Susan Shelley: Medi-Cal under growing strain

• March 15, 2025

The Newsom administration just informed the Legislature that it needs to borrow $3.4 billion to pay unexpectedly high costs for Medi-Cal, the state’s safety-net health insurance program for low-income residents that is now open to all undocumented immigrants.

As of Jan. 1, 2024, everyone in California who is in the country illegally is entitled to “full-scope” Medi-Cal: unlimited, unrestricted, full, free health insurance, as long as their reported income is low enough to be eligible.

But wait, there’s more.

Generally, California can seek reimbursement from the federal government for half of its Medi-Cal expenses. Not always. Federal law forbids reimbursement for care provided to illegal immigrants, other than the limited services available to everyone under “emergency Medicaid,” also known as “restricted-scope Medicaid.”

In California, the Medicaid program is called “Medi-Cal,” as if to warn everyone that it’s going to be bad at math.

And it is, like, totally bad at math. In Southern California that’s pronounced “baahd at maath.” Fer sherr.

It’s so bad at math that the government initially calculated it would cost between $2 billion and $4 billion annually to provide full-scope Medi-Cal to every income-eligible undocumented immigrant in the state. By last summer the estimate was $6.4 billion, and most recently Assemblyman Carl DeMaio, R-San Diego, got a Department of Finance official to admit during a budget hearing that it’s $9.5 billion.

In gratitude for this helpful update, Speaker Robert Rivas, leader of the Democratic supermajority in the Assembly, threw DeMaio off the Budget Committee.

We are baahd at maath here. Get away with your accurate assessments.

But then Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Department of Finance sent a letter informing the legislature that it had to borrow $3.4 billion to cover higher Medi-Cal expenses through the end of March.

Like, oh my Gahd. What are they going to do after March?

Borrow more, probably.

At this point you may be wondering, “How will this loan ever be repaid?”

Oh my Gahd, it’s another rilly hard maath question. Like, no way.

No way can the Medi-Cal program pay for unlimited health care services for an unlimited number of people from all over the world for the rest of their lives.

Nearly all of these expenses are billed to the exhausted taxpayers of California. The federal government provides partial funding only for “restricted scope” Medicaid benefits, such as emergency and pregnancy-related services.

California began its Medi-Cal expansion to undocumented immigrants in 2015 with coverage for children up to 18 years old. Young adults ages 19-25 became eligible in 2019, then in 2022 eligibility expanded to include adults 50 and older. Adults ages 26-49 were added in 2024. Participants are covered for everything from neo-natal through long-term care, free.

California doesn’t even have the distinction of being the first state to march off this fiscal cliff. That title belongs to Oregon, where the Healthier Oregon program has been offering full Medicaid-like health coverage to all undocumented immigrants since July 2023. The Oregon Health Authority had previously calculated that there were 55,000 eligible individuals and 80% would enroll. By mid-2024, the OHA reported that more than 100,000 people were on the program.

Only California and Oregon were dippy enough to sing two choruses of “We Are the World” and open their state treasuries without limitation. But other states have offered additional health care benefits to some undocumented residents.

In Illinois, the Health Benefits for Immigrant Seniors (HBIS) program has been providing coverage to undocumented immigrants age 65 and older since December 2020, and the Health Benefits for Immigrant Adults (HBIA) program added adults age 42-64 in 2022.

How’s it going?

The Illinois legislature ordered the state’s auditor to find out. He reported in February that in fiscal year 2023, the HBIS program had 15,831 enrollees, not the 6,700 that had been estimated. The HBIA program serving adults ages 55-64 had 17,024 enrollees, not 8,000 as expected. And the program for undocumented immigrants ages 42-54 had 36,912 enrollees, almost double the 18,800 that state officials had projected.

The costs for the three segments of the program were higher than expected by 84%, 282% and 286%, respectively. HBIS and HBIA have cost Illinois taxpayers $1.6 billion so far.

That’s a cute number, isn’t it? California borrows more than that for breakfast.

Faced with surging costs for the HBIS and HBIA programs, Illinois officials paused new enrollments in 2023, while maintaining coverage for individuals already enrolled.

That’s one way the California government could get out of this situation.

About a dozen states offer full health coverage to undocumented immigrant children up to age 19 or sometimes 21. In Utah, conservative lawmakers agreed to a similar program but put a cap on the spending in advance. The budget is fixed at $4.5 million per year, limiting enrollment to about 2,000 children.

