Brookside Christian wins title in last section match before school closes for good

The final buzzer for the Division V title game might as well have sounded five minutes early, when Brookside Christian’s Geronimo De La Rosa curled off a screen and buried a deep 3-pointer, driving a dagger in the hearts of Bradshaw Christian on the way to a 69-48 victory.

On that play, De La Rosa sprinted past the bright white high school 3-point line all the way to the gray NBA marker. It wasn’t his first bomb from that range either, as De La Rosa knocked one down from the top of the key in the first quarter.

It was a pro move. Buddy Hield regularly sinks shots from that exact part of the Golden 1 Center.

De La Rosa finished with a robust 27 points, seven rebounds, six assists and four steals. But the most important stat he collected Friday afternoon was, of course, the Sac Joaquin Section title.

“With our school closing down, this is a very, very proud moment,” said Brookside head coach Luke Williams.

Brookside Christian High School will close it’s doors after this academic year. The boys basketball program will end as back-to-back section champions under his guidance.

Lawrence Hillery III was another standout in the big win for the Knights. He added 20 points and five steals. Both Lawrence Hillery III and De La Rosa shot over 50 percent from the field.

“If a team decides to try to shut Geronimo (De La Rosa) down, it literally opens a backdoor for Lawrence (Hillery III),” Williams said. “They’re Batman and Robin.”

Bradshaw Christian just couldn’t match the firepower Brookside brought to the court. Jaylen Patterson had a team-high 11 points while Javion Cooper added eight, but it wasn’t nearly enough for The Pride.

Williams was most proud of his team’s defense. The Knights limited Bradshaw to just 33 percent shooting from the field and 21 percent from the 3-point line.

Williams also took a moment after the game to acknowledge the presence of Pastor Timothy Dunham in the locker room, who was head coach of Brookside when the team won it’s first section title in 1999.

“I’m happy about the fact that at least we are leaving on the top,” Dunham said. “Just like a prize fighter.”

Brookside won it all for a second time in Williams’ first year as an assistant coach in 2011. In total, Brookside earned four titles throughout the life of it’s program.

Both Brookside and Bradshaw will both get a spot in the Northern California regional tournament. Brackets will be announced Sunday.