Boys’ basketball: Pacific Hills wins Division IV

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Jahmel Taylor had 24 points and 10 rebounds to lead No. 5 Pacific Hills to a 73-69 win over No. 6 Bishop Montgomery in their CIF Southern California Division IV championship at Colony High in Ontario on Saturday.

The Bruins opened the second half strong, outscoring the Knights, 6-0, in the first minute to take a 15 points lead, their biggest lead of the game.

But the Knights chipped away at that advantage, cutting it to two points, 62-60, with five minutes left after Lamond Murray Jr. made a layup. The Knights, however, had some costly turnovers down the stretch and couldn’t complete the comeback.

‘I just wanted to finish strong and that was the key,’ Taylor said.

Namon Wright added 20 points and four rebounds for the Bruins, and Marcus Jackson finished with nine points and six rebounds.

Murray Jr. led the Knights with 25 points on 12 for 25 shooting, nine rebounds and four assists. Larry Taylor III had 14 points and Ognjen Miljkovic had 13 points and eight rebounds.

Pacific Hills made 27 of 32 free throws (84.4%). Taylor was an impressive 16 for 18 from the line.

‘It means a lot,’ Taylor said. ‘A lot of people didn’t really think we could win this game. I really think we can take this all the way.’

Pacific Hills went 4-0 in the state playoffs under assistant coach Herman Nash, who was filling in for head coach Ivan Barahona, who has been coaching the El Salvador national team. Barahona will be back on Monday and travel with the team to Sacramento.