Playoff Run Ends for Redlands Adventist

The Redlands Adventist Academy boys’ varsity basketball team returned home with its first CIF-Southern Section championship Tuesday night.

But the Bulldogs' celebration was short-lived, as they fell to St. Bernard High School, of Playa del Rey, 81-37, in the first round of the CIF State Southern California regional tournament. It was the first visit by any team in the school’s history to the state finals.

“We wanted to win a championship this year and we did that and no one can take that away no matter what the final score of this game,” said Redlands head coach Jason Hinkle.

The CIF-Southern Section Division VI-A Champions began their quest for its first title on a three-game losing streak. RAA lost its last three Victory League games for a third-place finish before going into the first round of CIF playoffs. The Bulldogs then charged through five victories, including a come-from-behind championship win to claim the school’s first CIF-Southern Section championship banner.  

“We really peaked at the right time,” Hinkle said. “We continued to play better every game throughout the playoffs and we really finished our season playing our best game at Mater Dei.”

Senior shooting guard Mikael Anderson, the Bulldogs’ leading scorer, played through the Southern Section playoffs with a bruised thigh, but did not dress for Tuesday’s game. The injury had worsened through the postseason, Hinkle said, and he did not want to take the chance of jeopardizing Anderson’s promising future by playing him in what proved to be a David-meets-Goliath-like contest, without the uplifting conclusion.

“It was going to be tough for us today with or without him. We knew coming into this game that these guys were good, really good,” Hinkle said.

And good they were. Through their season the Vikings consistently scored in the 70-100 point range, while the Bulldogs averaged 60-70 points per game and topped out around 80 points.

Without Anderson’s leadership on the court and his points on the scoreboard, the Bulldogs struggled to find both their offensive and defensive footing. The Bulldogs scored their first points four minutes into the first quarter on Tino Mkorombindo’s two successful free throws. By that time the Vikings were up 19-2. The quarter ended with Redlands trailing St. Bernard 37-4.

Sparked by Mkorombindo’s play in the second quarter, the Bulldogs gained some footing. On a fast break, Mkorombindo found junior small forward Kamaal Thomas under the basket to give the Bulldogs their third score of the game.

“We’re down by 40 points and he’s still out there running his heart out. He’s been an anchor for us all year doing just that,” Hinkle said.

Despite some sputtering starts on offense, Redlands continued to struggle to shutdown the ever-attacking Vikings, who somehow seemed to find open men in empty lanes in any and all directions.

St. Bernard dominated the inside game both in size and height, which forced Redlands to double and triple team any man near the basket. The Bulldogs played zone defense, but crashed two or three men into any Viking with the ball in the paint. However, a quick pass back out to an open man on the perimeter kept the Bulldogs scrambling and inevitably led to an inside shot opening up.

However, Redlands’ hard-fought-for gains did not go unrewarded. Their efforts to regroup on offense and defense made it a 10-point game through the final three quarters of play. Unfortunately, the first-quarter damage was a deficit too great for the Bulldogs’ to overcome. Redlands went into the halftime break trailing 59-13.

“We’re down 40-some points, but the crowd was right there behind us, so I told the guys they needed to play the way we played all year to get that championship. They need to leave that crowd with something,” Hinkle said.

Facing such a daunting score the Bulldogs could have shut down and checked out, but instead they rallied.

“The crowd was amazing for supporting us this whole way. They kept us going after we came out that first half scared … so we came out (in the second half) determined to make it memorable,” Mkorombindo said.

The Bulldogs scored more points in the third quarter then they had through the entire first half. The 15-point gain was much more in keeping with their offense’s typical pace with Anderson on the court.

“I’m so proud of the way these guys stuck to it and played the entire game. They did not give up and they left their hearts out on this court,” Hinkle said.

RAA continued to battle through the final quarter right down to the final second, fighting tooth and claw for every offensive gain. The game even ended with a Bulldog at the line taking the final free throws of an unforgettable season.

The crowd rose to its feet and loudly applauded as the Bulldogs’ closed out their record-setting run.