APTOS >> The best of the best locally squared off at Cabrillo College on Saturday night to battle for Santa Cruz Coast Athletic League Tournament titles in boys and girls basketball.

In two epic battles, Scotts Valley High’s girls team and Aptos’ boys earned titles after hard-fought, down-to-the-wire contests.

In the girls championship, No. 1 seed Scotts Valley hung on for dear life for a thrilling, 52-51 win over Santa Cruz, its third win of the year over the tough and pesky Cardinals.

Senior guard Abigail Shi, who led the balanced Falcons’ scoring attack with 13 points, couldn’t have been happier with the outcome.

“It feels amazing,” Shi said. “I’m so proud of my teammates. We’ve worked so hard.”

The game certainly did not start smoothly for the Falcons as the No. 2 Cardinals jumped to a quick 11-3 lead after juniorEspinosa made a 3-pointer.

“I don’t panic when it comes to that,” said Falcons coach Stu Hurvitz, of the earlier deficit. “We were getting good shots. I was confident we’d come back.”

Thanks to a three-point play by Shi, a Claire Skinner layup, and two baskets by Brooklyn Williams, Scotts Valley narrowed the gap to 13-12, exactly as Hurvitz noted.

Shi made a driving layup and the Falcons added a pair of free throws to take a 16-13 lead by the end of the first quarter.

The lead changes hands several times in the second quarter. Scotts Valley took a 28-23 lead into halftime, thanks in part to Hanna Shehorn, who made a pair of field goals, including a 3-pointer. Shehorn finished with eight points and three assists.

Scotts Valley and Santa Cruz played even in the third quarter, with each team scoring 15 points.

Holding a 43-38 lead entering the fourth quarter, Hurvitz smiled at his Falcons and said “Eight more minutes.”

Williams hit a clutch 3-pointer to give the Falcons a 46-38 lead, but the Cardinals wouldn’t go away. Ania Sinnott made a layup and Espinosa earned an and-one basket to cut the Falcons’ lead to 52-49 with a minute remaining. Sinnott made a layup to narrow the score to 52-51.

With 3.6 seconds left, Santa Cruz had one final chance but, ultimately, turned the ball over.

“Usually, if we keep our turnovers under 20 we win,” Cardinals coach Todd Trowbridge said. “But Scotts Valley is a good team. And they didn’t make a lot of mistakes tonight. I was very very pleased with our effort and intensity.”

The Falcons finally exhaled after the final buzzer.

“It was stressful,” said Williams, who scored 12 points, of the final minute. “Santa Cruz is a great team; Todd is a great coach. To win with this scrappy little team, it’s special.”

Both team advance to the Central Coast Section playoffs. The seeding meeting takes place on Wednesday.

Boys

The sweep was important to the Mariners.

“We have such a wonderful group of guys here,” said Mariners forward Isaiah Ackerman, who finished with 14 points. “It’s not even a basketball team, it’s more of a family. I’m just proud of every single one of these players. I love them all.”

Junior star DeMarco Hunter led Santa Cruz with 16 points, 13 rebounds, and five blocks.

Kaden Miritz and Keyondre Randolph each scored four points to help the Cardinals jumped out to 11-5 advantage in the first quarter.

Ackerman and senior guard Ryan Solorio’s made 3-pointers, and the Mariners knotted the score at 11-all in the second quarter.

The Cardinals carried 18-16 at the half.

The Cardinals, led by Hunter’s six points, built on their advantage and took a 34-28 into the fourth quarter.

Mosiah Cumberbatch’s driving layup gave Santa Cruz a 36-28 lead. But Solorio heated up with two quick 3-pointers and senior wing Nick Tovani added a 3 to give Aptos a 39-38 advantage.

After an Aptos timeout with 2:46 to play, Ackerman and Tovani continued their joint scoring assault, boosting the Mariners’ lead to 43-38.

Hunter slashed to the basket for an and-one basket, which narrowed the score to 43-41 with 49 seconds to go.

Aptos missed two shots, one at the rim, to give Santa Cruz one last chance. With 16 seconds to go, Santa Cruz called time out. With a play designed for their leading scorer, Hunter drove to the basket but missed a contested layup, which Aptos rebounded.

Solorio was fouled and sent to the free-throw line with two seconds left. He missed both attempts, but was awarded a third attempt for a lane violation. Solorio missed again, but the ball was tipped out of bounds as time expired.

Still, Solorio closed strong. He scored eight of his 11 points in the fourth quarter.

“We knew it was going to be a 12-round slugfest,” said Santa Cruz coach Lawan Milhouse. “We know each other very well. We had some costly turnovers in the fourth quarter, which came back to bite us. Tonight we came up two points short. That’s just what it comes down to.”

All three Mariners’ wins over Santa Cruz were by four points or less.

“I feel bad for Santa Cruz having to walk out of here with a loss,” Bowyer said. “Both teams played so hard and so well.”

Both team advance to the CCS playoffs. The seeding meeting takes place on Wednesday.