SUNNYVALE — The first shot of the game for The King’s Academy was a 3-point attempt by Caedmon Dickson that went swish.
The 6-foot-6 senior was feeling it. He made four more 3s and five free throws, four in the final minute, to keep hard-charging Palo Alto at bay as TKA won the CIF Northern Regional Division III championship Tuesday, 70-65.
“I had an off game shooting-wise my last game, so I was in the gym tweaking my shot yesterday,” Dickson said. “I found kind of what was wrong with it. I felt very good coming into the game. As soon as I was shooting pregame I knew I was going to hit today.”
TKA will play San Gabriel Academy on Friday at 2 p.m. at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento for the state Division III crown.
Dickson and freshman Boss Mhoon scored 20 points apiece for TKA (27-4). Point guard Xavier Barnett added 16. Their combined efforts enabled the Knights to hold off repeated comeback surges by Palo Alto, which rallied from a 12-point deficit behind a tremendous performance from Jorell Clark, who scored 37 points.
“It’s amazing the career Jorell Clark had,” Palo Alto coach Jeff LaMere said. “He carried us all season. He had one of the most special seasons any kid in this section has ever had.”
“He’s a helluva player, we couldn’t stop him all night,” TKA coach Cameron Bradford said.
TKA led 15-7 after one quarter and enjoyed its biggest lead at 27-15 after a Dickson 3.
But Palo Alto, which struggled through a cold-shooting 7-for-28 first half, came out in the third quarter with renewed resolve, scoring on eight of its first nine possessions, and took its first, and what turned out to be its only lead of the game, 40-39, after a Clark 3-pointer.
Every time the Vikings made a run, TKA had an answer. Falling behind early and having to play catchup was definitely not part of the Palo Alto game plan.
“We wanted to keep it in the 50s and they scored 70,” LaMere said. “Hats off to King’s Academy. They’re long, they’re disruptive. There’s a reason they were the No. 1 seeded team.”
Mhoon drove for a hoop, was fouled and knocked down the free throw to put his team back up two. Clark’s driving layup tied it before the Knights scored the final seven points of the quarter.
Clark scored 16 of Palo Alto’s 20 fourth-quarter points, including the team’s final 12 points, but TKA converted on 11 of 17 possessions in the quarter and never relinquished the lead. Clark’s long 3 brought Paly within 65-63 with 16.7 seconds left, but TKA made 5 of 6 foul shots in the final seconds to hold on for the win and the NorCal title.
“This is a dream I’ve had ever since I was little,” Mhoon said. “My mindset was to play my game, stay calm. I meditated before the game with my team, prayed to God.”
And now the Knights get a shot at the ultimate, an opportunity to play for a state championship.
“I’m just incredibly grateful for this team,” Dickson said. “We’re very excited to play at this level with a chance to win a state championship on Friday.”
“They battled all year, really bought into becoming a team, sacrificing for the greater good,” Bradford said. “I couldn’t be more proud of the guys. They stepped up tonight.”
