Valencia uses strong finish to beat St. Bonaventure in boys basketball regional title game
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VALENCIA — For three and a half quarters, a back-and-forth battle waged on the court between two familiar boys basketball teams.
Valencia and St. Bonaventure both laid it all out on the hardwood Tuesday night, with a trip to Sacramento to play for the CIF State Division IV championship on the line.
The clash continued into the final few minutes of the fourth quarter, when Vikings senior Jayden Ares put his team ahead by double digits with back-to-back 3-pointers, sealing a 72-58 victory in the Division IV Southern California Regional final.
Valencia’s bench reacts as Jayden Ares #22 hits a 3-point shot during their CIF State Division IV SoCal Regional final game against St. Bonaventure at Valencia High School in Santa Clarita, Tuesday, Mar 7, 2023. Valencia defeated St. Bonaventure to advance to the finals. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Valencia’s Kai Davis #1 drives to the hoop as St. Bonaventure’s Nate Loomis #3 defends during their CIF State Division IV SoCal Regional final game at Valencia High School in Santa Clarita, Tuesday, Mar 7, 2023. Valencia defeated St. Bonaventure to advance to the finals. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Valencia’s Bryce Bedgood #35 lays the ball up as St. Bonaventure’s Nico Macias #24 defends during their CIF State Division IV SoCal Regional final game at Valencia High School in Santa Clarita, Tuesday, Mar 7, 2023. Valencia defeated St. Bonaventure to advance to the finals. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Valencia’s Kai Davis #1 and St. Bonaventure’s Sam Seiden #1 go after a loose ball during their CIF State Division IV SoCal Regional final game at Valencia High School in Santa Clarita, Tuesday, Mar 7, 2023. Valencia defeated St. Bonaventure to advance to the finals. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Valencia’s Maurice Pitts #41 shoots during their CIF State Division IV SoCal Regional final game at Valencia High School in Santa Clarita, Tuesday, Mar 7, 2023. Valencia defeated St. Bonaventure to advance to the finals. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Valencia’s Kai Davis #1 dives for the ball after being fouled by St. Bonaventure’s Nico Macias #24 during their CIF State Division IV SoCal Regional final game at Valencia High School in Santa Clarita, Tuesday, Mar 7, 2023. Valencia defeated St. Bonaventure to advance to the finals. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Valencia’s Maurice Pitts #41 lays the ball up as St. Bonaventure’s Dylan Benner #2 defends during their CIF State Division IV SoCal Regional final game at Valencia High School in Santa Clarita, Tuesday, Mar 7, 2023. Valencia defeated St. Bonaventure to advance to the finals. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Valencia players react during their CIF State Division IV SoCal Regional final game against St. Bonaventure at Valencia High School in Santa Clarita, Tuesday, Mar 7, 2023. Valencia defeated St. Bonaventure to advance to the finals. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Valencia’s Bryce Bedgood #35 lays the ball up as St. Bonaventure’s Kaden Glover #20 defends during their CIF State Division IV SoCal Regional final game at Valencia High School in Santa Clarita, Tuesday, Mar 7, 2023. Valencia defeated St. Bonaventure to advance to the finals. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Valencia’s Bryce Bedgood #35 dunks the ball during their CIF State Division IV SoCal Regional final game at Valencia High School in Santa Clarita, Tuesday, Mar 7, 2023. Valencia defeated St. Bonaventure to advance to the finals. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Valencia’s Tanner Stradley #11 and Jayden Ares #22 react during their CIF State Division IV SoCal Regional final game against St. Bonaventure at Valencia High School in Santa Clarita, Tuesday, Mar 7, 2023. Valencia defeated St. Bonaventure to advance to the finals. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Valencia’s Kai Davis #1 drives to the hoop during their CIF State Division IV SoCal Regional final game against St. Bonaventure at Valencia High School in Santa Clarita, Tuesday, Mar 7, 2023. Valencia defeated St. Bonaventure to advance to the finals. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Valencia’s Jayden Ares #22 attempts to keep the ball inbounds during their CIF State Division IV SoCal Regional final game against St. Bonaventure at Valencia High School in Santa Clarita, Tuesday, Mar 7, 2023. Valencia defeated St. Bonaventure to advance to the finals. (Photo by Hans Gutknecht, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
“I was going to shoot it, I didn’t care who was in front of me, I was going to pull it. I had that mentality,” Ares said. “I told my teammates I’m going to spark it up right now.”
Valencia will face Half Moon Bay, the No. 10 seed in the Northern California bracket, in the CIF State Division IV championship game Saturday.
The clutch buckets by Ares were indicative of the way the game played out, with Valencia’s role players making huge plays throughout the evening.
Ares hit three 3-pointers, grabbed five rebounds and had two steals. Jacob Michel-Zavala scored eight points, including two 3-pointers. Jacob Mazy brought energy off the bench in limited minutes, crashing the glass and getting to the line.
“We put pressure on their role players to make plays and credit to their role guys, they hit shots,” St. Bonaventure head coach Wolfgang Wood said. “We made them work for it and that’s all I can ask from my guys. We battled. I think we were the team that gave them the best run in every game in the playoffs.”
Just 10 days ago, these teams squared off in the CIF Southern Section Division 4AA title game, which Valencia won 65-62.
In the first matchup between the teams, the Vikings relied heavily on their trio of stars, Kai Davis, Bryce Bedgood and Mikah Ballew.
All three players still made a significant impact Tuesday night. Davis finished with 19 points, seven assists and four rebounds, going a perfect 11-for-11 from the free-throw line. Bedgood logged 16 points and nine rebounds and Ballew added 14 points, four rebounds and three assists.
But Tuesday’s effort was much more well-rounded, with every player contributing.
“We didn’t really take advantage of our depth the first time we played them. Tonight we had the mentality that we’re a deeper team, let’s use our depth as a strength,” Valencia head coach Bill Bedgood said. “Let’s not be afraid to play guys and when they get in there, don’t be afraid to shoot and make things happen, and it definitely paid off.”
Boys and girls basketball: Saturday’s scores, updated schedule for the CIF SoCal Regional playoffs
Dylan Benner led the way for the Seraphs, finishing with 18 points, 10 rebounds and two assists.
Valencia’s defense didn’t make things easy for the junior big man, throwing multiple defenders at him and using double teams to force him into tough shots.
“That’s a skill that’s very underrated. I feel like we play great defense and we showed what we can do on the defensive end,” Davis said. “Bryce and Mikah are two very strong guys that did a great job on Dylan Benner.”
