SMC — Santa Monica High School's boys basketball team secured a spot in the CIF-SS Division 1A Championship by defeating Colony, 70-51, in front of a capacity crowd at Santa Monica College on Friday.
Samohi raced out to an early double-digit lead, but Colony was able to mount a comeback, making it 49-43 at the end of the third quarter.
As the fourth quarter began, Colony shaved the lead to 51-47 with 6:35 to play. After turning the ball over on the next possession, Samohi was able to force a defensive stop on Colony setting up a dramatic three-pointer by James Montgomery that put Samohi ahead, 54-47, with 5:25 left on the clock.
From there, Samohi didn't look back as the Vikings outscored Colony, 16-4, to end the quarter, securing a berth in the finals.
"The kids did a great job," Samohi Head Coach James Hecht said following the game. "We got some stops and were able to hold them off."
Samohi will face Leuzinger in the final on Saturday at the Honda Center in Anaheim. The appearance in the finals will be Hecht's first in his 16 seasons as Samohi's head coach.