Boys basketball roundup: St. Bonaventure, Santa Paula punch tickets to CIF-SS finals
The St. Bonaventure and Santa Paula boys basketball programs are on the brink of history.
Both teams won semifinal games Friday night to earn a shot at capturing their first CIF-Southern Section championships.
Led by a balanced attack and a strong defensive effort, St. Bonaventure secured its title-game berth with a 70-53 victory at Long Beach-Wilson in a Division 4AA semifinal game.
Junior Jeremy Goodcase and sophomore Mathew Wilson each scored 16 points, junior Dylan Benner finished with 15 points and 14 rebounds, and senior Nico Macias had 14 points as the Seraphs reached a CIF-SS final for just the third time.
St. Bonaventure (23-8) opted to settle into a zone defense, frustrating Wilson from start to finish.
“Defense really was the difference for us,” head coach Wolfgang Wood said. “We opted to play zone and make them try to shoot over us. We’ve got some length with our guys, so we were able to keep pushing them farther and farther out. They were having to set up their offense by the volleyball lines.”
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St. Bonaventure broke the school record for wins in a season with their 23rd victory, overtaking the 2017-18 team that won 22 and reached the Division 4AA final, which it lost 55-38 to Hillcrest. The 2007-08 team also reached a CIF-SS final but lost.
The Seraphs, who have reached a CIF-SS championship game in Wood's third season at the helm, will face top-seeded Valencia — a 65-51 winner over Beaumont in the other semifinal — in the title game next Saturday at a time and place to be determined.
“I’ve always been told it takes three seasons for a coach to come in a make an impact with his personality and identity, so that part is on schedule,” Wood said. “At the same time, I was hired in the COVID year and we didn’t know if we’d be able to play basketball at all. I knew I had a group of talented players. I know they work hard and sometimes I need to chase them out of the gym. It’s just a good feeling to seem them succeed.”
Senior Jordan Ramirez scored 20 points and grabbed five rebounds, sophomore Jose Valdovinos finished with 13 points and seven rebounds, senior Andrew Mojica contributed 10 points and five rebounds, and sophomore Jeremiah De Santiago had eight points and 12 rebounds as Santa Paula defeated visiting San Gorgonio 70-53 to reach the Division 5A championship game.
The Cardinals will be playing a CIF-SS title game for the first time in program history.
"They’re making history, these kids," said head coach Keith Epps, who has led the Cardinals to the title game in his third season. "It was one of those grind-it-out games."
Down 34-29 at halftime, Santa Paula outscored San Gorgonio 16-6 in the third quarter to take a 50-40 heading into the fourth.
"Offense can sputter, but our defense is always consistent," Epps said.
The Cardinals will play the winner of Saturday night's other semifinal between top-seeded Blair and Tarbut V' Torah in the title game next Saturday at a time and place to be determined.
Oxnard's run in the Division 2AA playoffs ended with a 70-49 semifinal loss on the road to powerful Orange Lutheran.
Reese Widerburg scored 27 points, Dominik Contreras had 13 points, and Bobby Barajas finished with seven points, six assists and three steals for the Yellowjackets (29-3).
St. Bonaventure, Santa Paula and Oxnard have all qualified for the state tournament. Buena and Camarillo, which lost Division 3AA semifinal games Friday night, also advanced to state.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: St. Bonaventure, Santa Paula punch tickets to CIF-SS finals
