Owls’ Historic Season Ends in State Championship Semifinals

Recap by Robert Schmidt and Nick MacLaughlin:

Goliath held off David in Saturday's semifinal game at the 3C2A State Championship tournament at College of the Sequoias in Visalia.

San Francisco City, the state's most storied program in men's basketball history at the California Community College level, held off Citrus, the state's most prolific offense in 2025-26, to secure yet another appearance in the state championship game.

San Franscisco City, the defending state champions, and winners of five titles under current head coach Justin Labagh and six in the college's history, defeated Citrus, 73-71, for the second time in the last two years in the state semifinals.

Citrus, the south's No. 2 seed, was making its second consecutive trip to the semifinals. Unfortunately, it ended exactly as it did last year, losing to San Francisco City in the semifinals. The Owls, who were riding a 25-game win streak, won its lone state title in 2008.

The teams came into their game with two of the state's best offensive units, yet points came hard to both teams in the first half, especially Citrus. Citrus, which led the state in scoring at over 100 points a game, managed just 33 first-half points. Meanwhile, San Francisco City brought the state's ninth best offensive unit into game. The Rams scored 34 points.

"I thought this game would be a rock fight," said San Francisco City head coach Justin Labagh. "Citrus was firing on all cylinders. Last night against (West Valley) they looked like a buzzsaw."

The halftime deficit marked just the fourth time this season that Citrus trailed at halftime. The others were against Fullerton (a loss); Sequoias (a win) and Mt. San Antonio (win).

San Francisco City (31-1) led by as many as 10 points in the first half. With 1:27 left before halftime, the Rams led 34-24. But a late offensive burst by Citrus (30-2) cut the lead to one. The Owls got a layup from Amiri Meadows, free throws from JJ Sanchez and Meadows and then Leo Ricketts, the south's Player of the Year hit a three-pointer with one second left. He was also fouled on the play but missed the free throw which would have tied the game.

The second half began with a flurry, before the game got physical. The two teams combined for 19 first-half fouls. With 11 minutes left, the two teams had combined for 13 in the second half. The game finished with a combined 39 fouls called.

The Owls were able to take a four-point lead on a Ricketts four-point play to open the final period. San Francisco City, however, rallied regaining the lead at 47-46 with 15:54 remaining. The Rams maintained a lead until Citrus retook the lead at 57-55 with 10 minutes left. With 8:30 remaining, Citrus managed to squeeze out a four-point lead, but San Francisco City hung within striking distance, never trailing by more than four.

After a three-point play by Dev Hamilton at 7:49, Citrus rebuild its lead to four at 68-64. San Francisco City cut the lead to one at 64-63, but Citrus extended its lead to six at 69-63 with 5:30 left on a Hamilton layup.

A coupled of Rams' free throws and a three by Ahmaree Muhammed with under five minutes cut the Citrus lead to one at 69-68. A Jaylen Wheeler putback put the Rams back in front, but Citrus answered right back, regaining the lead at 71-70.

A Victor Oliveira layup returned the led (72-71) to Rams with 1:55 left.

With nine seconds left, Hamilton missed a layup and the Rams secured a team defensive rebound. Citrus fouled James Moore with 8.6 seconds left and he knocked down just one of two free throws for a two-point lead at 73-71 with 8.6 seconds left.

Citrus inbounded the ball and got into the hands of Ricketts, but his three-pointer bounced off the back of the rim as the horn sounded.

"Listen Citrus is great. The way he (Brett Lauer) coaches. He gets some much of his guys and they play so connected. I think they are the most connected and passing team we played this year. Today, overall, I would say that is the best team we have played."

San Francisco City's Kenyon DeMuynck, the north's State Player of the Year, scored a game-high 24 points. The freshman also grabbed 10 rebounds and recorded five blocks. Muhammed came off the bench to add 12 and Elliot Conley added 10. Citrus had four players score in doubled figures, led by Sanchez with 15. Teammates Amiri Meadows and Ricketts added 14 and 12, respectively, with Dylan Victorio coming off the bench to add 11.

The Owls end their season 30-2 overall, the program's best record in 18 years, with their only two losses coming against Fullerton College and San Francisco City, the two teams that will meet in the state championship game on Sunday, March 15, at 3:30 p.m.