Pac Bay flies into Division V finals

The No. 3-seed Eagles (27-2 overall) showed a knack for finishing in Thursday’s semifinals with a 43-32 victory over No. 4 Stevenson at Woodside Priory. Trailing by 4 heading into the fourth quarter, Pacific Bay closed the night on a 15-0 run to punch its ticket to the finals.

“It’s always been us, being a fourth-quarter team,” Pacific Bay point guard Diego Sotto said. “We started off slow because we just didn’t know their defense. Once we figured out their defense by halftime, we adjusted. And once we started making a run, it kept getting our energy going. … Then we just feed each other and it just snowballed.”

Sotto found the Midas touch to get the Eagles going. Through the opening three quarters, Pacific Bay was 1 of 12 from 3-point land. Sotto crushed two 3s early in the fourth, though, his first closing Stevenson’s lead to 29-28.

Stevenson (18-8) fired right back when senior Sam Fontaine drained a 3 from the corner to push the lead to 32-28 with 6:40 to play. But it was the last points the Pirates would score. The Eagles took back the lead from the free-throw line before Sotto hit another 3 to make it a 36-32 advantage — leaving Sotto a picture of jubilance in the middle of the court with four minutes to play.

“That’s how he plays,” Eagles head coach Mark Bermudez said. “He’s full of emotion. He can get going. Once he gets going, he can get on fire offensively, defensively.”

From there, Stevenson couldn’t find the cylinder, shooting 1 of 12 from the field in the final period. The Pirates shot just 28.9% from the floor throughout. But the more damning number was their first-half turnovers. Stevenson gave the ball away 16 times overall, including 10 in the first half.

“Sometimes offensively things aren’t going their way but they never, ever, ever have an off night defensively,” Bermudez said.

Both teams came out shooting miserably. Stevenson missed its first nine shots but got on the board three minutes into the game on an and-1 by center Benjamin Soria. The senior’s three-point play earned the first points of the game, however, as Pacific Bay missed its first 10 shots.

Stevenson jumped out to a 5-0 lead. But when Khalil Smith hit a 3 to put the Eagles on the board with 2:37 remaining in the first quarter, it sparked a 9-0 run to swing Pacific Bay in front.

The Eagles’ defense shined in the opening quarter, producing three steals and three blocked shots.

“It’s all about trust,” Sotto said. “Not everybody on the team is a hardcore defender, but it comes down to trust.”

Eagles center Dwight Bumgarner finished with 12 points, 12 assists and four blocked shots. The 6-7 senior’s wingspan wreaked havoc on Stevenson’s ability — or, more accurately, inability — to drive the lanes.

“It’s amazing,” Sotto said. “I’ve played with him for years now and I’ve seen him develop. He’s a great scorer and we can always rely on him for his blocks too.”

After taking am 18-15 lead into the half, Pacific Bay got overtake by a 7-point, third-quarter run by the Pirates, spurred by back-to-back 3s from Fontaine.

“There was just a couple breakdowns,” Bermudez said. “And once we cleared that up, we were fine.”

When Fontaine’s third 3 gave the Pirates a 32-28 lead in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, Pacific Bay responded with a hostile takeover.

Bumgarner responded with a turnaround jumper from 9 feet out to spark the 15-point run. Then senior Taran Andrews gave the Eagles the lead for keeps with a 3-ball.

Pacific Bay shot just 29.3% in the game but finished 4 of 8 in the fourth quarter, including a 3-for-5 clip from 3-point land.

Sotto led all scorers with 15 points. Pacific Bay senior forward Khalil Smith was a silent assassin on defense, totaling three blocks and two steals, while adding seven points and five rebounds.

The Eagles have appeared in one previous CCS championship game, finishing as the Division V runner-ups in 2013. Pacific Bay — then known as Alma Heights before the school changed its name — fell 57-23 to Pinewood.

Pacific Bay will now be the top seed in Saturday’s CCS Division V championship game at a time and place to be determined. In the other semifinal bracket, No. 4 Eastside College Prep upset top-seed Woodside Priory 48-43.

“Very, very exciting,” Bermudez said of returning to the championship stage. “Last time we were in a title game was seven years ago. So, it’s been a long climb to get back here. It was a goal set by our team before the season started, was that we’re going to play in March, which means we need to get to Saturday. So, now, I just need to let them go, why not win the title? Why not?”