No state titles, but Metro teams cherish journeys
For the first time in 31 years — since the final year of the threedivision format in 1987 — a Metro Area basketball team didn’t win a state title.
Seven teams gave their best Friday and Saturday at the Golden 1 Center, home of the NBA’s Sacramento Kings, but all came home with secondplace trophies. No shame in that. But hard to swallow. Even on Monday morning.
“It’s still pretty devastating,” Las Lomas-Walnut Creek coach Brian Dietschy said. “This journey was just so much more than us. It was for the entire Walnut Creek community and generations of Las Lomas alums and faculty.
“We wanted to pay them back for all their support with the fairy-tale finish.”
It wasn’t to be. Chino Hills (San Bernardino County) had its own fairy tale to write.
Saddled all season with the drama of LaVar Ball pulling his son, LaMelo, out of school — and eventually the country — the Huskies bolted to a 22-point lead before Las Lomas made a gallant fight to the finish, losing 73-68 in the Division 1 boys championship.
Chino Hills coach Dennis Latimore told assistants early in the game that he thought “we might be able to sit back and relax for a change. It turned out to be pretty stressful.”
That’s largely because the more than 2,000 maroon-andgold-clad fans sitting behind the west basket would not let Las Lomas concede.
Many had cheered numerous comebacks during a 31-4 season that saw Las Lomas reach its first state championship game. The Knights, however, couldn’t overcome the large deficit, largely because they went 5for-27 from beyond the arc.
The combined 53 points from Robert Prince, Nathan Robinson and J.T. Estes weren’t enough to offset 64 points from Chino Hills’ Oneyka Okongwu, Ofure Ujadughele and Andre Ball.
“If I only made a few adjustments early,” Dietschy said. “If only we made 10 of 27 or attack a little more after (Okongwu) fouled out, we might have won.”
The way the team and community rallied, Robinson said, the Knights really didn’t lose. Not in the big scheme.
“The fans have been there all season for us,” said Robinson, one of four senior starters. “Sometimes I looked into the crowd and watched everyone going so crazy, cheering so hard. It made me play even harder. That’s the stuff I’ll never forget.”
The Knights will never forget their send-off Friday afternoon from downtown Walnut Creek. It included a police-escorted drive onto the freeway.
“People were standing on cars, businesses were shut down and decorated with Las Lomas colors,” Dietschy said. “There were fire engines and police cars. They shut down streets. It was amazing.”
Alameda coach Cameron Quick relayed similar gratitude to his team’s fans following a 59-53 D2 loss to CrossroadsSanta Monica. The Hornets previously had not reached the Northern California playoffs, let alone a state final.
“I want to thanks the Alameda community that has supported us and the student body that drove all the way from Alameda,” Quick said. “We set history here at Alameda. God blessed me with this team. We’ll be back.”
Stuart Hall gave its 450 students Friday off in celebration of the boys team’s shot at a state crown. About 400 of them, wearing white T-shirts, sat together in the cavernous arena.
Even when down double digits in the final moments of the 74-62 D4 loss to View ParkLos Angeles, they gave one final rendition of “We believe.”
“Our fans were great,” said junior Miles Amos, who had a team-high 21 points. “We heard them loud and clear. … I’m just so proud of our guys, fighting through so much adversity all season. We were underdogs every step, but we battled to the end.”
Lowell’s girls lost the D5 title game by 26 points to Sierra Pacific-Hanford, but Lowell junior guard Lauren Chan didn’t lose her perspective.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” she said. “How many people can say they played in an NBA arena? Nerves got us early, but overall, it was a great experience.”
All-Metro: Coaches, please send nominations or all-league lists to mstephens@ maxpreps.com for our AllMetro teams.