Bishop Alemany wins Division III state boys’ basketball championship

Michael Lindsay, the nephew of Hall of Fame basketball player Reggie Miller, turned his final basketball game into a moment to cherish Friday on an NBA court at the Golden 1 Center. He scored 25 points, including two threes that would have left Uncle Reggie smiling.

Most importantly, he led Bishop Alemany to a 63-53 victory over Santa Cruz to help deliver a Division III state championship for the Mission Hills school.

“I feel great,” Lindsay said.

He enjoyed his threes and had a dunk too. His basketball days are over because he’s headed to Idaho State to play defensive back.

“No regrets,” he said. “I’m happy to play football.”

Said coach Mike Dulaney: “That guy is such a spark plug and plays the game so effortlessly. We got to get him to do intramural or something.”

Bishop Alemany (25-15) barely made the Southern Section playoffs with a 15-15 record, winning its final regular-season game and getting a forfeit win to reach the .500 record needed to be considered for an at-large bid. Once in the postseason, there was no stopping the Warriors, who were tested by the likes of Harvard-Westlake, Crespi, Sierra Canyon and Sherman Oaks Notre Dame in the powerful Mission League.

“That prepared us,” Dulaney said. “We got hot at the right moment coming out of Mission League.”

It’s been tough to score inside against Alemany because of their rim protectors, 6-foot-9 Samuel Mbingazo and 6-8 Bourgeois Tshilobo. They combined for seven blocked shots and 16 rebounds Friday. Jared Mims had 14 points and eight steals.

Sophomore Demarco Hunter had a terrific game for Santa Cruz, contributing 22 points and 12 rebounds.