BERKELEY, CA -- Capital Christian's leading scorer and fastest player set sail for the hoop shadowed by Crespi's De'Anthony Melton in an eventual 47-44 Crespi win.
Melton blocked Justice Shelton-Mosely's shot with three seconds left and was fouled. He then made one free throw to help secure the win. A desperation 3-pointer at the end by Capital Christian fell short.
Crespi celebreated heartily with a dog pile at midcourt at Cal's quaint Haas Pavilion. It's a moment neither team will likely never forget.
"We call him the closer for a reason," Crespi coach Russell White (not the former Crespi football player) said. "Players make plays and players win games and that's what these guys did."
Said Melton: "I knew I had to guard No. 10 (Shelton-Mosely) and I picked him up on the free throw line," Melton said. "I didn't want to get into his body and so I backed up a little bit, but not too much. I just tried to meet the ball and I must have gotten it."
During the Capital Christian press conference, Shelton-Mosely lamented the pivotal play.
"It was our last chance and it was on my back," he said. "He was a few steps behind me, but he made a great play on the ball and my hats off to him. He's a great play. I put it on my back. I love these guys (teammates) and if anyone should be mad, they should be mad at me."
Crespi led 31-20 at the half, but Capital Christian came alive in the third quarter and took the lead 35-34 with a 3-pointer at the buzzer by Shelton-Mosley.
Capital Christian still led 44-40 with 3:16 left and then Melton went to work. He scored seven points in the final 2:44, finally putting the Celts ahead for good with a free throw with 40.3 seconds left.
Crespi players interlocked their arms on the bench as Melton was shooting free throws down the stretch. For the most part, they were not disappointed.
"We were down 44-40 and we were the ones who made the shots, got the rebound, made the stops and got this trophy here," White said in the post-game press conference.
Shelton-Mosely led Capital with 11 points, Dante Henley had 10 and Marcus Fowler and Zachary Chappell seven apiece. Fowler took eight rebounds.
Melton led Crespi with 13 points and 13 rebounds, Mike Krkeyan and Taj Regans had eight points each and Brandon Williams had seven. Melton and Mitch Mykhaylov had four blocks apiece, none bigger than Melton's snuff in the final seconds.
Capital coach Devon Jones was philosophical.
"They were a good team and we came up a little short," Jones said. "I'm proud of our guys; it's been our goal to be here for a long time and it's been their goal for four years. We were in position to be successful but we just came up a little short. It's not going to define who we are. Not many people thought we'd be here and it was an amazing run."