It’s easy to say “health care is a right,” but health care is a service. It has to be provided by skilled and trained people, using facilities and equipment that have to be rented or purchased, maintained and staffed. Somebody has to pay the utility bills, the payroll taxes and the insurance premiums, but Medi-Cal pays very low reimbursement rates.

If the math doesn’t work in the long term, doctors stop accepting Medi-Cal patients, hospitals close, and more than 14 million low-income Californians wait even longer for an appointment, if they ever receive care at all.

What about their rights? Who is in the streets protesting for them?

Write [email protected] and follow her on X @Susan_Shelley

​ Orange County Register 

Dodgers hit 3 home runs in exhibition win over Yomiuri Giants

• March 15, 2025

THE GAME: Shohei Ohtani gave his Japanese fans just what they came to see, hitting a home run in his second time up as the Dodgers beat the Yomiuri Giants 5-1 in an exhibition game Saturday night at the Tokyo Dome.

HITTING REPORT: With the crowd of 42,064 hanging on every pitch, Ohtani walked in his first plate appearance against the Giants. In his second at-bat, he connected on a first-pitch curveball from Giants starter Shosei Togo for a two-run home run. … Michael Conforto had the Dodgers’ first hit in Japan, a home run leading off the third inning. Andy Pages followed with a double and scored on Ohtani’s home run. … Teoscar Hernandez hit the Dodgers’ third home run of the game.

PITCHING REPORT: Before the game against the Giants, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts explained the decision to make it a ‘bullpen game,’ saying the Dodgers want to give their relievers a two-day break before the regular-season games against the Cubs. Blake Snell and Tyler Glasnow will take down most of the innings in the second exhibition game against the Hanshin Tigers. … The combined efforts of eight pitchers held the Giants to just five hits Saturday night. … Justin Wrobleski handled the first two innings and retired all six batters he faced, striking out three. Wrobleski had an excellent spring, allowing just two runs on six hits and one walk while striking out 12 in 11⅓ innings. … Kirby Yates allowed the Giants’ only run with a rough inning featuring two hits, a walk and two stolen bases. … Jack Dreyer closed out the game by retiring the side in order in the ninth, striking out two.

UP NEXT: Dodgers (LHP Blake Snell) vs. Hanshin Tigers, 8 p.m. PT Saturday at Tokyo Dome, SportsNet LA, 570 AM

​ Orange County Register 

Short-handed Lakers nearly stun Nuggets in finale of 0-4 trip

• March 15, 2025

DENVER — The nature of the NBA’s 82-game regular season naturally creates situations like the one the Lakers faced on Friday night against the Denver Nuggets.

On the road, down four of five starters. Without six of their top-eight rotation players. All during a stretch of six games in eight days, including three back-to-back sets, with Friday capping the first one.

When the Lakers’ injury report was released on Friday, which revealed that Luka Doncic, Dorian Finney-Smith and Gabe Vincent would join the list of the team’s unavailable players, the matchup against the Nuggets could have been viewed as a schedule loss.

The Lakers didn’t treat it that way.

Austin Reaves, Dalton Knecht and their teammates nearly pulled off an improbable victory at Ball Arena before falling to the Nuggets, 131-126, after Jamal Murray’s tiebreaking 3-pointer with 5.6 seconds left and Russell Westbrook’s exclamation point dunk that sealed the win for Denver (43-24).

“I’m proud of the group for their level of fight and resiliency,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “There’s a lot we could have done better. But the group competed and we gave ourselves a chance to win.”

Reaves (37 points, 13 assists, eight rebounds) and Knecht (32 points) led the short-handed Lakers (40-25), with both players making clutch plays down the stretch that kept the team in the game before eventually suffering their fourth straight loss to close an 0-4 trip.

“You always want to win,” Reaves said. “And regardless of who you take the floor with, we feel like we could win, and we went and put ourselves in a good position to do that. Losing sucks, but I’m happy with what these guys in the locker room did.”

With the Lakers trailing 124-123, Reaves stripped reigning league MVP Nikola Jokic for his third steal of the game and converted a layup on the other end to put the Lakers ahead by one with just over a minute left after they had trailed by 13 in the third.

