Panthers roll into finals

The Panthers were never seriously threatened the rest of the way. They stifled Gunn star sophomore Jordan (15 points), who came into the contest averaging just over 20 points a game. Drew Shiller had a game-high 26 points on 10 of 27 shooting, and connected on a 23-footer at the first quarter buzzer and a leaning baseline jumper at the third quarter buzzer.

With the graduations of Anthony Edwards and Justin Granato, Burlingame needed its other key role players to improve their game during the offseason. Nick Polidoroff got that message, loud and clear. The 6-foot-5-inch center finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds and three blocks. Six of his points came on tip-ins, and this after an impressive tip-in dunk Wednesday against University. Polidoroff now employs a post-up, spin move from the baseline, a bigger vertical leap and better overall court savvy. He spent the offseason honing his game seven days a week, lifting weights and getting advice from the likes of Lou Richie, the coach of Shiller's Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) team, the Oakland Soldiers.

"Nick has worked so hard to get to where he's at," Burlingame coach Jeff Dowd said. "He's the most coachable kid I've ever had. I can't say enough about him. He gave us a lot of energy today and I liked how we played on offense. But I didn't think we sustained our defense through the whole game and we're going to need to improve in that area."

The Panthers had one of their best shooting games in the Dowd era, finishing 30 of 61 from the floor, including a sizzling 15 of 27 in the second half. They were 9 of 28 from the three-point line and grabbed 13 offensive rebounds to the Titans' seven. Kalbhenn had 10 points and Nakiso nine. Gunn shot 22 of 46 from the floor, 5 of 8 from beyond the arc and was led by David Riley's 17 points.

"We knew losing Justin and Anthony would be tough because of what they brought to the team," Polidoroff said. "After that loss to St. Ignatius in the Central Coast Section finals, I just wanted to do what I could to avenge that loss and get back and win a championship. We played well, but there's always room for improvement."

This from a player who knows what the phrase "Taking your game to the next level" is all about.

Hillsdale 53, South San Francisco 52

Preston Steele scored a team-high 17 points and Pat Drieth added 10 points and 12 rebounds as the Knights advanced to today's fifth-place game against Los Altos at 4 p.m. Eddie Attaway finished with 12 points for Hillsdale, who connected on 8 of 9 three-pointers.

The Knights led 13-3 at halftime and were up by as many as 15 points before South City outscored them 21-10 in the fourth. The Warriors' Ryan Johnson had a chance to send the game into overtime when he was fouled on a three-point attempt with his team trailing by three with .3 seconds left. Johnson made the first two before rimming short on his final attempt.