The San Ramon Valley High boys' basketball team has earned a spot in the CIF Division I state championship game after defeating Woodcreek High 49-45 in the Northern California regional final Saturday in Sacramento.

The Wolves (26-6) will play Southern California champion Chino Hills this Friday at Haas Pavilion in Berkeley in the hopes of bringing home its first boys' CIF state basketball crown and a second straight for Danville. The crosstown Monte Vista Mustangs won the Division I tournament in 2014.

"These guys are great, and I know they're going to do a great job on Friday," first-year San Ramon Valley varsity head coach Brian Botteen said of his Wolves.

Senior point guard Keith Smith led the way for the Wolves with 16 points against the Woodcreek Timberwolves (Roseville) on Saturday at Sleep Train Arena, home of the NBA's Sacramento Kings.

Botteen also pointed to the strong play of 6-foot-10 senior center Gregg Polosky and senior J.J. Koski, who matched up defensively against Woodcreek's key scoring threat, Noah Blackwell, and held him to eight points.

The Wolves and Timberwolves battled evenly throughout most of the first half, with San Ramon Valley holding a one-point lead at halftime, according to Botteen.

Woodcreek (27-6) started the third quarter strong, jumping ahead to a seven-point lead. But San Ramon Valley would right the ship midway through the third and held a 10-point edge with three minutes left in the game, Botteen said.

The Timberwolves made the game close in the final minute before San Ramon Valley senior Drew Kunde hit two free throws with 15 seconds left to help seal the victory.

The clinching free throws provided some vindication for Kunde, who as a sophomore on the junior varsity team missed from the line late in a game that could have given the JV team an outright league title, according to Botteen.

"There's going to be another game," Botteen remembered telling Kunde two years ago as San Ramon Valley's JV coach. "I just didn't realize it was going to send us to the state title game."

The victory Saturday sets up the state championship match-up between the Wolves and the Chino Hills Huskies, who defeated Centennial High (Corona) in the SoCal final 62-51.

"Chino Hills is a very good team, and we understand it's going to be a battle," Botteen said looking ahead to Friday's title game.

The 2014-15 season has featured remarkable highs and difficult lows for Chino Hills (17-14).

During the summer, the Huskies suffered the loss of a teammate when senior-to-be Nnamdi Okongwu, a star center on the basketball team, died following a skateboarding crash.

Chino Hills was then forced to forfeit nine early regular-season wins because of using a player who was scholastically ineligible.

But the Huskies have rebounded late in the season, including winning six of their last seven games to earn a spot in the state title game.

The CIF Division I championship is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. Friday (March 27) at Haas Pavilion, home of the UC Berkeley Golden Bears.

The Wolves are looking to bring home their first-ever CIF boys' basketball state crown, after falling in their two previous appearances, 1991 and 1992 in Division II.

A 1994 San Ramon Valley graduate, Botteen said he remembers vividly the last time the team competed for a state title. He was a sophomore on the JV team in 1992 when he watched the varsity squad lose to Artesia High (Lakewood) in the championship.

"I remember where I sat," Botteen recalled.

"Maybe the third time's the charm," he added.

Botteen said he also recognized what it would mean for Danville to win a California high school basketball title for the second consecutive year, describing the rivalry with Monte Vista High as one filled with mutual respect.

"The fact is we support each other in the playoffs. We want these schools to be successful," Botteen said. "We're happy for Danville."