Oakland Tech captures its first state title with dominant display
The painted area from the free-throw line to the baseline is a purple hue in Sacramento's Golden 1 Arena.
On Saturday night, Oakland Tech's relentless boys basketball team covered the entire 94 feet in a purple shade.
The Bulldogs picked up Centennial-Bakersfield's guards from one baseline to the other, and overwhelmed the SoCal ballhandlers with their quickness and determination.
Then Oakland Tech's standouts wowed the crowd with quick passes and electrifying finishes. By the end of Oakland Tech's 79-55 CIF State Division II championship victory, the school's trademark “O-T, Ohhhhhh-Teeeee” chants echoed throughout the building.
“It means everything to me,” Oakland Tech coach Karega Hart said about the chants. “We take pride in being Bulldogs, and we take pride in being from Tech. But most of all, we take pride in being from the city of Oakland.”
ArDarius Grayson was the engine of this frenetic system, a blur capable of transitioning from a relentless point-of-attack defender to an acrobat with the ball, capable of twisting and contorting his body around defenders on spectacular finishes.
He even shocked himself during some of his mid-air adjustments.
“On the one where I scooped it and made the layup, it was kind of surprising,” 20-point scorer Grayson said, referencing a play where he got the shot over three defenders. “I was expecting it to be blocked.”
Oakland Tech rallied from an early 7-2 deficit by doing what they did best: attacking the rim and denying shots on defense.
Oakland Athletic League Player of the Year Grayson spearheaded the open-court attack with backcourt mate Caleb Rollins, who scored 20. Even though the junior guard was only 3 of 12 in the first half, his forays created open looks for others.
The two were the leaders of a relentless interior attack, taking and making a parade of tough layups and twisting reverse finishes as the Bulldogs took a 1513 lead into the second quarter.
“In terms of athleticism, they looked like the greatest team in the world today,” Centennial coach Hernan Santiago said.
Donquavius Bolton kept Centennial competitive with his own dogged drives and spinning attacks, scoring a team-high 10 points in the first half. Tech forward Ahmed Gulaid (16 points) showed good feel for the game in the second quarter too, cutting into space for three layups as Tech took a 33-27 lead into halftime. And when Tech needed a three, Rollins buried them.
“It doesn't always fall, but today I was just feeling it,” Rollins said.
Xan Meyer-Plettner, Tech's shot-blocking big, scored six of his nine points in the third as Tech blew the game open. Grayson and Rollins kept rolling too, Oakland Tech running at every opportunity and turning what had been a nailbiter into a Tech party.
“I wish we could have a redo, because I don't even know what happened,” Santiago said. “I should've called a timeout.”
Oakland Tech was playing in its third state title game. Westchester-Los Angeles defeated the Bulldogs in the 2002 and 2003 Division I finals.