Marina boys’ basketball comes up short against Glendora in CIF Division 3A final

The Marina High School boys’ basketball team had seen its playoff run defined by close games.

So while shots would not drop, the Vikings and their fans stayed engaged with their team even as it trailed by three-to-four possessions for most of the fourth quarter.

A run finally came, but it was too little, too late for Marina, which fell to Glendora 53-50 at home on Thursday night in the CIF Southern Section Division 3A championship game.

“It’s a make-or-miss game,” Marina junior guard Eric Hodgkins said. “They made a lot of shots, a lot of shots were falling for them, and it just came down to a lot of missed shots for us. That’s how it goes sometimes.”

Marina (15-8) trailed 52-40 after a corner three by Braydon Wooldridge rimmed out and fell back in with 1:15 remaining. In desperation, the Vikings forced multiple turnovers, closing the gap to 52-47 when Bohdi Armstrong scored off an offensive rebound with 23.3 seconds left.

The Vikings ran a double team in the backcourt again, but a timeout and then a foul left Marina just 13.2 seconds to work with trailing by a six-point margin. Hodgkins poured in his fourth three of the game just before the final buzzer.

“It was a tough pill to swallow just knowing that we couldn’t get the job done, especially in our home gym, for our home crowd and this school and this city and our team, after all we’ve been through,” Marina senior center Bradley Fronek said. “But I’m looking forward to moving on to state [regionals], and hopefully we can get the job done there.”

In the quarterfinals and semifinals, against Santa Fe Springs and Los Angeles Shalhevet, respectively, Marina won those games by a combined three points.

Hodgkins had a game-high 22 points to go with five rebounds and three steals for Marina in the final. Fronek added 10 points and five rebounds, and Antoine Robinson contributed eight points, four rebounds, four assists and a blocked shot. Robert Aguirre made a pair of three-pointers for the Vikings.

Glendora (22-6) played with the lead from the start thanks to an unexpected source of instant offense. Senior guard Jack Anderson came out on fire, making a trio of shots from beyond the arc in the first quarter.

“Jack is always like our hustle guy,” Glendora junior forward Luke Jacobson said. “He gets all the loose balls, he plays great defense, but he really went off tonight.”

Anderson was serenaded with an “MVP” chant from the traveling Glendora supporters during the trophy presentation.

“I’ve never felt anything like that, and it’s pretty amazing,” Anderson said. “I’m thankful to the fans who came out tonight. It was a pretty amazing game.”

Anderson had a team-high 16 points for the Tartans. Jacobson provided 14 points, 14 rebounds and four steals, Austin Clark had 11 points, and Noah Smith chipped in with four points, five rebounds and two assists.

Glendora won the fifth CIF title in program history and its first since 2001. Marina had been seeking its first.

“They made shots, we didn’t make shots,” Marina coach Nick Racklin said. “That was it.”

Prior to the basketball game, Marina was also the site of a CIF State Southern California Regional Division III boys’ volleyball semifinal that afternoon. The Vikings swept San Diego Francis Parker 25-13, 25-17, 27-25 and will host the regional final on Saturday.

“Obviously, super disappointed we didn’t get the win tonight, but I’m really just proud to be a Viking right now,” Hodgkins said. “It’s fun and it’s a really great environment to be in right now.”

CIF Southern Section Division 3A Final

Glendora 53, Marina 50

SCORE BY QUARTERS

Glendora 11 - 15 - 17 - 10 - 53

Marina 6 - 18 - 8 - 18 - 50

G - Anderson 16, Jacobson 14, Clark 11, Wooldridge 6, Smith 4, Green 2.

3-pt. goals - Anderson 4, Jacobson 2, Wooldridge 1, Smith 1, Clark 1.

Fouled out - Smith.

Technicals - None.

M - Hodgkins 22, Fronek 10, Robinson 8, Aguirre 6, Armstrong 4.

3-pt. goals - Hodgkins 4, Aguirre 2, Robinson 1.

Fouled out - Magdangal.

Technicals - None.

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