CIF Division IV championship preview: Half Moon Bay on ‘Cloud 9’ heading into state final

The day after winning the first NorCal title in school history, Half Moon Bay coach John Parsons described his mental and emotional state as “still pretty much on Cloud 9.”

Parsons grew up in the small coastal town and was a two-time San Mateo County player of the year as a combo guard for the Cougars in the early 2000s. As someone who came of age there, he has first-hand knowledge of the intimate connection between the school’s athletic teams and the community at large.

Half Moon Bay (21-10), which will play Valencia (26-10) for the state Division IV title on Saturday at noon at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, has won four road games in the CIF playoffs as a No. 10 seed. The team may have found itself in unfamiliar surroundings, but played with a sense of comfort thanks to the support of its fan base.

“I can’t say enough about our fans,” Parsons said. “Our community is an incredible place. At Hillsdale, at Marin Catholic, at Chico we had more fans than the home team.

“We’re grateful to provide something for the community after the tragedy.”

Parsons is speaking of the horrific mass shooting that took place on Jan. 23 in Half Moon Bay.

“The whole community was in such a deep state of mourning,” Parsons said. “A very chaotic time.”

So now there’s a basketball team to rally around and lift spirits, a team going where none other from the school has ever gone.

Half Moon Bay started the season with several key players unavailable or not in optimal physical condition. The team was 3-6 heading into league play in early January but has gone 18-4 since then with the losses to Central Coast Section Open Division teams Sacred Heart Prep and Menlo-Atherton, NorCal Division III semifinalist The King’s Academy in the CCS D-IV final, and Peninsula Athletic League North Division co-champion Jefferson.

The Cougs are led by 6-foot-8 junior Jaeden Hutchins, who scored 23 points in the NorCal championship game win over Chico.

“Jaeden is very versatile,” Parsons said. “He can shoot the 3 and flash to the hoop.”

The rest of the team is decidedly on the small side.

“We don’t intimidate anyone in warmups,” Parsons said.

Gio Garduno-Martin, a 6-foot, 160-pound freshman, scored 15 against Chico.

“Gio does not play like a freshman,” Parsons said. “He’s cool, calm and poised, an old soul on the basketball court.”

It’s not unusual for freshmen to play varsity at Half Moon Bay with its relatively small pool of potential players. Dio Lucido, Drew Dorwin and Myles Rippberger are all key performers and fourth-year varsity players for the Cougars.

The 5-10 Lucido, who had an excellent season as a football slot receiver last fall, guides the team from the point guard position

“He does all the intangible things, but can be a very capable scorer,” Parsons said. “He always steps up in big games.”

Dorwin, at 6-1 along with 5-11 freshman Caiden Guevara, are often called upon to guard opposing power forwards. Dom Faenzi, a 5-8 junior, draws the toughest defensive assignment on the perimeter.

Valencia’s season has followed a similar trajectory to Half Moon Bay’s. The Vikings were 7-9 heading into January, but have won 19 of 20 since.

Bryce Bedgood, a 6-9 junior and son of head coach Bill Bedgood, had 16 points and nine rebounds in a 72-58 win over St. Bonaventure in the SoCal Division IV final. That was after a 23-point, 15-rebound outing in a semifinal win over Jordan-Long Beach. He averages 16.2 points and 9.9 rebounds. Senior point guard Kai Davis scored 19 in the final. Mikah Ballew, a 6-6, 215-pound senior wing being recruited by USF and San Diego, scored 14 after going for 26 in the semis. He leads the team in scoring at 19.5 per game.

“They look very athletic,” Parsons said. “I know we’ll have our hands full.”

On paper, the SoCal champs have a big advantage in size and talent.

“They’ve won four games on the road, which we didn’t have to do,” Valencia coach Bedgood said of HMB. “We played all our regional playoff games at home. I’m expecting them to give their best effort. That being said, we’re very confident going into the game.”

Half Moon Bay will line up as undersized underdogs, but with the unexpected opportunity to emerge as state champions.

“It still sounds crazy that we’ve put ourselves in position to do that,” Parsons said. “We’ll give it our best shot.”