The Santa Monica Vikings pulled out a hard-fought 53-50 victory over the Loyola Cubs on a last second three-pointer from star senior Jordan Matthews.
Loyola and Santa Monica faced off for the third time this season for a right to advance to Sacramento for the CIF Division I State Championship game.
Loyola won both earlier meetings in close contests. However, Santa Monica came out strong in the opening quarter with suffocating defense and fast break buckets. The Vikings led 11-5 heading to the second quarter.
Jordan Matthews Game-Winning Shot for SaMo
Hot perimeter shooting from Troy Maloney helped Santa Monica extend their lead. The VIkings took an 18-7 advantage leading to a Loyola timeout. Jordan Matthews led the Vikings with some coast to coast lay-ups.
With three minutes left in the first half, Santa Monica leads 22-9. Loyola responded with a much needed 7-2 run to cut the deficit to 24-16. Trey Mason hit a three-pointer and a medium range jumper followed by a fast break bucket by Andrew Johnson off a Vikings turnover.
At the half, Santa Monica led 26-16. Maloney has 11 points while Matthews has eight points for the Vikings. Mason has eight and Arizona commit Parker Jackson-Cartwright has six points for Loyola.
Loyola came out of the gates in the third quarter with big man Thomas Welsh getting the inside game going. A couple fast break lay-ups by Jackson-Cartwright and Max Hazzard cut the deficit to 34-31 before Maloney drilled a three to make it 37-31 with three minutes left in the third.
Both teams closed out the period strong with Santa Monica holding a 43-38 advantage heading to the final quarter.
Maloney and Matthews both have 14 points while Mason and Jackson-Cartwright have 11 and 10 respectively.
Jordan Matthews hit a big baseline jumper to give the Vikings a 50-44 advantage with under four minutes remaining in regulation. Jackson-Cartwright left the contest with an apparent leg injury.
A couple quick baskets by the Cubs cut the deficit to 50-48. A short jumper from Welsh tied the game at 50 with under two minutes to go.
Game all squared at 50 with 30 seconds left and Santa Monica with the ball. With the game on the line, Jordan Matthews drilled a three-pointer with only 1.6 seconds left in the game to delver the victory for the Vikings.
Santa Monica advances to the CIF Division I Championship in Sacramento next week.
