It’s no secret on campus that Southwest High School prides itself as a soccer school. The Raiders won the Southern California Division II regional championship in 2014 to shine a spotlight on the program.
But the South San Diego school may also soon be known as a basketball powerhouse after capturing the San Diego Section Division V championship title with a 77-38 victory against San Diego Academy March 1 at La Costa Canyon High School.
It is the first CIF divisional boys basketball championship for the Raiders in school history, and could be the first of many to come.
Southwest’s only previous trip to the finals came in 1999 when the Raiders finished runner-up to Bonita Vista in an all South County championship matchup.
Longtime Southwest head coach Steve Selland, who helped guide that history-making 1999 team, helped make history again last week.
Selland, who is in his 32nd year guiding the Raiders, said the long road to a section championship has been a building process both over the intervening years and this season as well.
“Although we got a slow start, we really started to come together the second half of the year, playing our best basketball, catching up to teams that were far ahead of us back in November, so it has been a fun and exciting time,” Selland explained.
“The school, both staff and students, have rallied around the team, and their great enthusiasm has helped propel us forward.”
San Diego Academy is a private coeducational K-12 school in the Seventh-day Adventist school system located in National City. It boasts a student enrollment of approximately 270 students.
With a student enrollment of approximately 1,700, Southwest towered over many of the other schools in the playoff division.
The championship game proved to be a mismatch on the playing court.
The third-seeded Raiders led by six points, 19-13, after the first quarter in the all-South County hardwood pairing but firmly took control of the game with a dominating 24-5 run in the second quarter to lead 43-18 at halftime.
Southwest out-scored fifth-seeded SDA 34-15 in the second half.
Diego Edwards paced the Raiders in scoring with 28 points. His dunk on a steal at the end of the third quarter aroused a loud response from the three busloads of students who made the 43-mile trek to cheer on their team. He also had 12 rebounds in the game.
Jorge Ortiz added 17 points and nine rebounds while also contributing four assists and four steals in the scoring column. Jamie Ortiz poured in 14 points in the win.
“Getting on a roll in the CIF playoffs, it has all come together, resulting in a CIF banner for the school. As such, we are quite proud of the achievements of our young players, they have accomplished a great deal, they have come a long way,” Selland said.
“They are an outstanding group of young men who respect the game and understand the significance of this achievement for the school. As their coach, I am proud to be a part of the team.”
Southwest had defeated San Diego Academy, 73-61, in early January.
The Raiders, putting it together at the right time of the season, never took their foot off the pedal in the playoffs.
Southwest finished in a tie with Hilltop in the South Bay League standings with a 7-3 league record. The Raiders eliminated second-seeded Escondido Charter, 75-50, in the division semifinals on Feb. 27 after topping 11th-seeded Del Lago Academy, 76-39, in a quarterfinal game on Feb. 23.
San Diego Academy (15-13) proved it belonged in the championship game after recording a 66-59 upset win over the top-seeded Cambridge School (17-2) in the semifinals. The Cavaliers, runners-up in the Sunset League standings, also upended fourth-seeded Julian, 67-59, in the quarterfinals on Feb. 23.
Kevin Early topped the Cavaliers with 18 points in the division championship game while Gustavo Saldana dropped in 13 points. Elisha Ponkratjevs led the SDA defensive effort with 12 rebounds.
Turnovers — 23, to be exact — proved lethal for the Cavaliers. The Raiders also blocked 10 shots.
San Diego Section Girls Basketball Champions
Open Division: Mt. Miguel
Division I: Bonita Vista
Division II: Olympian
Division III: Christian
Division IV: San Dieguito Academy
Division V: Madison
San Diego Section Boys Basketball Champions
Open Division: Mission Bay
Division I: Santa Fe Christian
Division II: Francis Parker
Division III: Mt. Miguel
Division IV: San Diego
Division V: Southwest
