CIF-SS BOYS BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES
DIVISION 2A
CAPISTRANO VALLEY (24-6) VS. OXNARD (27-3)
Where, when: Honda Center, Saturday, 2:45 p.m.
Outlook: Capistrano Valley is in a CIF-SS championship game for the first time since 2011. The Cougars’ most recent finals win was in 1992. They are 2-4 in section finals. Capistrano Valley won the Sea View League championship with an 8-0 record. After a first-round bye, second-seeded Capistrano Valley defeated Sunny Hills in the second round, Dos Pueblos of Goleta in the quarterfinals and Rancho Christian of Temecula in the semifinals. Dawson Baker, a 6-foot-3 junior guard, leads the Cougars with 21 points a game. Another 6-3 junior guard, Nic Lipovic, scores 11 points a game and is one of the team’s better outside shooters. Oxnard, making its first championship game appearance, has won 17 games in a row. The Yellow Jackets went 8-0 in the Pacific View League to win their third straight league title. In the playoffs, top-seeded Oxnard had a first-round bye then defeated Trabuco Hills in the second round, La Salle of Pasadena in the quarterfinals and Vista Murrieta in the semifinals. The win over Trabuco Hills was by three points, which is the same margin by which Capistrano Valley defeated Trabuco Hills. Capistrano Valley coach Brian Mulligan admires the Yellow Jackets. “They’re a fun team to watch play,” Mulligan said. “They do a lot of things right. They execute their traps about as well as any team I’ve seen, and they run a lot of stuff out of the same sets. It’s the same offense, but they run like 16 variations out of it.” By advancing to the championship game, Capistrano Valley and Oxnard have qualified for the CIF Southern California Regionals. Regionals brackets will be released Sunday.
