2018-19 Week 14: It’s a Championship Day for La Jolla Country Day

La Jolla Country Day’s state championship, the first by a San Diego Section team since 2015, served as the denouement for a basketball season that ended in disappointment for the big four of Torrey Pines, Foothills Christian, St. Augustine, and Mission Bay.

The manner in which ‘Day finished its season, routing San Francisco University, 67-39, for the state Division III crown and winning its five regional and state playoff games by an average score of 70-51, would lend support that the Torreys may have been the best team in the area.

There would be little argument with that premise except the Torreys’ last loss was to Cathedral in the Section D-I playoffs, 64-55.  That was their fifth consecutive and not long after 14-season coach Ryan Meier’s team, which fought injuries to important players during the season, was out of The San Diego Union-Tribune final Top 10 and entering the state playoffs with a 16-12 record.

The Torreys rolled, beginning with their next contest, a Southern California regional, 66-55 victory over Carlsbad that was followed by wins of 73-57 over Los Angeles University, 73-62 over Anaheim Fairmont Prep, 71-43 over La Crescenta Crescenta Valley, and the final against S.F. University.

POINTS AND BOARDS

Ryan Langbord, who will be shooting 3-pointers next season at Princeton University, led the Torreys with 23 points and 17 rebounds, and plugged a possible rebounding deficit with 10 in the first half, when 6-10 Jayson Taylor was in foul trouble.

“I do whatever is needed most,” Langbord told John Maffei of the Union-Tribune.  “Most important was winning the state championship.  It’s awesome.  Winning state is a priceless moment.”

That the Torreys went by air to Sacramento on the day of the game instead of leaving a day earlier and traveling by bus seemed significant.  Maffei wrote that the Torreys were “looking fresh, fast, and fit.”

‘Day was 1-2 during the regular season against two of the Union-Tribune poll’s final top 4.  They dropped a 73-67 decision to No. 1 Torrey Pines and split with Coastal League rival and No. 2 Foothills Christian, winning, 72-67, and losing, 63-52.

Torrey Pines, St. Augustine, and Mission Bay all were eliminated in their first Southern California regional tests and Foothills Christian was sidelined in the quarterfinals.

INTERSECTIONAL SUCCESS

San Diego teams were 26-24 in competition against schools from out of the section and out of state.  Foothills Christian (24-7) was 8-4, La Jolla Country Day (23-13) 6-5, Mission Bay (18-13) 6-7, St. Augustine (22-8) 4-5, and Torrey Pines (25-7) 2-3.

The Torreys’ state title was the ninth for the San Diego Section in boys’ competition and the first since 2013, when St. Augustine was a D-II winner over San Francisco Sacred Heart, 59-52, in overtime, and Horizon defeated Alameda St. Joseph Notre Dame, 47-44.  There have been 11 championships in girls’ competition, beginning with the Terry Mann-led Point Loma Pointers, who dominated from 1984-87.

San Diego Section Boys and Girls champions and runners-up in state tournament competition, which resumed in 1981; the CIF did not hold championships on the state level from 1928-80:

DIVISION TEAM OPPONENT SCORE YEAR
II Lincoln Mountain View St. Francis 74-59 2010
III University Redding Enterprise 51-48 1998
St. Augustine San Francisco Sacred Heart 59-52, OT 2013
La Jolla Country Day San Francisco University 67-39 2019
IV Lincoln San Anselmo Sir Francis Drake 63-50 1993
Horizon San Jose Valley Christian 78-45 2002
Horizon Hercules 77-62 2003
Horizon San Francisco Sacred Heart 60-52 2006
V Horizon Alameda St. Joseph Notre Dame 47-44 2013
RUNNER-UP   CHAMPION
II La Costa Canyon San Jose Mitty 78-57 2002
Oceanside Modesto 50-47 1984
III St. Augustine Santa Cruz 67-56 2005
Lincoln Daly City Jefferson 77-71 1988
IV Lincoln Salinas Palma 55-54 1992
Helix Vallejo St. Patrick-St. Vincent 59-46 2017
V Christian Colusa 62-48 1990
Horizon Modesto Christian 56-47 1997
GIRLS
I Point Loma San Francisco Wilson 53-48 1985
Point Loma Sacramento Grant 56-50 1986
Point Loma Sacramento Grant 60-44 1987
II Point Loma Chico Pleasant Valley 64-55 1984
IV The Bishop’s Stockton St. Mary’s 59-54 2001
La Jolla Country Day Richmond Salesian 72-41 2012
V Christian Ripon Christian 45-43 1992
Christian Ripon Christian 49-47 1995
La Jolla Country Day San Lorenzo Redwood Christian 69-57 2001
La Jolla Country Day Modesto Christian 53-49 2002
La Jolla Country Day Palo Alto Eastside Prep 40-36 2015
RUNNER-UP CHAMPION
I San Diego Oakland Technical 58-54 2004
II El Camino Chico Pleasant Valley 63-49 1985
IV La Jolla Country Day Stockton St. Mary’s 56-51 2003
La Jolla Country Day Piedmont 60-51 2004
La Jolla Country Day Vallejo St. Patrick-St. Vincent 67-65 2008
V Christian Menlo- Atherton 59-39 1993
Christian Ripon Christian 60-46 1994
Christian Santa Rosa Rincon Valley Christian 53-38 1997

 

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@
=
Away game
League game
>
>>,>>>,...
Overtime
2x,3x,... Overtime
I-V
A-AAA
O
Division I to V
Division A to AAA
Open Division
1T, 2T, ...
}, {
Final standing tie
Win, loss by 45 pt 'mercy' rule
*
**
***
^

^+
^^
1st round playoff
Quarterfinal playoff
Semifinal playoff
Championship
SoCal Championship
State Championship
8
8*
8**

8+
8-man team
Intraleague playoff
Southern Section playoff
8 vs 11-man team
~
-4
All boys, 2x enrollment
4 vs 3 grades, 9-12 vs 10-12
[
]
CA tiebreaker win,
loss
#, ##
!!
Forfeit win, loss
Game called, shortened or postponed
%Citrus-Desert Playoff

This will close in 0 seconds

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