SACRAMENTO – Villa Park ran out of time, and ran out of players.
With two starters having fouled out in the fourth quarter, Villa Park lost in overtime to Mission of San Francisco, 82-75, Friday in the CIF State Division III boys basketball championship game at Golden 1 Center.
Villa Park’s outstanding sophomore, Julien Franklin, fouled out midway through the fourth quarter. Matt Lanzone, the Spartans’ top rebounder – he had 15 rebounds against Mission – and inside defender, fouled out in the final minute of regulation.
The Spartans, playing in their first CIF State championship boys basketball game, hung in there through much of overtime until Mission pulled away in the final minute.
Villa Park coach Kevin Reynolds was depressed by his team’s loss, but impressed by the team that won.
Mission shot 51 percent from the field. The Bears were active and aggressive on defense, and came up with 14 steals.
“That is a very good basketball team,” Reynolds said. “They certainly showed why they lost only one game this year. We have nothing but respect for them and the job they did.”
Villa Park lost in the first round of the CIF-SS playoffs last season.
“So from losing in the first round last year to getting to the state championship and losing in overtime this year,” Reynolds said, “that’s a hell of a run.”
Villa Park, which finished 27-7, lost a couple of big games this season. But the Spartans also won some important games too, especially in the state tournament.
The Spartans were defeated by Colony of Ontario in the CIF-Southern Section Division 2AA championship game three weeks ago. They made the most of the second chance offered by the CIF Southern California Regionals. Villa Park beat Colony in the Southern California Regionals Division III championship game, the school’s first boys basketball Regionals title, to get to the state finals.
Mission (35-1) is the first CIF-San Francisco Section team to win a CIF State basketball championship. Mission 6-foot-2 senior guard Niamey Harris, who has not made a college choice, scored 31 points.
Villa Park 6-4 senior guard Myles Franklin, a Northeastern signee who scored a team-high 28 points, found Mission’s high-octane pace difficult to control. The Spartans can play a quick style, too, but nothing like the Bears play. Villa Park is better suited to a deliberate, half-court type of game.
“They tried to speed us up and play full court,” Myles Franklin said. “They did a good job of making us speed up our offense.”
Villa Park made a frantic comeback in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter. Mission held a seven-point lead with 90 seconds remaining.
The Spartans hoisted themselves back into contention. Caleb Banuelos’ 3-pointer with 41 seconds left sliced the Mission lead to 66-65.
Mission’s U’Jah Pratt made the first of two free throws to nudge the lead to two points. Pratt missed the second foul shot, Myles Franklin got the rebound and at the other end of the court was fouled with nine seconds to go. Franklin made both free throws to tie it 67-67, and the Spartans’ Isaiah Williams made a steal as time expired to keep Mission from getting a final shot in regulation.
Overtime began with Mission’s Jayden Foston making a 3-pointer. Villa Park’s Jason Reed made a free throw to make it 70-68. The Bears then began to pull away and outscored the Spartans, 15-8, in the extra period. Banuelos made a 3 with 12 seconds to go, but that would conclude the Spartans’ scoring.
Myles Franklin said the Spartans gave it all of the effort they could.
“It’s the last game,” he said. “You’ve got to do everything you can to give your team a second chance. We got that second chance but it just didn’t go our way.”
Contact the writer: sfryer@scng.com