Salesian, ranked 15th in California, topped the Cougars, 55-40, on March 4 in St. Mary’s McKeon Pavillion to win the Division 3 North Coast Section boys’ basketball title. The Prides were led by junior point guard James Akinjo, who has already received offers to play for UC Berkeley and Texas A&M.

“We knew how talented of a team they were, and knew that we had to be knocking down shots consistently and playing great defense throughout the game,” said Campolindo sophomore guard Jake Chan after the game.

The Cougars 11 points in the 1st quarter to stay event with the top seed. “Coming out strong and ready was one of our goals that we made during practice the week before,” added Chan.

Campolindo’s defense faltered during the 2nd quarter, giving up 19 points while the offense managed only 13. The score was 30-24 in favor of the Prides going into halftime.

Campolindo trailed for the remainder of the contest.

“We were getting good looks, just weren’t knocking down enough shots,” said senior guard Tom Caprio. “Defense was our focus going into the 2nd half.”

Junior Will Cummins led the Cougars with 13 points, with freshman Carter Mahaney adding 9 points of his own.

The Cougars’ season continues on March 8 when they play Sanger Union High in the 1st round of the NorCal tournament.