DN1315.htm

SoCal High School & Prep Report

CIF State Playoffs: Northern Region D-I Final:
St. Joe's Defeats Vallejo 57-50--(March 15, 1998)

The top-seeded Pilots, of Alameda, outlasted a tough Vallejo rally to successfully defend their Division I Northern California championship, 57-50 in front of 10,000 fans at the Oakland Coliseum New Arena. St. Joseph won the NorCal title last year ago at Arco but lost to Crenshaw in the State Finals. But with most of the team returned, with All-American Ray Young leading the way, the Pilots' return trip could just be better this year. St. Joseph will take on Southern California Region Champion Westchester on Saturday at 8 p.m. at Arco Arena.

Yesterday, the Vallejo Apaches were aiming for revenge for their only loss of the season, and they were poised to hammer St. Joe into submission as they outscored them 19-9 in the third quarter and took a 40-36 lead in the final minute of the third quarter. Luckily for the Pilots, they didn't flinch, and seniors Rene Jacques and Nate Murase came through, along with Young.

Ray Young, 6'-4" and bound for UCLA next season, scored a game-high 18 points and had two big offensive rebounds in the fourth quarter to defeat the No. 2 Apaches. The Pilots, who are now 29-4 on the season, appear to be a better team than last year's unit, thanks to experience, speed and depth. When Vallejo, the Sac-Joaquin Section champion, used a 10-0 run to take a 40-36 lead late in the third, the Pilots kept their poise and rallied behind senior guards Rene Jacques and Nate Murase, both of whom will play at Sacramento State on scholarship.

Jacques and Murase don't receive nearly as much attention as standout forward Ray Young, but they unquestionably are the guts of this battle-tested team. And when St. Joseph needed a clutch plays and a calming influence in its most desperate moments, both guards stepped up. It was a tough go all night for Murase, who was suffering from some sort of virus. He was wrapped in blankets while on the bench, and in the first half, his weakened condition clearly affected his play. But down the stretch, the 5'-11" point dug deep. Murase scored 11 points and dished out seven assists to offset 10 turnovers. The attack began just before the third period ended, when Jacques penetrated the key for a layup and was fouled. The critical three-point play with eight seconds to go got St. Joseph back within a point. Just as importantly, it seemed to put an emotional dent in Vallejo's frenetic flurry.

Murase's three-pointer opened the fourth quarter and gave the Pilots the lead for good at 43-40. St. Joseph then limited Vallejo to one field goal the rest of the way and snapped the Apaches' 27-game winning streak. Forward Ray Young, who never had played in the New Arena or the old Oakland Coliseum Arena, found the first time enjoyable. Rene Jacques scored 15, including five in the fourth quarter. Nate Murase had 11 points, including two key free throws and a layup in the final 23.2 seconds of the game. Vallejo (32-2) suffered its only two losses this year to St. Joseph. The team shot 17-for-57 from the floor and couldn't take advantage of 6-foot-11 center Wesley Wilson inside. Wilson was hampered by fouls the entire game and played just 21 minutes and 13 seconds. He scored just 10 points. Brandon Armstrong led the Apaches with 17 points. C.C. Sarathia had 10 points and 11 rebounds.

St. Joseph trailed 40-39 heading into the fourth quarter. After a Blandon Ferguson free throw early in the fourth quarter tied the score at 40 with 6:31 to go Jacques engineered a 6-0 run with a 3-pointer and a shot bank shot to give the Pilots a 45-50 lead. Vallejo closed to within 50-48 on a free throw by Darryl Walker with 50 seconds to go. St. Joseph answered with two free throws each by Blandon Ferguson and Murase, one free throw by K.J. Rosales and a breakaway layup by Murase for a 57-48 lead with 10 seconds left. Vallejo did not score for the first 4:38 of the fourth quarter. And during that dry spell, Murase and Jacques drove the Pilots back into a commanding position. The Apaches closed within two with 51 seconds left, and that scare was compounded when Young picked up his fifth foul of the game. But St. Joe calmly withstood Vallejo's fouling with key free throws at the other end. Another diminutive guard, K.J. Rosales, hit a big foul shot with 49 seconds left and Ferguson canned two more with 45 seconds to go. But it was most appropriate that the clinching shots went to Murase, who hit two free throws with 24 seconds left that gave the Pilots a 55-48 advantage.Jacques finished with 15 points to back Young's team-leading 18. He also contributed four assists and a steal.