St. Joseph boys turn tables, beat Clovis West for CIF-Central Section Division 1 championship

FRESNO, Calif. — Turn about. Fair play. Sweet revenge. 

After falling to Clovis West in the Division I Title game last season, the St. Joseph Knights turned the tables by capturing the 2023 CIF Central Section Division I Championship on Saturday night.

The Knights ended the first half on a 15-1 run to take a 36-23 halftome lead and never looked back en route to a 74-58 win on at Selland Arena in Fresno.

The game was the conclusion of a two-day, 12 game slate of Central Section Championships played at Selland Arena.

Luis Marin led the way for the Knights with 18 points. Tounde Yessoufou and Julius Price each finished with 16 points. Caedin Hamilton had 14 points and recorded 18 rebounds for the No. 3 seed Knights.

No. 1 seed Clovis West was led by Marshel Sanders who finished with 22 points (19 in the second half). Jackson Young added 12 points.

“We wanted to focus on using our size advantage inside and Clovis West forces you to speed up and take bad shots,” St. Joseph coach Tom Mott said. “Once we settled down a little bit, we got used to their pressure we got the ball into our big guys, and we were able to keep the lead for the rest of the game. There is a lot of guys that can contribute. Guys trust each other and it was just a good team effort tonight.”

The Knights outscored the Eagles 50-30 in points in the paint and shot 54 percent from the field.

“This is my favorite moment. Winning a championship meant a lot to us especially after what happened last year,” Yessoufou said. “After what happened last year, we promised ourselves to never happen again. We just put in work every day.”

Marin scored 10 points in the fourth quarter to help the Knights seal the game.

“This title means a lot more. I started this year and played the whole game,” Marin said. “It was amazing to play in this atmosphere. I have never played in front of so many people. It was cool to feel the pressure and earn the win.”

The two teams met for the Division I Championship in 2022 with Clovis West defeating St. Joseph 72-63 in overtime in a game played at Clovis West High School.

On Saturday, the Eagles committed 14 turnovers, which is a key stat that Clovis West coach Vance Walberg said changed the game.

“For us to be successful we had to take care of the ball and we just didn’t take care of the ball tonight,” Walberg said. “The kids competed but any little mistake and they are going to score. It is just one of those game that you wish we could make a few more shots. I am very proud of what the team accomplished all year.”

Sanders scored 13 points in the third quarter, to try and keep the Golden Eagles in the game.

“Marshel is a stud," Walberg said. "When he wants to play, he is amazing. I wish I could get him to play that way all the time. You could see it in his eyes, on the big stage he showed up.”

St. Joseph and Clovis West will now await its playoff seeding and placement, which will be released on Sunday. Both teams might end up in the Northern California Open Division field.

This story will be updated. Photos below by Bobby Medellin