Big third quarter powers Knight past Sage Hill in CIF Division 3AA championship game

Sage Hill coach D’Cean Bryant accepts the runner-up plaque along with No. 3 James Karahalios and No. 12 Jackson Cyst. (PHOTOS: Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone).

Sage Hill’s boys basketball team stayed close for a half Saturday night in the CIF Division 3AA championship game vs. Knight.

The Lightning trailed by only three points at halftime. But Knight broke the game open outscoring Sage Hill 23-13 in the third quarter and was in control the rest of the way, recording a 64-43 victory in front of a near capacity crowd at Edison High School.

To see additional photos, click on the first picture:

Knight players, coaches and school officials celebrate the CIF title.

Sage Hill players look on as the Lightning accept the runner-up trophy.

Knight players warm up before Saturday's final.

Amare Larane scored 26 points, made four 3-pointers and grabbed five rebounds, Da’vian Brooks scored 12 points and Jaylen Mims 11 points to lead Knight, which made 46 percent of its field goal attempts compared to 44 percent for Sage Hill.

Knight made 8-of-23 3-pointers while Sage Hill hit just 2-of-13.

James Karahalios was the only Sage Hill player in double figures with 16 points. He also had six rebounds. Jackson Cyst added nine points and had nine rebounds for Sage Hill (19-10). Tre Cradle grabbed nine rebounds for Sage Hill, which outrebounded Knight 29-24.

Knight forced 17 turnovers by Sage Hill and had 18 fast break points. Knight had only six turnovers.

“I just think they wanted it more,” said Sage Hill Coach D’Cean Bryant. “Hats off to them, I think they just really just said, ‘we want the game more than you,’ so at the end of the day, that’s what it was, they got to every loose ball, they hustled, they boxed out our guys, they made the extra pass, and again, congratulations to them.

“We told the boys you don’t get these opportunities all the time. And I think tonight was a very valuable lesson. And we told them it’s not even about basketball, it’s about opportunities in life, you don’t always get those opportunities so you got to compete and make sure what you do what your supposed to do because you may not have won the championship, but it’s preparing you for something else.”

It was Sage Hill’s first appearance in the CIF finals since 2023 when the Lightning lost to Jordan 68-57 in the 4A finals.

Both Knight (26-5) and Sage Hill move on to the CIF State regionals beginning Tuesday.

“Right now, we will go home and look at film and see where we went wrong and we will come back on Monday and practice and see what it looks like, Tuesday we don’t know who we play yet, once we get there, we get there,” Bryant said.

“We got to deal with tonight first.”

The CIF regional pairings are expected to be announced Sunday evening.

—Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com