Titans back on top: Antelope beats Del Oro for second section title in three years
As the final moments ticked away in the Division ll Sac-Joaquin Section championship between Del Oro and Antelope on Thursday night, Titans coach Sean Chambers faced his school’s student section, known as the Red Zone.
All he could do was put his hands in the air and smile. Students were decked out in red hats and shirts. They sang “Happy Birthday to You” as the coach celebrated his 55th. There was plenty to celebrate as Antelope beat Del Oro 66-58 to claim the school’s second blue banner in three years. And they’ll be back in action in the state tournament, which gets underway Tuesday.
“When I got to Antelope today and saw all the students wearing red today, it was incredible,” Chambers said. “Antelope reminds me of when I was growing up in Highlands. It’s such a great community and everyone pulls for one another.”
Jzaniya Harriel led Antelope with 25 points and nine rebounds. Angel Jordan and Kaiija Lesane both had 11 and Jordan Goodwin had 10. It was redemption for the Titans, who lost to Sacramento High on a last-second free throw in last season’s final at Golden 1. They vowed to get back here and they made the most of it.
“This feels great,” Harriel said. “It knows all the hard work we put in paid off. This makes us hungrier for more. I told our seniors you aren’t leaving Antelope without another section championship. I’m so happy for our seniors.”
Del Oro jumped out to an eight-point lead early and led 17-12 at the end of the first quarter. Antelope trailed 30-29 in the final seconds of the second quarter before Harriel hit a big 3-pointer before the break to take a 32-30 lead. Antelope never trailed after that.
Del Oro managed to cut the lead to 58-52 with 1:02 left but a big 3-pointer by Angel Jordan and four free throws by Goodwin put the game away.
“We are used to Jzaniya hitting all the big shots, but down the stretch, Kaiija had a great move to the basket and Angel and Angelina also both hit big threes,” Chambers said. “Jordan stepped up also and hit those free throws down the stretch. No one complains on this team.”
That includes the Jordan twins, who didn’t play as freshmen on varsity. They never second-guessed.
The Titans (29-3) hope to have a lot of games left in them and expect to draw a top seed when the CIF State Northern California Regional brackets are released Sunday.
“I think we can go all the way,” Harriel said. “If we stick to who we are and play how we play. I feel like we can win a state championship.”
Del Oro (22-10) will also draw a high seed in either Division l or ll in the competitive-equity CIF model. Golden Eagles sophomore Madison Butcher led all scorers with 26 points. Star post Madison Parry finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds.
This story was originally published February 27, 2020 at 8:47 PM.