ONTARIO — You’d figure that as good as the Ontario Christian girls basketball team is, the Knights would have no problem winning their own tournament.

Moreno Valley put that to the test Friday night.

But Ontario Christian rallied from a fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the Vikings 70-59 to win the Knight Time Classic for the third straight year. It was also the second straight year Ontario Christian defeated Moreno Valley in the championship game..

“We knew it was going to be a battle, but we felt like we were the better team,” Ontario Christian coach Matt Tumambing said. “They (Vikings) played their butts off and really showed some grit. I’m proud of the way we played because we fought through some adversity and we pulled it off in the end.”

Despite a third quarter in which she shot just 1 of 8 from the field, Ontario Christian star freshman guard Kaleena Smith scored 11 of her game-high 33 points in the fourth quarter to earn tournament MVP honors.

Smith scored those 33 points despite a relentless Moreno Valley defense that had several different players guarding Smith, and frequently two at a time.

“I’ve seen really every defense so far,” Smith said. “I just need to adjust to it with the double-teams, split them and get people open.”

Ontario Christian (13-3) is currently ranked No. 6 in the latest CIF Southern Section Division 1 ranking, but has since beaten No. 3 Mater Dei. Yet the Knights trailed Moreno Valley (16-4, ranked No. 1 in CIF-SS Division 2AA) 49-46 in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter before a 16-4 run gave them the lead for good. Ontario Christian never led by fewer than four points after that. Smith scored seven points and two assists during that run.

“We didn’t execute the game plan,” said Moreno Valley coach Larry Wright when asked what went wrong down the stretch. “We got a little 3-point happy, so it was long shot, long rebound. And they were able to get out in transition and open the game up a little bit.”

Senior Amanda Ajobiewe added 15 points and nine rebounds for the Knights. The four games in the tournament were her first four for the Knights after serving the 30-day sit out period following a transfer. Senior Karsen Marshall added 13 points.

Moreno Valley was led by 6-toot freshman center Alaysha Mills, who scored 16 of her team-high 20 points in the second half as the Knights struggled to guard her, Mills shot eight free throws in the fourth quarter, making only four. She also grabbed 11 rebounds.

“She executed the game plan and that was able to get us back into the game, working inside out,” Wright said of Mills. “It’s good because once that’s going, we can bring her out (of the lane) and she can hit the 3 as well.”

The teams were tied after a quarter Friday before the Knights opened up a 10-point lead in the second quarter. That’s when the Vikings rallied, taking a five-point lead late in the third quarter (48-43) before Ontario Christian rallied in the fourth quarter.

Bella Medina added 15 points and Niyah Thomas scored 10 for Moreno Valley.

“We don’t have any seniors at this moment,” Wright said. “They’re growing, they’re learning the game of basketball just in general and we’re in the gym working hard every day.”