Bishop does it with defense, advances to first CIF final

Bishop Diego is going to the CIF finals in boys basketball.

The Cardinals played solid defense and got 15 points from Elias Munoz to beat Orangewood Academy 44-37 in a CIF Division 6AA semifinal game Monday night at Liberty Christian in Huntington Beach.

Bishop Diego (22-7) will play top-seeded Valley Torah for the championship on Saturday at 8:15 p.m. at Mater Dei High in Santa Ana. It will be the first finals appearance for a Cardinals boys basketball team.

The defense of Paul Garcia and Reese Moulton on Orangewood Academy’s top two scorers made the difference in this game.

“Paul Garcia guarded their guy who averaged 17 points and  held him to seven,” said coach Dean Prophet. “Defensively, we did what we wanted to do.”

Moulton contained the Orangewood’s other top scorer.

“Reece did a very good job and  held him to 3 points in the first half,” said Prophet.

Moulton also was a force on the boards, grabbing seven rebounds. “He’s found his niche,” said the coach.

The Cardinals’ defense help them take a 22-16 lead in the first half. The expanded it to 14 before Orangewood got momentum and made a run in the fourth quarter.

But Bishop Diego was clutch from the free-throw line down the stretch to hold off Orangewood. Nolan Tisdale, Moulton and Garcia hit clutch free throws during crunch time. The Cardinals scored 10 points from the charity stripe in the final eight minutes. Noah Tack was the only player to score a basket.

Tisdale was key player in the second half, according to Prophet. He scored all seven of  his points and grabbed some big rebounds.

Moulton and Tack each scored six points and point guard Ben Kwock “played great running the offense,” said Prophet.

The coach also noted the play of Devon Poindexter off the bench.

Prophet said Bishop brought two rooter buses of fans to the game, which created a great atmosphere.

“It was loud. We had as many fans as they did. It was an exciting atmosphere.”