St. Joseph of Santa Maria, Verbum Dei, Santa Margarita and Bishop Amat captured CIF-Southern Section Division basketball titles last weekend, while Salesian and Notre Dame Academy won soccer championships.

In boys' basketball, St. Joseph (27-3) won the Division IV-AA crown with a 73-60 victory over St. Bernard (20-11) March 4 at Loyola Marymount University. Joe Tilley had 26 points and Stewart Kussler had 22 for the winners, while Nonso Nibo had 18 for St. Bernard.

Verbum Dei (18-9) took the Division IV-A championship by beating Flintridge Prep, 73-48. Mike Pagan (20 points) and Matt Shaw (15) led the winning Eagles to their third straight CIF title.

Santa Margarita (27-3) won the Division II-AA title, edging Calabasas 57-55, as James Keefe made the game-winning basket with 19 seconds left and blocked an attempted tying shot with one second left.

In girls' basketball, Bishop Amat (28-3) defeated Muir 44-40 for the Division III-A title March 6 at the Pyramid in Long Beach. At one point, Muir had made just 1 of 31 field goal attempts. For the winning Lancers, it was their first title since 1999.

Brea Olinda topped defending champion Mater Dei (17-11) in the Division II-A final, 51-49

The state basketball tournament began March 9 with the Southern California regional event. In the first round games:

---Division III boys: Santa Margarita downed San Diego University, 92-62, and will host Fresno Washington March 11.

---Division IV boys: St. Joseph defeated Caruthers, 90-50, and will host San Diego Horizon March 11. Verbum Dei ousted La Jolla Bishop's, 66-28, and will host San Joaquin Memorial which beat St. Bernard 80-68.

---Division II girls: Mater Dei edged Bakersfield West, 56-53, and will play at Brea Olinda March 11.

---Division III girls: Bishop Amat got past San Diego Kearny, 57-53, and will host Muir in CIF title game rematch March 11.

In girls' soccer, Notre Dame Academy (15-6-2) shared the Division V title with Oaks Christian after playing to a 0-0 tie through 80 minutes of action, paced by goalie Emily Ottiniano's 11 saves. It is the first soccer title for the West Los Angeles girls' school in its 55-year history.

"All the hard work and effort paid off," said coach Marc Argoud. "We were a wild-card among the 36 teams at the beginning of the playoffs. Our team just keep playing hard and refusing to 'go home.' We were a Cinderella story all year and, like all Cinderella stories, it just had a have a happy ending."

In boys' soccer, Salesian (23-3-2) edged Paraclete 1-0 on Jose Diaz' goal with 14 minutes remaining --- the first score in the playoffs against Paraclete (22-6-4). For the winning Mustangs, it was their first soccer title since 1964.

Loyola was defeated in the Division II championship by Thousand Oaks, 1-0, and ended its season 26-5-3.