Clovis North falls in D-I state final to top-seeded Damien

CLOVIS, Calif. (KFSN) -- For the first time in three years, the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento again played host to the CIF basketball championships.

Clovis North fell 65-57 to top-seeded Damien in the Division-I final, but just getting to the final meant a lot to the Broncos program.

"I think it means a lot to these guys, I think it means a lot to our coaching staff, our administration, our school, our student body and even just the Central Valley," said head coach Tony Amundson.

With "Road Warriors" written across their warmups, the #13 Broncos looked for its fifth road win of the state tournament.

"I think Niko (Jones) came up with it (road warriors)," said sophomore guard Connor Amundson. "We kind of used that because we were always on the road, always against the other team's fans, so we had to come together and be warriors together."

Battling one of the biggest teams the Broncos faced all year, CN was hanging tough thanks to its perimeter shooting. Connor Amundson had a team-high 25 points with Jordan Espinoza scoring some key buckets.

But a 17 point Damien lead to start the fourth was too much to overcome and CN's road to state came to an end at the state capital.

"I thought that it might wear on our guys but to their credit, they just kept going on pure adrenaline," said coach Amundson. "The excitement of being in the next game, moving on and just confronting the next strong opponent and I think it was just adrenaline and excitement of it that kept them going."

Saturday at 2:00 PM, the San Joaquin Memorial girls team will take on Sage Hill for a chance at the Division-II title. Tune in to a special edition of Action News after the NBA game for a full recap of the Panthers game.