St. Joesph wins a thriller over Clovis West in CIF-Central Open Division semifinal

ORCUTT, Calif. - It was a semifinal showdown that lived up to the hype.

With St. Joseph leading by two points and less than 20 seconds to go, senior Sam Bazunga stole the ball and slammed down 2 of his 24 points to seal an 87-83 victory over Clovis West in a CIF-Central Open Division semifinal.

The thrilling victory puts the Knights into the championship game at top-seed San Joaquin Memorial in Fresno on June 11.

Angel Ortiz added 24 points as St. Joseph improved to 26-2 on the season.

Clovis West was led by UCSB-bound senior Cole Anderson who scored a game-high 30 points.

The Golden Eagles led 26-21 after one quarter and 43-42 at the half.

After grabbing a 66-64 lead after three quarters the Knights surged ahead by 11 points in the fourth quarter before Clovis West staged a furious rally.

They got within 85-83 on a three-pointer by Isaac Martinez.

But Bazunga and the Knights held them off in a classic between two top twenty-five ranked teams in the state.