Boys’ basketball: Bishop Montgomery takes regional title

Bishop Montgomery made the most of its return trip to the Southern California Regional Division IV championship game.

After falling short in their bid to reach the state final last year, the Knights played with poise and purpose throughout Saturday’s 66-56 victory over Cantwell-Sacred Heart at Colony High.

Bishop Montgomery will play Moreau Catholic at noon next Saturday at Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento.

Stephen Thompson scored 26 points and Justin Bibbins added 17 points and six assists for the second-seeded Knights (27-6), who led 33-26 at halftime and 48-39 through three quarters.

“We wanted to get farther than we did last year,” Thompson said. “We were trying to be aggressive and get to the basket. We knew they had big, physical guys and we had to get up on their shooters.”

Gligorije Rakocevic had 17 points and eight rebounds, Balsa Dragovic had 14 points and seven rebounds and Joey Covarrubias added 14 points and six assists for the fourth-seeded Cardinals (23-9), who lost in the first round of the Southern Section Open Division playoffs and were making their first trip to the regional finals.