Damien captures Division III championship

VIDEO: Damien coach Matt Dunn talks about his team and the win.

Battle tested. The Damien Spartans were definitely that.

Coach Matt Dunn’s team played a tough non-league schedule, then outlasted the likes of Etiwanda and Chino Hills to win the Baseline League which was likely the toughest league, at least in Southern California, this season.

Not only did the Spartans (29-5) win the league, they went 9-1 which is pretty impressive. And they were the new kid on the block.

Now they are the Division III STATE champions, having surged past Campolindo 70-57 on Friday at Haas Pavilion at Cal-Berkeley.

When it came to the postseason, the Spartans were calm and collected under pressure. The big game atmosphere didn’t get to them. When the Cougars made a run, the Spartans stayed poised.

These players trust on each other. That has to be part of the confidence and poise as well. Jeremy Hemsley is the leader and the most talented player. But there were a lot of contributors, as is usually the case for a quality team and program.

Hemsley had 20 points and 10 rebounds. But Micah Robinson was huge – 17 points off the bench including five 3 pointers. Sophomore Justin Hemsley, Jeremy’s brother, had some key rebounds in the second half. Bryce Peters had 12 while Malik Fitts had nine with 12 rebounds, the highlight being a big 3-point play in the fourth quarter.

 

 

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