Atascadero falls to Clovis 68-47 in CIF final after thrilling playoff run
Atascadero High has won 20 games this season and went on a strong run to get into the CIF-Central Section Division 2 final.
But the game they wanted to win the most didn’t go their way against a taller team that overmatched them in the paint, on top of a tough shooting night.
The No. 1 Greyhounds (20-10) lost 68-47 on Friday to the No. 2 Cougars (24-9) in Selland Arena in Fresno.
Atascadero beat Clovis 70-50 on Dec. 1 and looked to repeat that effort.
But the Cougars have been on a roll of late, winning five straight to celebrate their title about a 15-minute drive to the neutral stadium from their campus.
“A lot of credit to them,” said Atascadero Coach Augie Johnston. “They guarded the 3-point line, and guarded us pretty well in general. I wish we would have been able to get out in transition a lot more. Pretty much we were playing in the half court. They were pretty disciplined on offense. They were playing either fast in transition or they were really slowing it down and getting their big man involved.”
Greyhounds star senior guard Shea Buckley led the Greyhounds with 14 points; Damon Mitchell recorded 13 rebounds and nine points; Isaiah Rodriguez and Dane Stover each had seven points; and Kyle Foster had five points.
Despite the tough loss, Johnston described the arena experience in a CIF final as “amazing” for the program.
And the Greyhounds will be moving on to play in the state CIF tournament as a sectional finalist, with brackets to be announced on Sunday.
“We’re going to try to make some sort of a run in state, and just trying to try to find the silver lining right now, and just try to be appreciative that we’re in the finals, because a lot of people would kill to be here,” Johnston said.
The Greyhounds struggled against the size of Clovis, including 6-foot-9 power forward Jackson Scarborough, who tallied 11 points and dominated the paint. And the Cougars suited up a much taller team in general.
Six-foot-three Clovis junior guard Sier Harbin led all scorers with 19 points, one of four Cougars to post double digits.
“(Clovis) got better as the season went on,” Johnston said. “When you’re going against (6-foot-9), 6-7, 6-4 and 6-3, and, our biggest guy is about 6-foot-2, it is a factor. But, you know, if we play them 10 times, I think we beat them five times.”
Atascadero got behind 9-2 in the first quarter but mounted a solid comeback in the first half to trail only by two points, 30-28, behind Rodriguez’s two 3-pointers and some balanced team scoring.
In the third quarter, however, the shooting went cold for Atascadero, and they only scored eight points as Clovis built a 45-36 lead before the game got out of hand in the fourth quarter.
Clovis beat Mission Prep 63-55 in the second round of the tournament, and then topped No. 3 Bakersfield 67-60 in the semifinal.
Atascadero faced its toughest matchup yet Friday after convincing home wins against Sanger and Hoover in the quarterfinals and semis.
The 20-win season, which isn’t over yet, marks Atascadero’s first in 12 years and the first for Johnston, who has coached the team for the past eight years.
This story was originally published February 27, 2026 at 10:36 PM.
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