Knecht helped add to that lead after a Murray turnover led to the rookie dunking in transition to put the visitors up by three – with Knecht cramping up on takeoff and taking a hard fall on his head/shoulders but staying in the game with the Lakers up 126-123 with 52 seconds left.

With little time to go over defensive plans during a timeout as Redick checked on Knecht after his fall, Jokic (28 points, seven rebounds, five assists, three steals) converted an and-1 floater over Christian Koloko, making the free throw to tie the score at 126 apiece with 48 seconds left.

“The play that Jokic got the and-one, I’ll take some ownership of that just because that was a short timeout and I ran on the floor to check on DK,” Redick said. “And then I ran back and I didn’t have time to really get us the right substitutions and matchups that I would have wanted. And that’s not a knock on CK, but I just kind of put him in a tough spot knowing that Jokic was going to go quick.”

After Reaves missed a jumper that would have put the Lakers up by two, Murray (26 points, five assists, four rebounds) sprung free out of a pick-and-roll with Jokic and knocked down a pull-up 3-pointer for a 129-126 Nuggets lead – just the latest big shot he has hit against the Lakers.

“[Jokic and I] were tangled up, trying to get up there when I saw Murray come up,” Knecht said of the play. “And CK told me to go out there and switch. It was kind of hard.”

Westbrook (17 points, seven assists, six rebounds) picked off Shake Milton’s inbounds pass on the Lakers’ ensuing possession, scoring the game-sealing basket.

After leading by 11 in the first and keeping the game close at halftime, trailing 71-67, the Lakers were on the cusp of being blown out before they used a 19-9 run to close the third quarter and cut a 13-point deficit to 102-99.

Knecht, starting near his hometown of Thornton, Colorado, had his highest-scoring game since mid-November.

“I told him in the huddle, I said, ‘Hey, if you want to shoot it, shoot it. I don’t care if you shoot it 35 times, we’re going to need every bucket you can get,’” Reaves said of Knecht. “So he’s a hooper.”

Milton (16 points, five rebounds, three assists) and two-way guard Jordan Goodwin (10 points, six rebounds) both scored in double figures for the Lakers with the increased playing time opportunities.

Koloko (eight points, seven rebounds) impressed with his second-half defense, altering multiple shots at the rim that didn’t end with blocks and denying Jokic the ball late.

“The spirit was great,” said Redick, whose team had an eight-game winning streak before this trip. “It’s been that and will continue to be that. And I think it was a good opportunity for a number of guys to play bigger minutes, Shake, in particular. Christian, defensively, in the second half was awesome. So happy for those guys that they played well.”

Despite feeling under the weather, Bronny James played 16 minutes and contributed five points.

LeBron James missed his third straight game with a left groin strain and returned to Los Angeles along with Rui Hachimura (left patellar tendinopathy) and Jaxson Hayes (bruised right knee) ahead of the Lakers’ game in Denver.

“We went 0-4, so it’s a pretty bad trip,” Reaves said. “But JJ said a week ago, ‘Everybody’s like Lakers in five.’ So we just don’t listen to any of it. We know when we’re fully healthy and got everybody on the team that we have a really good chance to beat anybody.

“I just see this group, coming together, locking in on one common goal and that’s to win. And [Friday] is the biggest testament to that. Very shorthanded and went and played a really good basketball team with probably the best player in the world. And went toe to toe and had an opportunity to win it. Just didn’t execute the last 50 seconds.”

​ Orange County Register 

Amalia Holguin dazzles but Sage Hill girls basketball falls to Carondelet in CIF state Division I final

• March 15, 2025

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SACRAMENTO — It’s been just over five years since Kobe Bryant and eight others died in a tragic helicopter crash. It’s been nine months since four of Bryant’s proteges from his Mambas youth girls basketball team graduated from Sage Hill.

Yet, with his youngest apprentice — Amalia Holguin — still playing for the Lightning and coach Kerwin Walters still at the helm, the influence of the Lakers great remains immense.

“Kobe is always going to be straight in the heart for all of us,” Walters said this week, “especially for myself and Amalia. It’s just really, really a personal thing. But he’s always going to be there.”

Bryant’s vision for Sage Hill continued to unfold Friday night at the CIF State championships.

The Lightning aspired for a second state title in four seasons as they squared off against Carondelet in the Division I final at Golden 1 Center.

