The Eagles survive a rough fourth quarter to beat King’s Academy of Sunnyvale in the state Division III championship game.

The Eagles, behind 6-foot-11 sophomore center Mahamadou Diop, defeat King's Academy in the CIF Division III boys' basketball championship game.

San Gabriel Academy played a challenging schedule to be ready for the postseason, and now the team is where it wants to be — playing on the big stage in the CIF State Championships.

It gets better — he has a 7-foot-3 wingspan, is just 17 years old, and is from Mali in West Africa. “I’m here for school and basketball,” Diop said in the postgame press c

SUNNYVALE — The first shot of the game for The King’s Academy was a 3-point attempt by Caedmon Dickson that went swish. The 6-foot-6 senior was feeling it. He made four more 3s and five free throws, four in the final minute, to keep hard-charging Palo Alto at bay as TKA won the CIF Northern Regional Division III championship Tuesday, 70-65.