SACRAMENTO – The coronation party had to wait two quarters to get going. And when it did, it was something to see.
With a second half to remember, the Chino Hills boys basketball team punctuated a perfect season Saturday night, surging ahead in the third quarter and defeating De La Salle of Concord, 70-50, for the CIF State Open Division title in the final high school championship at Sleep Train Arena.
Chino Hills, the consensus national No. 1, fulfilled a season of expectations with the win. That, of course, included the usual array of crisp passes, thunderous dunks, and eventually, a locker room ice shower for Coach Steve Baik as the Huskies tossed whatever they could find in the air in celebration.
“I am so proud of these guys,” Baik said. “Obviously, tonight was a challenge, but the whole year was a challenge. For everything to fall into place is a miracle.”
“It’s definitely a special story.”
Senior Lonzo Ball, the UCLA commit and Gatorade Player of the Year, had 15 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists in the victory, while junior and younger brother LiAngelo Ball had 18 points. Younger brother and freshman LaMelo Ball scored 14 and freshman Eli Scott had 16. Chino Hills finished the season 35-0.
“I can’t imagine anything better,” Lonzo Ball said.
And when the state championships move to the new Golden 1 Center in downtown Sacramento next year, these Huskies might be back as Lonzo is the only Ball brother graduating.
First, though, the Huskies were tested in Saturday’s first half by De La Salle, Northern California’s No. 1 seed. De La Salle led by 10 points early, but the Huskies started the second half on a 13-2 run and were never challenged again. Chino Hills outscored the Northern regional champ, 19-5, in the third quarter.
What won’t be remembered from this game, in which the Huskies were able to showcase their high-flying routine in the fourth quarter, is the sensational defense that broke down the Spartans. De La Salle did everything but kneel down to slow the game’s tempo.
“In the past in a game like this, we might have,” Baik said, when asked if there were any concerns when De La Salle took a 30-28 lead into halftime. “We needed something to open up.”
And so it did in the third quarter, when Lonzo Ball drove for a bucket to open the quarter, Lamelo hit a 3-pointer and freshman Onyeka Okongwu converted a 3-point play.
Chino Hills held De La Salle to 25 percent from the floor in the second half – after the Spartans (31-3) hit half of their field goals in the first 16 minutes – while the Huskies shot 53 percent in the final two quarters.
Then came the fun in the fourth quarter. Lonzo Ball brought the crowd to its feet with a sensational swan song, as he scored on three consecutive alley-oop dunks at the end of the game.
