championships in football and basketball in the same school year after winning the state Division III championship with a 63-59 overtime victory over Oakland Bishop O’Dowd.
Serra’s Marqise Lee blocked James Thomas Jr.’s three-point attempt that could have pulled the Dragons even, and the ball went out of bounds off Thomas. Vaughn Autry then made one of two free throws for the Cavaliers to seal the victory.
This was truly a team victory. The Cavaliers used 10 players at key moments throughout the game, and players came out of nowhere to contribute, from George Farmer making a three-pointer in the fourth quarter to Bene Benwikere contributing a dunk off a rebound. Steven Archibald had 12 points off the bench and Ronnie Stevens made a key putback in overtime after Keith Shamburger missed a pair of free throws.
Bishop O’Dowd (30-4) refused to go down quietly, rallying after trailing by 10 points going into the fourth quarter. A three-pointer by Thomas with 1:40 left cut the Dragons’ deficit to 54-53. And then Jordan Barton tied it with a free throw with 5.5 seconds left. A lane violation wiped out a chance for Barton to put his team in the lead.
--Eric Sondheimer