With Holguin wowing the crowd with her 3-point shooting and passing, Sage Hill brought the energy. Unfortunately, the Lightning struggled at the foul line, and it cost them.

Sage Hill made 4 of 14 free throws and fell to Carondelet 51-48 in its bid to become a two-time state champion.

Carondelet sank 8 of 11 foul shots, including all four of its chances in the final 45 seconds for the final points of the game.

Walters, in his 13th season, and Holguin, the youngest player on Bryant’s famed youth team, shared a long embrace after the final buzzer as the Cougars (30-6) celebrated their first state title since 2004.

“This one hurts,” said Walters, who led Sage Hill to the state Division II title in 2022. “They hit free throws, we didn’t. If you can see the numbers, that’s where it all falls right now.”

“It’s abnormal for us,” the coach added. “We’re generally in the low 70s, mid 70s in free throw percentage.”

Sage Hill (23-12) missed a 3-pointer in the closing seconds in a chance to force overtime

Holguin, a junior, hit two of her four 3-pointers in the fourth period en route to a game-high 21 points. While her long-range shooting impressed the crowd, so did her spin move and assist to Kamdyn Klamberg (13 points) to give Sage Hill a 48-47 lead with about one minute left.

The play came off one of Holguin’s four steals.

Sage Hill started two freshmen, a sophomore and two juniors.

“(Bryant) always wanted us to look in the mirror every day,” Holguin said. “I’m going to go home and probably watch some film on this and see how we can get better already for next year. … We’re always looking toward the future and I think we have a bright one.”

Carondelet led by as many as seven points in the first half before taking a 24-18 lead into intermission.

Holguin (10 points) and Klamberg (eight points) combined for all of the Lightning’s first-half points while seven players scored for Carondelet.

The Lightning received more contributions in the second half as freshman Addison Uphoff scored eight points and finished with six rebounds. Freshman center Eve Fowler scored four points to go along with four blocks and nine rebounds.

Carondelet opened its largest lead of the game at 42-34 early in the fourth quarter but the Lightning fought back. Holguin made two 3-pointers in the final 2 1/2 minutes. She finished 8 for 22 from the floor, including 4 for 8 from beyond the arc.

“She has game,” Walters said of Holguin. “I know she definitely has Mamba in her. She has that Mamba energy, and she can go after anything but she has some really, really amazing teammates.”

​ Orange County Register 

Andreeva, 17, beats Swiatek to reach Indian Wells final; Sabalenka routs Keys

• March 15, 2025

INDIAN WELLS — Russian teen star Mirra Andreeva advanced to the BNP Paribas Open final, beating defending champion Iga Swiatek, 7-6 (1), 1-6, 6-3, in chilly conditions on Friday night to become the tournament’s youngest finalist since 2001.

The 17-year-old Andreeva, seeded ninth, will face top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka in the final. Sabalenka routed fifth-seeded Madison Keys, 6-0, 6-1, in the second semifinal, a rematch of their Australian Open final earlier this year.

After a tight first set, Andreeva was flawless in the tiebreak, letting out a roar when she enticed a forehand error from Swiatek on set point. The Polish No. 2 seed stormed back, however, breaking in the first game en route to running away with the second set.

Andreeva, who was studying handwritten notes during the changeovers, regained the momentum by breaking to open the third set as temperatures in the desert plummeted and the wind picked up.

Andreeva and Swiatek both finished the match wearing pullovers, with the temperature dipping into the 50s in the final set. It was in the mid-50s when Sabalenka finished off Keys.

“After she literally killed me in the second set, I thought, OK, I’ll just try to fight,” Andreeva said on court. “There is not much I could do about it; she was playing amazing. I just decided to fight for every point.

“It doesn’t matter how I put the ball in, but I have to put it in. In the end, it wasn’t too bad.”

Andreeva ran her tour winning streak to 11 matches and ended Swiatek’s 10-match run at Indian Wells. Andreeva won her first WTA Tour title last month in Dubai to become the youngest player to capture a WTA 1000 event.

Andreeva is coached by former Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez, who reached the Indian Wells final twice during her playing days.

“I know that my coach lost in the finals, so I’m going to try to be better than her,” Andreeva said with a laugh.

Kim Clijsters was 17 in 2001 when she lost to Serena Williams in the final.

