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VALENCIA — As the Valencia boys basketball team’s playoff run continues to stretch to historic heights, the pressure within games also keeps rising.
The Vikings beat a relentless Long Beach Jordan 89-80 on Saturday night in the CIF SoCal Division IV Regional semifinals to earn a spot in the regional championship.
The No. 1 seed Vikings will host No. 3 seed St. Bonaventure on Tuesday night.
Valencia’s Mikah Ballew ended the game Saturday with 26 points and Bryce Bedgood scored 24 points. Jayden Ares added 15 points as the chemistry of Valencia’s starting five players continued to be the heart and soul of the team in its historic playoff run.
“Our bond is what helps us on the court,” Ballew said. “We never get flustered, we never get mad at each other, we always communicate when something’s wrong. Our chemistry is special.”
The first quarter was a back-and-forth battle in the truest sense. Ballew tied the game at 14-all on a jumper, then Bedgood made a free throw for a one-point lead with two minutes left in the period.
The Vikings (25-10) ended the frame with a 20-19 advantage and the second quarter remained close as well.
Valencia rehearses for pressure situations like this in practices.
“We really prepare for these tough situations all the time, so there’s no pressure at all when we go out and step out on the court,” Ballew said. “We’ve all been in situations at some point in our basketball lives so we’re not really tripping when the score gets tight.”
The Vikings’ Jayden Ares tied the game at 25-25 on a 3-pointer with a minute remaining until halftime, then a Maurice Pitts steal and layup gave Valencia a 40-36 advantage.
Valencia started the second half with a brief scoring run and built its lead up to 10 points, but Jordan (23-12) clawed its way back into the game. Kai Davis made a layup as he fell to the floor with 25 seconds left in the third quarter for a 59-58 advantage.
“I think early in the season we might have been overcome by a good run like they put on us,” Valencia coach Bill Bedgood said. “These guys have showed a lot of maturity. They’re starting to understand more of the mental side of the game.”
Pitts made a 3-pointer to give Valencia a 64-58 lead in the final quarter as the Vikings worked their way to an eventual 20-point lead.
Tuesday’s regional championship game will be a rematch of the CIF Southern Section Division 4 championship game in which Valencia beat St. Bonaventure by three points.
The regional final will likely be another high-pressure game for the Vikings.
“We’ve made a little bit of history this year,” coach Bedgood said. “This is the furthest any Valencia team has gone. Let’s just finish this mission. Don’t stop now, we’re so close. We’re a few games away from doing something really, really special.”