L.A. Price comes up short in state title game

Reporting from Sacramento -- They looked ahead with blank stares, some with tears in their eyes. The ending in the Division IV state championship boys’ basketball game Friday afternoon at Power Balance Pavilion left Los Angeles Price players feeling frustrated and helpless to change the result.

Richmond Salesian came away with a 70-56 victory, thanks to a strong second-half performance behind scrappy defense that included taking three fourth-quarter charging fouls and the all-around play of 6-foot-5 junior standout Jabari Bird. He finished with 24 points, including five dunks.

Price (26-9), which faced a gantlet of outstanding teams to make it out of the Southern California Regional, encountered an equally powerful foe that matched the Knights in athleticism and size.

“We’re playing in a different atmosphere,” 6-8 Price center Skylar Spencer said. “It’s not like a high school gym. A lot of shots weren’t falling. We were trying to drive, but they were doing a good job stopping it.”

Price started well, opening a 14-5 lead. The Knights’ zone defense made Salesian (34-2) look uncomfortable. Khalil Johnson, who had 17 points, was being productive on offense. But once Salesian brought in Freddie Tagaloa, a 6-8, 305-pound California-bound offensive lineman, to take up space in the middle, the game changed.

“We knew whoever came out of the South was going to be a tough challenge,” Salesian Coach Bill Mellis said. “We struggled with them. In the first half, they were getting the best of us. We were able to take control toward the end of the first half.”

In the third quarter, Salesian went on a 9-0 run to take a 40-32 lead. Price came back to tie the score, 43-43, but problems at the free-throw line hurt the Knights. Price made just 14 of 32 free throws. Meanwhile, Salesian shot 52% from the field, a rarity in an arena where making shots is tough. But lots of shots came on fastbreaks, enabling Salesian to win its 27th consecutive game.

Trey Dickerson scored 15 points for Price and Spencer finished with 14.

“It was a major accomplishment for us to get here, so we don’t have any losers in this room,” Price Coach Michael Lynch said afterward. “It was a wonderful season.”

eric.sondheimer@latimes.com