California high school boys basketball: Notre Dame defeats Granada 67-58 to win CIF Division I boys title

SACRAMENTO — Senior Caleb Foster put on a show Friday night in the CIF Division I boys championship game at the Golden 1 Center from beginning to end in the 67-58 Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks) victory over Granada (Livermore).

“It was extremely difficult (to guard Foster), he’s a talented kid,” said Granada head coach Quaran Johnson. “He plays with poise, he’s strong, shoots the basketball, can get to the basket and he can pass.”

Foster was getting to the rim, knocked down a pair of 3-pointers and had a 71 percent shooting clip for Notre Dame (27-10). The future Duke Blue Devil broke the all-time Division I championship record with 33 points. Foster also dished the ball around, finishing with six assists, including a few to junior Houston commit Mercy Miller who also dazzled.

Miller scored the first four points of the game for Notre Dame and finished with 17. The four-star shooting guard also showed his array of skills by pulling down nine rebounds, passing for five assists and recording five steals to help the Knights win the first state championship in school history.

“We had a shot to do something special, win a state championship,” Miller said. “We made that our goal and we got it done tonight.”

The game comes three days after Notre Dame knocked out Sierra Canyon 80-61, ending the high school career of McDonald’s All American Bronny James.

Notre Dame got off to a fast start in Sacramento, leading Granada 39-27 at halftime before the Matadors got the lead down to 48-40 heading into the fourth.

Granada was led by three-star senior Tyler Harris who scored 17 and added 10 boards and 7-foot senior Andrew McKeever, who is committed to Saint Mary’s. The big man scored the first four points of the game for the Matadors before Notre Dame made an adjustment on McKeever.

“I think when you're playing a guy that big and that skilled, it probably takes the guys on the court a little while to realize what kind of effort it is going to take to execute the game plan,” said Notre Dame head coach Matt Sargeant. “So I think it’s just a matter of letting the game take care of itself and moving on forward.”

The fourth quarter began with Notre Dame sophomore Angelino Mark drawing a charge and preventing a Granada basket. Baskets were made by seniors Dusty Stromer and Dante Ogbu, who combined for 13 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals.

“These are all guys that are battle tested,” Sargeant said. “They’ve been playing the toughest schedule so everybody was ready for what this game was gonna bring to us.”

Notre Dame scored the first nine points of the fourth quarter and fouled out McKeever, taking a 57-40 lead in the process. It was four minutes into the final frame before Granada scored their first points of the quarter.

With Notre Dame leading by 12 with the fourth quarter clock ready to expire, Granada senior Matai Faiaipa’u launched a shot from three-quarters court that went in, sending the crowd into a frenzy to end the night.