Davis’ 26 not enough to propel Modesto Christian to second straight NorCal Open Title
All night it seemed like St. Joseph-Santa Maria was just one step quicker than Modesto Christian.
Whether it was a loose ball, offensive rebound or extra possession, it somehow ended up bouncing the Knights’ way.
For the first time in the history of the Open Division, the boys NorCal champion was crowned in the 209 but unfortunately for the majority of the approximately 1,500 in attendance at Modesto Junior College on Tuesday night, the crown went to visiting St. Joseph-Santa Maria.
The Knights never trailed after the first quarter en route to a 72-58 win to secure the NorCal title and advance to Saturday’s Open Division State Championship.
“Hats off to St. Joseph. There wasn’t too many teams beating them tonight.” Modesto Christian coach Brice Fantazia said.
This was the second match-up between the two teams. Modesto Christian won a Dec. 16 battle, 68-67, at the De La Salle MLK Tournament.
“They didn’t change anything dramatically that shocked us or anything,” Fantazia said. “They just killed us on the boards. They didn’t kill us on the boards the first time.”
Tounde Yessoufou was every bit the five-star prospect Tuesday night.
The 6-foot-6, 210-pound sophomore forward threw down powerful dunks in transition, scored in the post and lit it up from outside, scoring a game-high 27 points. He went 3-for-4 from deep across a two minute stretch in the third quarter to keep the Crusaders just out of striking distance.
“I think that is a guy who’s gonna be a pro.” said Fantazia.
Multiple times Yessoufou chased down his own misses for putback layups, and 6-foot-9 center Caedin Hamilton dominated the paint. Freshman Julius Price scored 17, connecting on three 3’s.
“They were just one step faster,” Modesto Christian senior Bj Davis said. “Over time, loose balls add up to possessions and shots. It’s stuff that you really got to capitalize on and hopefully I can learn from this and everybody can learn from this.”
Davis scored 27 points, dove on the floor in an attempt to scrap extra possessions for the Crusaders and, at times, challenged the Knights’ defense alone in an attempt to get the team going.
“That’s why San Diego State loves him. He’s just such a competitor.” Fantazia said.
His Modesto Christian career ends with a list of accolades that includes well over 1,000 points, back-to-back Division I section titles, back-to-back Northern California Open Division Finals appearances, a NorCal Open title, a NorCal runner up and state Open Division runner up honors.
“There’s past MC players who say Bj is the best guard they’ve ever seen,” Fantazia said of the San Diego State-bound Davis. “The career he had was unbelievable. And the impact that he had on even our junior high kids at Modesto Christian right now is unbelievable.”
Freshman Rashod Cotton (14 points) and senior Jalen Brown (13) joined Davis as the Crusaders’ double-figure scorers Tuesday, but the Knights were a force in the paint.
The Crusaders took an early 11-8 lead, but by the end of the first the Knights tied the game at 11. St. Joseph went ahead by as much as 12 in the second quarter and never trailed again.
Modesto Christian’s final comeback attempt came in the fourth with a quick 6-0 run to make it a 10-point game with 2 minutes, 52 seconds left but St. Joseph outscored the Crusaders 9-5 to end the game.
“I never count this team out,” Fantazia said. “These guys don’t quit, they have fight and we just ran into a better team. It was a combination of us not having our best night and I think they had their best night tonight. They came in focused and dialed in. Runners-up sucks, but it’s still a heck of a season for these guys.”
