Mission Oak High punched its ticket to Selland Arena and the Central Section basketball championships for the first time in the boys program's four-year history -- and a freshman led the way Wednesday night.

Austin Molezzo scored 31 points as the second-seeded Hawks ran away from No. 3 Mt. Whitney 67-47 in the semifinals of the Division III playoffs.

Mission Oak (27-3) will face top-seeded Independence, a 69-17 winner over No. 5 South, at 4 p.m. Saturday for the title.

Dannon Frigulti scored 12 for Mt. Whitney (18-10).

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Division I

Khaneal Mason scored 24 points to lead third-seeded Clovis West over No. 2 Central 68-58 and into a third consecutive finals showdown with Bullard.

Clovis West (21-5) and the top-seeded Knights, 55-33 winners over No. 5 Clovis North, meet at 8 p.m. Saturday in the marquee matchup of the two-day, 10-game event for boys and girls teams at Selland Arena.

Bullard has beaten the Golden Eagles in the final each of the past two years.

Darius Hamilton scored 21 for Central (20-8).

Division II

Rashad Jackson scored 20 points and Sheldon Croney added 19 as second-seeded Garces topped No. 3 Lemoore 65-49.

Lemoore (17-11) never got closer than nine points in the fourth quarter.

Garces (20-8) advances to face No. 5 Hanford West (17-12), which knocked off rival and No. 8 Hanford 71-47, at 8 p.m. Friday.

The Rams reached the D-II semifinals last season, losing to eventual champ Memorial. Hanford West returns to a section final for the first time since 2009, when it beat Ridgeview for the D-III title.

Division IV

Eighth-seeded Coalinga completed an improbable march to Selland by getting 17 points from John Delano in their second straight upset, 54-52 over fifth-seeded Chowchilla.

Coalinga (24-8) also eliminated top-seeded Washington in the quarterfinals.

Chowchilla (17-8) had a chance to win it at the buzzer, but Aaron Deatherage's 3-pointer clanked off the glass.

Coalinga, which also received 11 points from Anthony Zataray, will face second-seeded Exeter at noon Saturday in the final. The Monarchs advanced with a 56-40 win over No. 3 Sierra.

Sean Kinsley led Chowchilla with 13 points.

Division V

Fourth-seeded Laton went ahead by three on a pair of free throws from Elijah Jimenez and held off top-seeded Minarets over the final 19.1 seconds to reach the final with a 54-51 victory.

Laton advanced to face Tranquillity in the final at 4 p.m. Friday.

Jimenez finished with 10 points. Christian Pilgrim led Laton (11-17) with 12 points, while Brandon Alves added 11.

Austin Pimental's 17 points paced Minarets (12-10).

On the other side of the bracket, Jesus Juarez had two defensive stops -- including a steal with less than 2 minutes to go in the fourth quarter -- to help second-seeded Tranquillity hold off No. 3 Immanuel 51-46.

Alexis Garcia led the Tigers (11-13) with 14 points. Chris Bailey had 17 points for the Eagles (8-19).

Selland madness

CENTRAL SECTION BOYS BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Division I: No. 1 Bullard vs. No. 3 Clovis West, 8 p.m. Saturday

Division II: No. 2 Garces vs. No. 5 Hanford West, 8 p.m. Friday

Division III: No. 1 Independence vs. No. 2 Mission Oak, 4 p.m. Saturday

Division IV: No. 2 Exeter vs. No. 8 Coalinga, noon Saturday

Division V: No. 2 Tranquillity vs. No. 4 Laton , 4 p.m. Friday

CENTRAL SECTION GIRLS BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS

Division I: No. 1 Stockdale vs. No. 2 Clovis West, 6 p.m. Saturday

Division II: No. 1 Ridgeview vs. No. 2 Garces, 6 p.m. Friday

Division III: No. 1 Selma vs. No. 2 Hanford West, 2 p.m. Saturday

Division IV: No. 1 Lindsay vs. No. 2 Mendota, 10 a.m. Saturday

Division V: No. 1 Immanuel vs. No. 2 Kings Christian, 2 p.m. Friday