Swiatek, also the 2022 Indian Wells champion, was bidding to become the first woman to win the tournament three times.

Sabalenka ended Keys’ 16-match winning streak and got some revenge for her loss to the American in Australia. Keys beat Sabalenka in three sets in January at Melbourne Park, denying Sabalenka a third consecutive title.

“I didn’t expect this match to be that fast,” Sabalenka said. “I’m super happy with the way I played today – much-needed revenge.”

On Saturday in the men’s semifinals, two-time defending champion Carlos Alcaraz – the No. 2 seed – will face 13th-seeded Jack Draper, and fifth-seeded Daniil Medvedev will play No. 12 Holger Rune.

​ Orange County Register 

University boys volleyball prevails in tight match with Woodbridge

• March 15, 2025

IRVINE – Cole Barkett has something to prove. He wants to fit in. Actually, he wants to do more than fit in.

He wants to stand out. And on Friday, the 6-foot-5 junior picked the biggest moment to put on a pair of stilts.

Barkett had a hand in seven of his team’s 15 points in Game 5 to lead University to a hard-fought victory over rival Woodbridge, 25-22, 19-25, 24-26, 26-24, 15-11, in a Pacific Coast League showdown.

“It was almost as if he put the team on his shoulders and turned himself into a one-man wrecking crew,” said teammate Cole McHenry, a junior who led University with 23 kills in his home gym.

The big nights by McHenry and Barkett helped University improve to 13-5 overall, 3-1 in the PCL. Woodbridge, which had an 8-3 lead in what could have been a decisive Game 4 for the Warriors, dropped to 7-3, 3-3.

“We’re in a really competitive league, I think everyone has a win and a loss,” said Alan Ho, the coach at Woodbridge. “That might be a theme over the year, everyone keeps beating up on each other.”

University coach Hailey Frey agreed with that assessment. But unlike Ho, she saw more consistency and execution, and really liked the way her team responded to the moment.

After struggling with consistency and injuries – including a broken fibula by Collin Hiller a couple weeks ago against Capistrano Valley – the Trojans put a complete game together.

“The last couple of games we found our groove, we found our chemistry,” Frey said. “Chemistry and culture is huge on our team.

“Every point matters for us because the league is very good this year. Every league match is going to be tight.”

McHenry, a three-year starter, said the Trojans are finally getting over the shock of losing Hiller and filling the hole in the lineup. He also said that being down, as the Trojans were several times, isn’t unusual. Importantly, he said, this is a team that doesn’t panic.

“We are so in the moment,” the 6-foot-4 McHenry said. “We really play one point at a time. We’ve fallen behind quite a bit and clawed our way back. But this is a crosstown rivalry, it’s real important for us to win. It mattered so much to us. We wanted to win for Collin.”

University took the first game after being tied at 20-20, but Soloman Moaleji had three kills over the last five points to secure a 25-22 victory.

Woodbridge tied the match with the most one-sided score – six points – after trailing, 14-11. But a series of runs over three possessions helped the Warriors take a 20-16 advantage to seize control.

Woodbridge overcame a 17-13 deficit in the third game as Sho Okihara served eight points in a row, powered by the play of Evan Condon, who had two blocks and a kill during the stretch. The run began with University hitting wide, long, and wide, which tied the score at 17-17 before Condon flexed his muscles. But even then, despite the big run, University rallied to 24 apiece. Woodbridge took it, 26-24, as Logan Matsuda dinked a winner and Holden Fogt struck the game-winner.

Woodbridge had a chance to win the match in Game 4, and held an 8-3 advantage early. But University put together runs of three and six to lead, 14-9. Woodbridge nickle-and-dimed its way to a 22-20 advantage, but Barkett had a dink, then an ace, and Woodbridge returned long. At 24-24, blocks by Moaleji and Rayan Heyati gave University a 26-24 victory that tied the match at two games.

Game 5 mostly belonged to Barkett, a middle blocker. He was big at the net early, then went to the service line with a 10-6 advantage and served to 12-6. Woodbridge answered with the help of the ceiling. Twice over the next four points the ball dropped between Uni defenders after hitting the roof.

“We got a little unlucky,” Barkett said. “Usually, that works to our advantage playing with the low roof because we’re used to it. One of them was completely my fault. I wasn’t watching the ball.”

