Atascadero earns CIF title berth after 69-52 semifinal win over Hoover
Atascadero High earned a CIF-Central Section title berth after a convincing 69-52 home win over Hoover, of Fresno, on Thursday.
The No. 1 Greyhounds (20-9) fared well against the No. 4 Patriots (17-9), with an empty seat hard to find in the filled-up, energized gym.
Atascadero star Shea Buckley led the way on a big scoring night, pouring in a game-high 34 points, including six made 3-pointers.
Damon Mitchell tallied 15 points and Steven Ernst added 11 points as the Greyhounds earned a trip to the Division 2 championship game.
Atascadero will face off against No. 2 Clovis on Feb. 27 at 8 p.m. at Selland Arena in Fresno with the title on the line.
Meanwhile, Atascadero’s girls team hosts Tulare Union at 6 p.m. Friday in the Division 4 semifinal to continue its CIF-Central Section run after a 44-37 win over Garces Memorial on Wednesday at home in which the Greyhounds outscored the Rams 25-3 in the final quarter. The leading scorer in the girls playoff contest was Lainey Arnold with 11, McKenna Nichols had 10 and Mia Purchase added nine.
Atascadero’s boys team established a solid first half lead Thursday, going up 41-28 as Buckley sparked the offense with 19 first-half points, and Atascadero limited the Patriots standout guards with strong defense.
But Hoover narrowed the margin to seven points, pulling within 49-42, as the Patriots forced Atascadero to take tough shots and converted around the basket on their offensive end.
But Buckley steadied the ship with some key shots, a 3-pointer and a driving, contested layup that helped rebuild the double-digit lead to give the home fans who showed up big plenty to cheer about.
“I just try to let the game come to me,” Buckley said. “Last game (versus Sanger) I feel like I was getting more pressured and my teammates were open. I trust my teammates more than anything. But if the defense is going to sag off, and give me more looks, I’m going to take those looks.”
Buckley said it has been a longtime goal, now realized, to make it to the big game.
“My whole high school career, my goal has been to go to Selland Arena and play in the finals,” Buckley said. “And what better way to do that than in my senior year. I’ve been playing these guys (his teammates) since like, fifth grade. It means a lot to us, and we’re cherishing these moments because it’s coming to an end. I’m really grateful.”
Mitchell was a force down low, grabbing rebounds and playing the role of the defensive stopper in the lane. He said that against Sanger his job was guard the bigs, but against Hoover’s skilled guards his job was help out more on the wing.
Mitchell picked up his third foul early in the third quarter, but managed to still play effective defensive without getting into any additional foul trouble.
“I feel like I could have disrupted their offense a little bit more, but mostly I think our guards did what they needed to do, to pressure them and make them not run off their scorers,” Mitchell said.
Mitchell, who has played three years on varsity, recalled coming up short in the semifinals as a sophomore and the Greyhounds had a first-round loss last year, his junior season.
“We really kept that in mind this year, to just get to the chip,” Mitchell said. “It’s going to be awesome. I can’t wait.”
This story was originally published February 19, 2026 at 10:01 PM.
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