Rocklin will face Eisenhower in state finals Friday; Opponent beat Thunder in December

Rocklin High beat top-seeded St. Francis of Mountain View 70-65 Saturday evening in the NorCal basketball finals at Arco Arena.Now the Thunder, seeded No. 2 in NorCal for Division II, will play a familiar opponent in the state championship game at 8 p.m. at Arco Arena on Friday. Eisenhower of Rialto, who beat Loyola in Southern California on Saturday, beat Rocklin (32-2) during the MaxPreps Holiday Classic in San Diego 77-66 on Dec. 27.Eisenhower (31-3) has won its last 15 games while Rocklin is on a 22-game winning streak. Eisenhower is led by point guard Andrew Boch, who averages 20.8 points per game. He scored 25 in the first game against Rocklin."It will be kind of exciting to play them and (try to) avenge a loss," said Rocklin coach Steve Taylor, who started the Rocklin basketball program in 1994. "They made (14) 3s in that game against us . . . and hopefully we'll defend the shooters a little better."Thunder junior point guard Jackson Cummings played against Eisenhower in December but that tournament was his first action of the season. Taylor limited his minutes severely because of a groin injury."He's been in pressure situations and it will help out a lot," Thunder 6-10 center Brendan Lane said about having Cummings at full strength on Friday night."This is just fun – no nerves anymore," Rocklin senior forward Pat Stover said. "When we saw (Eisenhower) come out – no one is big in stature but they play so hard. It's the way they play (that makes them so tough)."Rocklin led 34-31 at the half but outscored St. Francis 20-13 in the third quarter to open up the lead on Saturday. Rocklin led 66-51 with 3:30 left in the fourth quarter but the Lancers (30-3) closed to within 70-65 with 16.3 seconds remaining.Taylor called two timeouts while the lead shrank, yelling a little louder during the second timeout. The Thunder turned the ball over repeatedly during the stretch."What part about slow down when you don't have an advantage break are you not getting?" said Taylor about what he told his guys during a timeout with 40.9 seconds to go. "It's hard playing fast for most of the game and having success in transition and then trying to pull the reins back."Five points was as close as the Lancers would get though as Stover grabbed a defensive rebound with about five seconds to go and Rocklin ran out the clock.Stover made 7-of-10 shots from the field and collected 15 points and 10 rebounds in 21 minutes."I'm cutting and moving and being more aggressive. In league I'd get rebounds and get the ball out (to teammates) and let Brendan do his thing," Stover said. "We played so well and we played so hard. This is probably the best game (we've played all year) considering the competition."Lane finished with team highs in points (17) and rebounds (15) while also collecting four blocks in about 29 minutes. "It's kind of unreal – the whole thing. Especially being up at the end (of the game)," Lane said. "It hasn't really sunk in yet . . . this is what we've been working for all year. We've just put in the work and it's paying off right now. (But) we're definitely going to have to play better (to beat Eisenhower)."As he has done all season, Lane avoided foul trouble. He fouled out of the Foundation Game on Dec. 1 and hasn't fouled out since. He has battled foul trouble in recent seasons."That's been a big thing this year – I've focused on that," Lane said.Senior Anthony Romero (11 points) and junior Cody Kale (10) joined Lane and Stover in double figures for the Thunder.Taylor, who won a California state title as a player at Roseville High, is very excited to have a chance to coach for one."I'm proud of our guys – they have worked really hard to get here . . . It's been a long journey and these guys deserve this because they've done everything we've asked of them," Taylor said. "It's been a real slugfest in three of the last four games, starting with Wood, and we thought (a faster pace) would help . . . we talked yesterday and our goal was to get in the 70s (points)."Shawn Grant led St. Francis with 24 points and he also grabbed nine rebounds.Rocklin 50, Hayward 49Every Rocklin High basketball fan, coach and player in the gym was probably thinking the same thing just before the final buzzer went off on March 12.Not again.Last season, in the semifinals of the NorCal playoffs, visiting Fairfield's James Lake banked in a last-second 3-pointer from about 30 feet away to end Rocklin's season.This year, also in the semifinals and also in Rocklin's gym, Hayward's Davion Berry launched a shot from about the same distance just as the final horn was about to sound. The ball ended up hitting the back of the rim and dropping to the court. Thunder fans rushed out of the stands and went crazy at center court. Hayward fans were frozen.This was the third time Rocklin had reached the NorCal semifinals and the first time it had won. The Thunder lost to visiting St. Francis in 2001 in overtime and to Fairfield in 2008.Lane made 1-of-2 free throws to put Rocklin up 50-49 with 12 seconds left against Hayward. Berry was sent to the free-throw line when Stover was called for a blocking foul with 3.9 seconds left. Berry missed both free throws and Stover got a rebound before being fouled with 2.3 seconds left. He missed the first free throw and then missed the second on purpose but a lane violation was called on Rocklin keeping the clock at 2.3.Hayward (21-9, No. 3 in DII) had to go the length of the court and Berry raced up-court and missed the last shot. He fell to the court in tears after the game.Taylor, remembering how he felt after the season-ending loss to Fairfield last season, approached Berry after the game while Berry remained on the floor. Berry scored a team-high 16 points for the Farmers."You feel bad (for him)," Taylor said. "I said 'you're a wonderful player and you played a great game. I know it hurts a lot right now but you have a lot to be proud of.'"Cummings said he can still picture Lake's shot going in. He thought he was watching a replay one year later."(Berry) got the ball and it was the same situation as last year," Cummings said. "Pat (Stover) in front and me on the side. It hit the back and I was just like 'wow. We just won the game.'"Lane also had visions of Lake's buzzer-beater from a year ago. Fairfield won that game 62-59."I thought deja vu all over the again," said Lane, using the phrase coined by Yogi Berra. "I was so scared." Hayward was very physical with Rocklin throughout the game, especially with Lane who is bound for UCLA."That's the most physical team (we have played) by far. The most physical team we have played all year," said Lane, who played all 32 minutes and had a large bump on his head to help him make his point. "It fires me up even more – I take it as a challenge. Every game I know they will come and beat me up as much as they can."Lane finished with a game-high 18 points while also blocking several shots and collecting double figures in rebounds. Stover scored 12 points, all inside.Rocklin led 13-10 after one quarter, 29-22 at the half and 43-35 after three quarters but the offense went cold in the fourth quarter. The Thunder went scoreless in the fourth until Romero hit a 3-pointer to put his team up 46-41 with 4:20 left. Lane scored on a put-back with 2:20 left, Cummings made 1-2 free throws with 1:21 remaining and Lane hit 1-2 free throws with 12 seconds left for the rest of Rocklin's fourth-quarter scoring. Rocklin made just 2-8 free throws in the fourth quarter."Their pressure defense took us out of our offense," Taylor said. "We knew it would be very physical. They are a very physical, defensive team and we knew it would be a battle. We knew they would be very, very good . . . this is the most physical game we've had."The gym was packed to capacity with 1,540 fans for the 7 p.m. game. According to Rocklin athletic director David Bills, the doors were closed to Rocklin fans by 6:20 p.m. and Hayward fans could enter until 6:45 p.m.