CHICO, CA (MPG) – History, unfortunately, repeated itself last Saturday afternoon in the Northern Section CIF Division VII Championship game at Butte College, as the Eagles suffered a heartbreaking 56–60 loss to Loyalton, replicating last year’s result.
Searching for its first title since 2009, No. 1 seeded Princeton opened the game with a 9-0 run, but the lead was short-lived as the No. 2 Grizzlies stormed back to go ahead 11-9 as the first quarter came to a close.
From that point on, Loyalton really started to cook, knocking down jumpers from the outside and cleaning up on the boards to expand their advantage to nine points.
But the Eagles’ were able to draw back to within six at intermission as Junior Andrade and Corwyn Roberson combined for 17 points in the second period.
In the third quarter the Grizzlies cooled off a bit allowing Princeton to stay within striking range as a basket by Alex Winn just before the buzzer seemed to shift the momentum.
Things got even more interesting on the first possession of the final period though, when Winn drained a jumper in the key to bring the Eagles within three at 40-43.
However, the remainder of the quarter turned into a shootout, featuring an impressive performance by Andrade who nearly outscored the Loyalton team with four long-distance bombs to go along with a pair of two-point buckets.
Yet, in the end, the Grizzlies were able control the boards and hit timely baskets to hold off the frantic Eagle rally.
Despite the unfortunate result for Princeton, it was one of the season’s most entertaining contests, bringing the crowd to its feet and illustrating the quality of players that come from some of the North State’s smallest schools.
The match-up between Andrade, the section’s second leading scorer, with a 29.7 average and Loyalton’s Aidan Shelby, who sits fifth at 22.6 per game, did not disappoint with Andrade pouring in a game-high 32 points, including going eight for 15 from beyond the arc, while Shelby finished with 26 points.
In the end, however, the difference between the two teams boiled down to the production from the other players on the court, because despite a 15-point effort from Corwyn Roberson, the rest of the Eagles struggled to get their shots to drop, accounting for just six total points.
On the other hand, Grizzly guards Ace Armstrong and Gus Petterson continually stepped up in key situations combining for 31 points.
For Princeton, another bright spot not to be overlooked was the rebounding of Chris Roberson, who in limited action pulled down 11 boards.
After some time to reflect on the game, the season, and the group he has led to three straight final round appearances, Coach Jordan Dillard expressed pride in what his crew has accomplished.
“We have fought all season long, including down to the final buzzer in this championship game,” said Dillard. “This was the third consecutive time getting to the championship, so we were prepared. Everything went as planned, except that the ball just wasn’t falling for us. This has been a heck of run for these seniors, and we will get back to the grind and be back at the top once again. We are winners regardless because what Princeton basketball did was bigger than basketball. That’s our motto.”
Last Saturday’s setback was just the second for the Eagles this season as they finished with an overall record of 23-2 and went undefeated in the Pioneer League.