OCEANSIDE — Healthy and motivated, Tim Dorn willed Mira Mesa High School to the first boys basketball championship in school history.
The 6-foot-7 senior scored a game-high 26 points, grabbed nine rebounds and blocked eight shots as No. 1-seeded Mira Mesa used a huge third-quarter run to beat third-seeded Christian 63-44 in the CIF San Diego Section Division 1 title game Saturday afternoon at Frontwave Arena.
Both teams advance to the Southern California Regionals, with pairings announced late Sunday afternoon.
“I got a dunk early in the third quarter and that got me going, woke us up as a team,” said Dorn, who injured an ankle earlier this month.
Christian led 16-8 at the end of the first quarter, but Mira Mesa cut the deficit in half and trailed by four at the break.
Mira Mesa put it all together in the third quarter, outscoring Christian 26-7 as the Patriots scored just one basket and turned the ball over nine times. Dorn had 12 points in the quarter as Mira Mesa (23-9) took a 50-35 lead over Christian (23-9).
“We made some adjustments at the half,” Mira Mesa coach Jon Pierce said. “Nothing technical, but we went small, tried to speed them up. We ran Che Lesperance below their zone to open things up for Tim.”
Lesperance scored 13 points and finished with six assists.
“I’m a good driver, like to create,” Lesperance said. “I got a layup because they were guarding Tim. This is the best feeling, amazing really.
“Mira Mesa isn’t known as a basketball school, so this really means a lot.”
The Mira Mesa High boys basketball team celebrates their CIF Division 1 championship win against Christian High at Frontwave Arena in Oceanside on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. The Marauders defeated the Patriots 63-55. (Kristian Carreon / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Mira Mesa went from four down at the half to up 20 with 5:30 to play before getting sloppy at the end and letting Christian creep close.
Christian beat Mira Mesa 70-67 on Feb. 7.
“We had some careless turnovers in that third quarter, and they got some easy baskets,” said Christian coach Will Cunningham, whose team beat Del Norte, St. Augustine and went on the road to beat Torrey Pines in the playoffs. “We certainly could have played better, but credit to them. They’re the No. 1 seed for a reason. And Dorn was the best player on the floor. He was the difference in the game.”
Christian High’s Alex Williams shoots against Mira Mesa High’s Jase Davis during the CIF Division 1 championship at Frontwave Arena in Oceanside on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. The Marauders defeated the Patriots 63-55. (Kristian Carreon / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Diego Ortiz, who went over 2,000 career points in the semifinals, finished with 12 points for Mira Mesa. Shea Ferguson has a pair of second-half 3-pointers. And Jeremiah McCaleb had four points, giving him 999 for his career.
Julian Lebel and Ronnie Scott each had 13 points for Christian. Label also had 15 rebounds. Alex Williams had 11 points for the Patriots.
“We went from maybe the worst half we’ve played to maybe the best,” Dorn said. “We believed in ourselves and got it done.”