Riley stays red hot, leads Warriors to another section title

ONTARIO » La Serna was hoping to avoid being another team that top-seeded St. Pius X-St. Matthias overpowered in the CIF Southern Section Division 3AA boys basketball playoffs.

And for a few minutes in the first quarter, the Lancers had reason to be hopeful as they tried to win their first section title.

But once St. Pius X-St. Matthias got rolling, there was nothing La Serna could do but be in awe, especially about the Warriors' 6-foot-6 swingman Tyrone Riley.

Riley, a junior with several scholarship offers, followed his 53-point game in the semifinals with a gamehigh 33 points and five rebounds as St. Pius X-St. Matthias routed La Serna 79-48 to win its second section championship since 2020.

Riley said the dominant playoff run, which saw the Warriors win their first four playoff games by an average margin of 29 points, was a matter of them not taking their foot off the gas pedal.

“It was amazing for us as a family and as a team,” Riley said. “Coming into this year we made it a mission to win and get the job done and we did today.”

La Serna (27-6), which didn't have a player taller than 6-foot-3 on its roster, tried attacking the basket against the Warriors, but had trouble getting by 6-foot-8 forward Douglas Langford, who had 16 points and 19 rebounds, along with 6-foot-6 Tariq Bridges and Riley.

The Warriors had too much size and athleticism for the Lancers to counter.

The Warriors finished with a 36-16 advantage on the boards, which coach Donte Archie says is always their mindset, whether they have a size advantage or not.

Tylon Williams and Shaun Fonoimoana also had solid games, scoring nine points apiece for the Warriors.

“It starts on defense, and I told them defense and rebounding would be the key,” Archie said. “The offense would take care of itself and it did. Once we got into that vibe and we got rebounds and played our way, we were able to get a lead and build on it.”

Gabriel Lewis scored six of the Lancers' first seven points, all attacking the basket for a 7-6 lead midway through the first quarter.

But the Warriors responded with an 12-0 run to go up 18-7.

Lewis finished with a team-high 13 points and Marco Montano scored 10 points.

St. Pius X-St. Matthias (29-4) and La Serna both advance to the CIF State playoffs. The regional pairings will be announced today.