Woodbridge got to within 12-10, but McHenry had a kill and Heyati had a block and a kill for the match win.

Woodbridge was led by Fogt’s 15 kills and Karen Shiari’s 11.

In addition to his 19 kills, Barkett had a couple of surprising aces. “I want to be a big player on this team, I always want to play my best” Barkett said. “I’m a good server, but I don’t usually get to serve. But the coach finally gave me a chance (after the match was tied at 1-1). I want to prove I’m one of the best players in the league.”

His performance against the Warriors was a good start.

​ Orange County Register 

UC Irvine pulls away from Cal Poly to reach Big West Tournament title game

• March 15, 2025

Fans of the Big West Conference have long dreamed of getting two teams into the NCAA Tournament, and they might just get their wish this season.

The UC Irvine men’s basketball team held down its end of the bargain on Friday night by pulling away for a 96-78 victory against Cal Poly in a Big West Tournament semifinal at Lee’s Family Forum in Henderson, Nevada.

The second-seeded Anteaters (28-5) will face top-seeded UC San Diego (29-4) in the championship game on Saturday at 6:30 p.m.

“This is a big game for our community, and we’re excited for it, and it’s a big game for the UCSD community too,” UCI coach Russell Turner said.

The Tritons have won 14 consecutive games after pulling away in the second half to beat fifth-seeded UC Santa Barbara, 69-51, in the earlier semifinal.

Saturday’s winner will get an automatic berth into the 68-team NCAA Tournament, but this season the loser will also get a long look as an at-large candidate. Both teams have been Top 10 mainstays in College Insider.com’s Mid-Major Top 25 all season, with UCSD at No. 2 and UCI at No. 6 in this week’s rankings. They split their regular-season games, each winning on the other’s court.

“Both teams know we’ve obviously got a lot on the line,” Turner said. “We’re looking forward to competing. We’ve both been successful at times against each other, and both also struggled against each other.”

The seventh-seeded Mustangs (16-19) had come a long way since the Anteaters defeated them on Jan. 18, dropping them to 0-8 in conference play. Cal Poly entered the game on a five-game winning streak after upsetting third-seeded UC Riverside in the quarterfinals on Thursday.

“They’ve completely changed the dynamics of that program,” Turner said of Cal Poly. “Our style won out tonight.”

All five starters scored in double figures for UCI, led by 7-foot-1 center Bent Leuchten, who finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds.

Devin Tillis had 17 points, eight rebounds and six assists, Justin Hohn scored 15 points and Myles Che, Jurian Dixon and reserve forward Kyle Evans finished with 10 points each for the Anteaters.

“Had a lot of guys contribute, which is always what makes our team good,” Turner said.

UCI is back in the championship game for the first time in four years, its longest dry spell since 2009-12. Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach State have each been to the championship game twice in the past four years.

Mac Riniker scored 22 points to lead Cal Poly and Jarred Hyder added 15 points, but Owen Koonce, who came in averaging 17.3 ppg, matched his season low with four points on 2-for-9 shooting.

UCI had defeated Cal Poly in the previous six matchups and 16 of the past 17, but the Anteaters trailed for most of the first half.

UCI didn’t take the lead for good until a 6-0 run made it 49-43 with 16:33 remaining.

Che scored his first points on a 3-pointer from in front of his own bench to extend the lead to 56-48 with 15:04 left. The Anteaters then drew an offensive foul on the other end and Luechten scored with his left hand from in close to give UCI its first double-digit advantage at 58-48.

The Mustangs managed to get back within single digits on a few trips down the court before Che buried another 3-pointer for a 77-66 advantage with 7:23 left and UCI maintained the double-digit advantage the rest of the way.

“Really proud of the belief that our team showed, overcoming a difficult start, where we looked nervous and we’re playing a tough team in Cal Poly,” Turner said.

The Mustangs helped themselves in the first half by shooting 7 for 16 from 3-point range before finishing 13 for 28 for the game (46.4%).

“They shot the ball incredibly well,” Turner said. “They’ve developed an identity that’s difficult for us in many ways, and I think they had confidence in that, and it showed in the first half, but our defense took over the game, which is how we win. That was the difference in the second half, along with our interior presence.”

UCI committed seven turnovers in the first seven minutes, but was able to stay close because the Mustangs missed 13 of their first 17 shots.

