Harvard-Westlake looking to defend title
Six teams from the Daily News area will travel to Sacramento to compete in the CIF State championships this week at the Golden 1 Center, home to the NBA's Sacramento Kings.
Here's a look at the matchups for the four boys and two girls teams playing in the finals Friday and Saturday:
BOYS
OPEN DIVISION Harvard-Westlake (32-3) vs. Salesian College Prep (31-1), Saturday, 8 p.m.
TV: Spectrum SportsNet Preview: The Wolverines are headed to Sacramento to defend their Open Division state title against a Salesian College Prep team that has beaten five of its six playoff opponents by nine points or more. HarvardWestlake overcame a doubledigit deficit to beat Roosevelt in the SoCal regional final Tuesday and earned a trip to the state championships. USC commit Trent Perry and Harvard commit Robert Hinton combined for 44 points in the win. The two also bring leadership to a deep team that also won a CIF Southern Section Open Division championship this season.
DIVISION III
Alemany (24-15) vs. Santa Cruz (27-6),
Friday, 4 p.m.
TV: Spectrum SportsNet
Preview: Alemany earned just one win in Mission League play, but the level of competition in the league prepared the Warriors to win a CIF-SS championship, a regional championship and now an appearance in the state finals. It'll be Alemany's first state finals appearance since 2012. Senior Jared Mims is the Warriors' leading scorer and has averaged 17.4 points and 2.2 rebounds in 20 games. Michael Lindsay, who also plays football, is averaging 9.1 points and 2.2 rebounds. Santa Cruz leans on forwards Kirby Seals and Demarco Hunter, who average 15.7 and 12.6 points, respectively. Center Ben Dotten
averages 16.2 points.
DIVISION IV
Chatsworth (20-14) vs. Monterey (24-6),
Saturday, noon
TV: Spectrum SportsNet Preview: Two players recorded double-doubles in Chatsworth's regional championship win over Cleveland: Alijah Arenas
(21 points, 16 rebounds) and
Taj Unuakhalu (17 points, 17 rebounds). Arenas has been a scoring force all season and posted 53 points in the Chancellors' regional semifinal win. Chatsworth has defeated its state playoff opponents by an average of 17.5 points. Monterey senior guard Ryan Roth scored 22 points in the team's regional championship win, which was also its fourth straight win on the road.
DIVISION V
Verdugo Hills (25-11) vs. Athenian (27-8),
Friday, noon
TV: Spectrum SportsNet Preview: The Dons' last three wins have come by three points or less, but they've won 10straight games since Jan. 31. Verdugo
Hills got stronger as the season went on after bouncing back from two-game losing skids on three different occasions. Alexander Martinez averages 15.6points and is shooting 45% from the field. Four different players average over seven rebounds per game: Georges Abdulnor, Gianmarco Figueroa, William Gharabekyan and Alexander Martinez Martinez. Athenenian has offensive power in Surya Devasenapathy (16.4ppg) and Evan Lucas (16.1 ppg).
GIRLS
DIVISION II
Harvard-Westlake (18-18) vs. Colfax (34-2),
Saturday, 2 p.m.
TV: Spectrum SportsNet Preview: Don't let the Wolverines' .500record fool you. HarvardWestlake is peaking at the right time and is making its first state finals appearance since 2010.
The team is fully healthy except for Bella Spencer, who has been out due to an ACL injury. Valentina Guerrero broke her nose and entered concussion protocol on Jan. 16but returned to play in the regional championship game and scored a game-high 15points. Deana Thompson has been reliable offensively, averaging 16.0 points per game, and the Wolverines can sustain a defensive press throughout all four quarters. Colfax is
DIVISION III
Granada Hills (21-11) vs. Caruthers (24-8),
Friday, 2 p.m.
TV: Spectrum SportsNet Preview: Granada Hills is the first girls basketball team to represent the L.A. City Section in the state championships since 2001. The gritty Granada Hills team has pulled off wins by three or four points in its last three games and is led offensively by senior Karma Paez's 13 points per game. Brigita Bulotaite's 41% shooting from the field and Emma Perez's 8.9rebounds per game have been assets for the Highlanders. Fourteenth-seeded Caruthers will be making its third state title in the last six years.