SANTA ANA – Foothill did not win a CIF Southern Section boys basketball championship.
The Knights, though, are on the verge of seizing something bigger: a CIF State championship.
Foothill beat Los Altos 46-41 in the Division II final of the CIF Southern California Regional playoffs Tuesday in a packed and loud gym at Foothill High School.
Foothill’s head basketball coach Yousof Etemadi, center, poses with the trophy after defeating Los Altos in the Division II championship game of the CIF Southern Regional boys basketball playoffs at Foothill High School in Santa Ana on Tuesday, March 8, 2022. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Foothill celebrates after defeating Los Altos for the Division II championship game of the CIF Southern Regional boys basketball playoffs at Foothill High School in Santa Ana on Tuesday, March 8, 2022. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Foothill’s head basketball coach Yousof Etemadi, center, poses with the trophy after defeating Los Altos in the Division II championship game of the CIF Southern Regional boys basketball playoffs at Foothill High School in Santa Ana on Tuesday, March 8, 2022. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Foothill’s head basketball coach Yousof Etemadi, center, rallies the crowd in the closing seconds of a game against Los Altos in the Division II championship game of the CIF Southern Regional boys basketball playoffs at Foothill High School in Santa Ana on Tuesday, March 8, 2022. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Foothill celebrates after defeating Los Altos for the Division II championship game of the CIF Southern Regional boys basketball playoffs at Foothill High School in Santa Ana on Tuesday, March 8, 2022. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Jazz Gardner (32) of Los Altos moves in for a layup against the defense of Braedyn Bernhard (15) of Foothill in the Division II championship game of the CIF Southern Regional boys basketball playoffs at Foothill High School in Santa Ana on Tuesday, March 8, 2022. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Cruz Billings (2) of Foothill, center, pushes past the defense of Jaiyon Gardner (31) of Los Altos, right, in the Division II championship game of the CIF Southern Regional boys basketball playoffs at Foothill High School in Santa Ana on Tuesday, March 8, 2022. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Mikey Mazurie (23) of Foothill over the defense of John Corina (0), left, and Aaron Hernandez (22) of Los Altos for a score in the Division II championship game of the CIF Southern Regional boys basketball playoffs at Foothill High School in Santa Ana on Tuesday, March 8, 2022. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
CJ Bellamy (1) Los Altos dribbles past the defense of Mikey Mazurie (23) of Foothill in the Division II championship game of the CIF Southern Regional boys basketball playoffs at Foothill High School in Santa Ana on Tuesday, March 8, 2022. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Jazz Gardner (32) of Los Altos scores over the defense of Foothill in the Division II championship game of the CIF Southern Regional boys basketball playoffs at Foothill High School in Santa Ana on Tuesday, March 8, 2022. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Cruz Billings (2) of Foothill weaves through the defense of Los Altos in the Division II championship game of the CIF Southern Regional boys basketball playoffs at Foothill High School in Santa Ana on Tuesday, March 8, 2022. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Foothill students cheer after Mikey Mazurie (23) of Foothill scored in a game against Los Altos in the Division II championship game of the CIF Southern Regional boys basketball playoffs at Foothill High School in Santa Ana on Tuesday, March 8, 2022. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Cruz Billings (2), right, of Foothill reacts after scoring in the closing seconds of the first half in a game against Los Altos in the Division II championship game of the CIF Southern Regional boys basketball playoffs at Foothill High School in Santa Ana on Tuesday, March 8, 2022. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Foothill’s head basketball coach Yousof Etemadi, left, expresses his disagreement on a call with the referee during a game against Los Altos in the Division II championship game of the CIF Southern Regional boys basketball playoffs at Foothill High School in Santa Ana on Tuesday, March 8, 2022. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Jazz Gardner (32) of Los Altos locked up in the arms of Braedyn Bernhard (15) of Foothill in the Division II championship game of the CIF Southern Regional boys basketball playoffs at Foothill High School in Santa Ana on Tuesday, March 8, 2022. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Jacob Horton (1) of Foothill moves around the defense of Jazz Gardner (32) of Los Altos in the Division II championship game of the CIF Southern Regional boys basketball playoffs at Foothill High School in Santa Ana on Tuesday, March 8, 2022. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Los Altos head basketball coach Jeff Lucas calls out instructions to his team during a game against Foothill in the Division II championship game of the CIF Southern Regional boys basketball playoffs at Foothill High School in Santa Ana on Tuesday, March 8, 2022. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Mikey Mazurie (23) of Foothill goes in for the score against Los Altos in the Division II championship game of the CIF Southern Regional boys basketball playoffs at Foothill High School in Santa Ana on Tuesday, March 8, 2022. (Photo by Leonard Ortiz, Orange County Register/SCNG)
The win sends the Knights to the CIF State championships for the first time. Foothill (31-3) will play Elk Grove (27-6) in the Division II championship game Saturday at 4 p.m. at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
Los Altos concluded its season at 26-7. The Conquerors advanced to the regional finals for the first time by beating La Jolla Country Day, La Mirada and Edison in earlier rounds of the regional playoffs.
Foothill lost to Long Beach Poly in the CIF-SS Division 2AA semifinals. CIF-SS teams that get to the section semifinals qualify for the CIF State playoffs.
The Knights have made the most of their second chance.
“We wanted this real bad because we came up short in the CIF Southern Section,” said Foothill senior guard Cruz Billings.
Billings did his part to help the Knights win their first SoCal Regional title. He scored eight points in the final 90 seconds of the second quarter.
Billings, a 5-8 point guard, started his one-man run with a 3-pointer that gave Foothill its first lead of the game, 21-20. He followed with a quick off-the-dribble scoop shot that he put up before Los Altos’ 7-foot junior, Jazz Gardner, could time it for a block attempt. Billings added another 3 just before the buzzer sounded to end the half.
He and his teammates took off for the locker room, some running and some skipping, with a 26-20 lead.
Mikey Mazurie made the big baskets for Foothill in the third quarter. Mazurie, a 6-6 senior, made a 3-pointer to give the Knights a 31-20 lead. He later made a back-court steal and sprint-dribbled down court to throw down an emphatic dunk on which he was fouled, and made the free throw to make it 34-23.
Los Altos rallied briefly early in the fourth quarter to cut its deficit to four points, but that was as close as the Conquerors would get.
Billings finished with 14 points. Mazurie scored 13 points.
Gardner scored 20 points with 10 rebounds for Los Altos. Senior guard CJ Bellamy scored nine points for the Conquerors.
Los Altos was 14 of 38 from the floor (37 percent), including 5 of 14 on 3-pointers. Foothill made 18 of its 41 shots (44 percent) and was 5 of 15 on 3s.
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Conquerors coach Jeff Lucas was disappointed with the outcome, but pleased with the team’s achievements, including advancing to the 2AA semifinals and a first appearance in a regional final. Los Altos also won the Hacienda League with a 10-0 league record.
“It’s the first time we’ve been this far,” Lucas said. “Tonight we struggled a little bit offensively.”
