The Canyon Cowboys boys’ basketball team had a celebratory bus ride back from Palm Springs to Canyon High Tuesday night.
After making the long trek to Rancho Mirage High School, the Cowboys held on to beat the Rattlers, 60-57, to advance to the CIF Southern Section Division 2A semifinals.
“Feels really good,” Canyon head coach Ali Monfared said in a Wednesday phone interview. “I’m really happy for the kids. They were really excited, and really, that’s all it’s about.”
Canyon moves on to face Oak Park in the semifinals on Friday night at 7 p.m. at Canyon High School. Oak Park beat Los Altos on Tuesday, 55-45.
The Cowboys also booked a spot in the state tournament with Tuesday’s win. All semifinal teams in the Southern Section are guaranteed to move on.
Senior Eric Kubel led the way for Canyon on Tuesday with 25 points. Senior Isaac Yuhico added 16 and senior Chigo Osuji had eight.
Monfared said the Rattlers were able to cut an 11-point Canyon lead down to three, but the Cowboys did well to bounce back when the Rancho Mirage gym was ringing.
“I was just so proud of their ability to bounce back when the crowd was getting going,” Monfared said. “They had a couple guys that we were keying in on, and they still found ways to make plays. And our guys never, ever put their heads down. They just worked together and they found a way to win in a pretty tough environment. And with the travel and everything, I can’t say how proud I am of the team.”
Monfared highlighted senior Solomon Sims for sparking the Cowboys with his defensive work.
“I thought he did a really good job on the point guard last night,” Monfared said. “All of our guys contributed, you know, Chin (Osuji) and Noah (Madrigal) came in and played really steady as well defensively, but Solo really was a huge piece for us last night.”
The Cowboys return home for the semifinals, where they have already won two playoff games.
Monfared said he sees his players enjoying the run they’re on, and the Canyon community has also taken notice.
“The kids are super excited,” Monfared said. “They’re very, very aware of the opportunity they have. And so we’re gonna continue to do our best to just keep going, because we’re really having a lot of fun right now. And these are all extra days that, you know, we were never guaranteed before the season started … It’s definitely cool. The kids realize that representing the school and the community, it’s more than just us. There’s people that come to our games, and we’re representing everybody, so we share the excitement with the whole community and the whole school.”
The winner of Friday’s semifinal would play either Irvine or St. Bonaventure in the championship game.
