Crossroads Boys Basketball Team Advances to State Title Game

The Crossroads boys basketball team has already traveled to Arizona, San Diego and Las Vegas as part of its remarkable season. But those destinations don’t compare to the next stop on the Roadrunners’ schedule: Sacramento.

 

Extending what has already been a phenomenal campaign under head coach Anthony Davis, Crossroads has secured a trip to the state’s capital to compete in the CIF State Division II championship game against Alameda on Friday, March 23, at 4 p.m. at Golden 1 Center.

 

The second-seeded Roadrunners punched their ticket to Sacramento by defeating No. 13 Birmingham 54-50 at home March 17 in the state semifinals, earning a state regional championship.

 

“Winning the state regional was the best feeling ever,” the coach said. “The players worked so hard and sacrificed a lot to get to this point. I really would like to thank the whole Crossroads community for all the love and support. I’ve been here for seven years, and I’ve never seen so many fans pack our gym. It’s a true blessing.”

 

Members of the team celebrated the regional title by cutting down the net at Crossroads Gym, drawing raucous applause from hundreds of supporters. It was a thrilling moment considering the Roadrunners (24-9) had trailed Birmingham at the end of each of the first three quarters.

 

“We were able to come back because we stuck with the plan and never let up,” sophomore guard Yuuki Okubo said. “We have been down many times this season, and this was nothing new. We knew we had to give it our all because there was no way we were going home.” 

 

Senior forward Shareef O’Neal racked up 18 points to lead Crossroads, including two free throws with 18.1 seconds left. The Roadrunners also had double-digit scoring from seniors Tamir Saban, Benjamin Terry and DJ Houston in their victory over Birmingham, which followed state playoff triumphs against Selma, La Jolla Country Day and Cajon.

 

Crossroads is now making its sixth appearance in the state championship game in program history and its first since 2001. The Roadrunners captured the Division III state title in 1987, defeating Colusa under then-coach David Benezra, and they won the Division IV state championship in 1997 with a victory against Encina under then-coach Daryl Roper.

 

“As a team, we are very happy winning the state regionals, but we are still hungry to win the state championship,” Anthony said. “We have seven seniors on the team who have been through a lot, and I want nothing more than to win a state championship for them.”

 

For more information about the CIF State boys basketball championships, click here.