He said he was trying to get his teammates involved.

He said it was the worst shooting game of his life.

He said it wasn't up to the referees or the coaches.

Then Independence High's Isaac Clark said something Saturday night at Selland Arena that was most believable of all: "My (outside) shot wasn't falling, so whatever works. And it was me driving to the basket."

Yes, he drove, drove and drove -- as efficient as it was fearless -- while steering top-seeded Independence to an improbable 62-60 comeback victory over No. 2 Mission Oak for the Central Section boys Division III title.

The Falcons (32-1), trailing 60-51, pitched a shutout in the final 3 minutes while receiving nine points from Clark, who scored 11 drives on a night he made 12 of 19 shots and totaled 28 points.

The 6-foot junior guard had two three-point plays in the decisive sequence, the second with 10 seconds remaining off Derek Check's steal and assist for the 62-60 lead -- the only one of the game for an Independence team ranked seventh in the state's Division III by Cal-Hi Sports.

Check's fourth steal was Mission Oak's 21st turnover -- eight in the fourth quarter when the East Yosemite League champion finally wilted under Independence's unforgiving pressure.

"We felt we saw them getting tired," Falcons coach Stan Davis said. "Our intention was to keep pushing the ball, keep applying pressure and, hopefully, they would lose some of their energy and kind of wear them down a little bit. Maybe that's what happened."

Blake Shannon, one of the section's elite point guards, contributed 18 points and five assists for the Hawks (27-4).

But the junior also finished with nine turnovers for a team that ultimately got too caught up in Independence's searing pace.

"Sometimes I may have tried to push the ball when I shouldn't have," he said. "They pressed the whole game and switched it up. Nobody has been able to answer their press, and we broke it and broke it until the last 2 minutes.

"I don't know; I really don't know. Maybe we felt like we already had the game won. It really sucks. But we've got to live with it, we've got to mature and we've got to learn from it."

Austin Molezzo, a freshman performing far beyond his years -- again, and on the brightest stage yet -- delivered 21 points, 14 rebounds and three assists for Mission Oak. The 6-4 forward was coming off a 31-point effort in a 67-46 semifinal throttling of Mt. Whitney.

A severe blow for the Hawks had 6-5 senior Kollan Mundley -- their inside force on a smallish team -- foul out in the final minute after a 15-point, 10-rebound night.

Independence (at home) and Mission Oak (on the road) will play Southern California Regional games Wednesday. Seedings will be announced Sunday.