SLO secures Ocean League title while Mission Prep finishes second in Mountain League
San Luis Obispo High School’s boys basketball team won the Ocean League championship in dramatic fashion on Friday night while Mission Prep took second place in the Mountain League despite a blowout win over Arroyo Grande.
In a tightly contested game, the Tigers defeated Santa Ynez 45-43 on a last-second, game-winning shot.
In Arroyo Grande, the Royals dominated the Eagles 64-28.
SLO wins Ocean League title on buzzer beater
San Luis Obispo secured an Ocean League title with a hard-fought win Friday night on the road.
The Tigers (21-8, 12-2) won at the buzzer over Santa Ynez (19-8, 10-3) on a tip-in by John Raj, according to SLO Coach Jeff Brandow.
With the win that decided the Ocean League title outright, SLO punctuated a stellar season and marked turnaround from the past two years of its program.
“As a coach I am super proud of the effort these young men have put forth,” Brandow said in an email Friday night. “As a program we went 10-28 the past two years. To be league champs at 21-8 overall and going to the playoffs is an unbelievable feeling. A testament to our young men.”
Jayden Pooler was SLO’s high scorer with 13 points while Raj add 11 points in the win.
Local teams find out this weekend who they’re facing in playoff seedings.
Mission Prep routs Arroyo Grande to grab second place in Mountain League
Four players scored 14 or more points to propel the Royals past the Eagles in a battle between the second- and third-place teams in the Mountain League.
Mission Prep (20-8, 12-2) took the first matchup against the Eagles (18-9, 10-4) in a 60-44 win at home, and the Royals were even more dominant on Friday night, jumping out to a fast start in the first quarter and never looking back.
“We shot the lights out, quite frankly,” senior Jamar Howard said. “I’m pretty sure we were like 80% shooting from the three-point line, so it’s super nice to have everybody shooting. As soon as everybody gets to shoot, it brings more opportunities for everybody around the court.”
Howard finished with 15 points. The University of Texas Rio Grande commit got into the paint consistently and made plays for himself and teammates.
“The more I pass the ball, the more people have to watch out for me to actually pass the ball,” Howard said. “So showing that I’m able to facilitate shows that I’m not going to be a selfish player.”
Junior Luke Jacobson, senior Wyatt Maulhardt and sophomore Roman Benedetti all caught fire from beyond the arc. Jacobson and Maulhardt hit three three-pointers, and Benedetti added four triples.
“You always want to be playing at a high level when you’re entering playoffs,” Head Coach Terrence Harris said. “I feel like we’re playing well at the right time, and I feel like we’ve got some things that we can and will work towards improving on over the next couple of days to be ready for a playoff opponent.”
It was an emotional right for the Eagles as the team honored its four seniors. Arroyo Grande got off to a slow start before responding with some shots. Still, the Eagles found themselves down 19-8 after the first quarter.
Arroyo Grande finished third in the Mountain League having only lost games to the two top seeds, Mission Prep and St. Joseph.
Against the Royals, junior Nic Simmons finished with 8 points. Senior Noah Morris added in 7 in the loss.
The Eagles season isn’t over. The team qualifies for Division 2 for the CIF Central Section playoffs.
This story was originally published February 10, 2023 at 11:08 PM.