Cal Poly used an 8-0 run to expand its lead to 25-17 with 7:23 left in the half, but Isaac Jessup, who came in averaging 11.7 ppg, picked up his third foul shortly afterward and the Anteaters began chipping away. Jessup finished with 10 points.

UCI briefly moved back ahead 38-37 on a 3-pointer by Tillis with 45 seconds left in the half, but the Mustangs scored the final points on a jumper by Hyder with four seconds remaining and the Mustangs took the 39-38 lead into the break.

The Anteaters cleaned things up and committed just three turnovers in the final 13 minutes of the first half.

“Overall, we were able to dominate the paint, both on defense and on offense as the game wore on,” Turner said. “In the first half, we weren’t able to do that. There was uncertainty because they were making so many 3s.”

​ Orange County Register 

Sierra Canyon boys basketball proud of hard-fought win in CIF state Division I final

• March 15, 2025

SACRAMENTO – Winning the CIF State Open Division championship is the highest achievement of California high school boys basketball.

Sierra Canyon boys basketball has won a couple of Open Division championships, in 2018 and ‘19.

On Friday, the Trailblazers won the CIF State Division I title with a 58-53 victory over Lincoln of Stockton at Golden 1 Center.

To Sierra Canyon coach Andre Chevalier, the Division I championship is good enough.

“We prefer the Open Division,” Chevalier said. “But this one was hard as hell. We’re going to hang a banner like it’s a world championship. We’re going to get rings like it’s a world championship.”

Sierra Canyon gets that CIF State championship banner and the championship rings because the Trailblazers played their best basketball in the final two minutes of Friday’s game.

It started with a 3-pointer by junior Maximo Adams that put Sierra Canyon on top 51-50. He was 0 for 5 on 3-point shots before that one.

“Coaches tell me to keep on shooting,” Adams said. “So I let it fly.”

RELATED: Sage Hill girls struggle at free throw line, fall to Carondelet in CIF state Division I final

Lincoln’s Anthony Moore made one of his two free throws to tie it 51-51.

Bryce Cofield scored inside for Sierra Canyon to give the Trailblazers a 53-51 lead with 58 seconds remaining. Adams put in a layup with 17 seconds left off of a great bounce pass in the lane from Stephen Kankole, was fouled on his basket and made the free throw to push the lead to 56-51.

Anthony Moore scored for Lincoln to make it 56-53 with eight seconds to go. Adams iced the win with two free throws with four seconds remaining.

The loudest cheer of the night came when the Lakers’ LeBron James walked into the arena to watch his son Bryce play for Sierra Canyon. Sitting in a front-row seat alongside his wife and other members of his family, LeBron actively cheered the Trailblazers and interacted with fans around him. LeBron has been sidelined with a groin injury and was not with the Lakers for Friday’s game in Denver.

Gavin Hightower led Sierra Canyon (27-7) with game-highs of 15 points and nine rebounds. Adams scored 14 points, Cofield scored 11 points with three steals and Kankole scored 10 points. Bryce James contributed three points and five rebounds.

Moore and Donez Lindsey scored 18 points each for Lincoln (31-5).

Lincoln coach Anthony Matthews intimated afterward that the officiating was one-sided. Sierra Canyon shot 30 free throws, and made 20 of them, while Lincoln was 11 of 18 at the line.

Lincoln led for most of the first half. The Trojans were the superior defensive team in the first half and moved the ball around on offense more quickly than the Trailblazers did.

Moore made a 3-pointer late in the first quarter to give Lincoln its biggest lead of the half 16-10. Kankole answered with a 3, making it 16-13 at the end of the quarter.

Hightower scored on an offensive rebound to put the Trailblazers on top 23-22 with 1:17 to go, their first lead since it was 8-7 in their favor, That did not last long; Lincoln scored the half’s final five points to take a 27-23 lead into halftime.

Before the game, when it was thought LeBron James was entering through one tunnel, people – especially the Lincoln student section –  rushed the railings, leaning over them to get a look. But James came out one on the other side, and when he did the people screamed like they do at a concert when the house lights dim before the act takes the stage.

Sierra Canyon boys basketball digs deep to beat Redondo in Division I regional final

Sierra Canyon boys basketball tops JSerra in double OT, advances to regional finals

​ Orange County Register