St. Joseph, Mater Dei earn state HS basketball titles

St. Joseph ended the season with a record of 25-6, seeded third statewide in Division III before beating top-ranked Serra of Gardena (27-5) in the Southern California Regional final, 54-45. Serra beat the Knights on March 4, 66-58, in the CIF-SS Division III-AA title game. 

Mater Dei of Santa Ana earned Division I titles in boys and girls competition last weekend. The boys’ team (27-3) defeated De La Salle of Concord, 43-36, while the girls’ squad (26-1) downed Berkeley 59-47.

St. Bernard High School of Playa del Rey fell short in its bid to capture dual Division V titles in games played March 25. St. Joseph Notre Dame of Alameda defeated the St. Bernard boys (22-8), 47-44, while Pinewood of Los Altos Hills defeated St. Bernard’s girls (20-14), 67-56.

The St. Bernard girls’ team earned its way to the final by beating Santa Clara of Oxnard, 60-45, in the regional final. Santa Clara previously won the CIF Division V-AA title be defeating the Vikings on March 5.