Cheikh N’diaye did a double-pump fist salute to the gallery of Army-Navy students sitting behind the Warriors’ basket in Viejas Arena Saturday.
It was a relieved, if rare show of emotion for N’Diaye, whose team had just survived a tense struggle with a tough Mater Dei Catholic squad in the San Diego Section IV finals.
Army-Navy’s 56-50 victory, its first in a championship final since 1986, guaranteed the Carlsbad cadets (27-4) a first-round, home game next week in the Southern California regional playoffs.
Mater Dei (25-6) probably is faced with a first-round road game.
N’Diaye scored 14 points and had 8 rebounds and 4 blocked shots and guard Devin Watson, the linchpin in coach Tom Tarantino’s inside-out offense, had 22 points.
Late in the third quarter N’Diaye and his teammates had fallen behind 38-30. Watson still was looking for his shot and the Crusaders were coming down with most of the rebounds and policing the loose balls.
At that point the Warriors came alive as Watson’s three-point attempts began to fall and his side ignited a 21-3 run that produced a 51-41 lead.
A 9-0 Mater Dei volley closed the score to 51-50 but N’Diaye scored with 1:15 left and the Warriors finally put away their unheralded opponent from the supposedly basketball barren South Bay.
Please excuse this request if it is burdensom. I recently found your site (ut aricle). In the summer of 1967 I met Kenny Greenman of Mt.Miguel High(their best player) at a church camp in Sacramento (my home town). They won the SDcif title the next year (our Sr. year). Mt. Miguel did not win again until 2012. Kenny went to Seattle Pacific and I believe left after one year. I went to Azusa Pacific, graduated in 1972 and taught in El Centro publis schools until retirement in 2006. My question is: any info about Kenny? Thank you for your time. Jon Driffill El Centro, CA
Are we talking basketball? I remember the Mount Miguel team that was 32-0, I think, in 1967-68. Buyt I thought Pat Ela was the top player on that club. Do you have any additional info on Kenny? Thanks for writing.