POMONA — The Diamond Ranch boys basketball team dealt with some setbacks this season. The Panthers struggled in Mt. Baldy League play, finishing with a 4-6 record. Then, the team dealt with the heartbreak of losing in the CIF Southern Section Division 5AA championship game.

But senior forward Michael Salazar said his team kept pushing. That determination and fight was evident as Diamond Ranch defeated Math & Science College Prep 65-59 on Tuesday night to win the CIF Southern California Regional Division V championship.

Diamond Ranch (23-14), the fifth seed, will now take a trip to Sacramento to face International (23-12) of San Francisco on Friday in the Division V state championship game at Golden 1 Center.

“I feel good,” said Salazar, who scored a game-high tying 22 points. “We’ve been needing this for a while. Going to (CIF-SS) finals and losing that, and then playing the same team again (Kaiser) and beating them (in the state playoffs) — that was just a sign for all of us to just keep pushing through. Look at us now. We’re going to Sacramento.”

“We’re all excited and happy,” said junior guard Devin Turner, who also scored 22 points. “We were talking about what we can do to get (to Sacramento). We really wanted to get there and win it all.”

Diamond Ranch will get that chance thanks to the heroics by Salazar and Turner. Salazar, who is recovering from the flu, said he felt better in the game against Math & Science — the L.A. City Section Division III champion — than he did in a 56-46 win over Wilson on Saturday. He scored 10 points in that game but had 14 in the fourth quarter alone against the Sharks.

Salazar’s hot hand guided the Panthers in that final period. He scored 10 straight points for his team. Salazar hit a layup on a pick-and-roll to put Diamond Ranch up 55-49 with under five minutes left in the game. He then hit a running one-handed, 10-foot jumper shortly after to give the Panthers a 57-49 lead.

Following a charging call on Math & Science’s Bryan Ruiz, Salazar took a pass and drilled a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 3:24 left that put Diamond Ranch up 60-49. The Diamond Ranch crowd erupted in a loud cheer as soon as the shot went in.

However, the Sharks went on the attack with a quick 8-0 run that cut the Panthers’ lead to 60-57 with 1:54 left.

Salazar, though, was not done. He buried a 3-pointer with 1:08 remaining to put Diamond Ranch up 63-57. Math & Science would get no closer.

“Huge and hot,” Diamond Ranch coach Kevin Ryan said as he talked about Salazar’s fourth-quarter performance.

Salazar said he was motivated by sitting out the second quarter to avoid foul trouble.

“That just really bugged me a lot,” he said. “I was like man I have to just go straight in and focus in and do what I got to do. When the fourth quarter came, (Ryan) told us to run a specific play. We ran it and I saw it was open multiple times. I kept attacking, attacking and attacking. It was working, working and working. If it’s open, you’re just going to keep shooting it.”

Salazar said it wasn’t all about him. He credited his teammates for getting him the open shots.

“I can’t take the credit for myself,” he said. “My teammates have been there for me so I’m going to be there for them.”

While Salazar had a big fourth quarter, Turner stepped up in the second and third quarters. He hit five 3s in those two periods which helped Diamond Ranch keep pace with the Math & Science team.

Junior forward Jaiden Pullian scored 11 points and grabbed nine rebounds for Diamond Ranch before fouling out in the fourth quarter.

The Panthers won four games to start the post-season before losing to Kaiser 61-48 in the CIF-SS Division 5AA championship game.

Diamond Ranch avenged that loss by beating Kaiser 52-47 in the second round of the regional playoffs. The Panthers then defeated No. 1 seed Wilson on Saturday before pulling away Tuesday night.

“It’s an experience for the kids and good one,” Ryan said of the postseason. “I’m really proud of them. I hope they learn a lot from this — not just basketball-wise but hopefully they remember this for the rest of their lives.”