The Riverside Press-Enterprise
CROWNING GLORY
Temecula Valley adjusts, defeats Northview for program’s first section championship
Facing a defensiveminded team in Northview, Temecula Valley boys basketball coach James Profit figured his players would not approach the 90-plus points they averaged through the first four rounds of the playoffs.
So, the Golden Bears placed an emphasis on quality over quantity Saturday evening.
Temecula Valley made those extra passes to get quality looks at the basket and demonstrated unselfish play during its 53-40 victory over Northview in the CIF Southern Section Division 4A championship game at Toyota Arena.
“It was a lot slower for us offensively than we like, but I loved the way our boys persevered,” said Profit, who has been the program’s head coach the past four years after sharing duties with Kyle Armstrong for several seasons.
“We value sharing the basketball and making the right play. If the right play is you … then score. If the right play is sharing … then share. It doesn’t matter if that’s a guy averaging 23 points or one averaging 10 or 11.”
That sharing of the basketball led to the Bears sharing the glory of capturing the program’s first section title.
Temecula Valley last reached the section finals in 2016 (Division 1A runner-up in 2016), but the program went a combined 9-52 in its first three years after the pandemic. Point guard Taj Jackson was on last year’s 3-25 team.
“We just stayed the course,” said Jackson who scored 10 points Saturday. “We didn’t lose hope and kept pushing.”
A youth movement helped Temecula
Valley (19-14) rediscover its winning ways this season. Profit’s son Jeremiah is a freshman and scored a game-high 18 points on 8-of-15 shooting while dishing out five of the team’s 12 assists. Sophomore Liam Hodgkinson had only one attempt in the first half but scored all 10 of his points after intermission.