The Riverside Press-Enterprise
Roosevelt falls short against Harvard-westlake in final
Mustangs’ opportunity for a tying basket in final seconds disappears following a disputed call
Losing a championship game is one of the toughest feelings any coach or player can experience.
Leaving the arena with questions makes the pill even tougher to swallow.
The Roosevelt boys basketball team’s opportunity for a tying basket in the final seconds disappeared following a disputed call Friday. Harvard-westlake took advantage and sank four free throws down the stretch to seal a 5447 victory over Roosevelt in the CIF Southern Section’s Open Division final at California Baptist University’s Fowler Events Center.
“It’s extremely difficult,” Roosevelt coach Stephen Singleton said about how those final seconds played out. “Our boys were playing and battling against a great team in Harvard-westlake. When calls are not going your way all night long, it’s that much tougher to take. It just seemed like they (the Wolverines) were getting into the bonus very quickly and easily.”
Harvard-westlake made 21 of 31 attempts at the free-throw line Friday evening. Roosevelt was 13 of 16 at the stripe.
“I’m disappointed because I don’t think our guys were given a good opportunity to compete,” Singleton said.
Roosevelt (30-3) had a rough shooting night, making just 7 of 27 before halftime and 15 of 50 in the game. Singleton gave credit to Harvard-westlake for making the Mustangs take difficult shots and contesting them throughout the night.
“Harvard-westlake is a great team that plays great defense. They do a good job switching and making things difficult to score and find a rhythm,” Singleton said. “I thought we did a good job on defense, too, especially in the second half to claw our way back into the game. Harvard-westlake had a big run early in the game, and we just kept fighting back.”
Brayden Burries knocked down his first two shots of the evening, and Darnez Slater added a bucket to give Roosevelt a 7-5 lead with 5:41 left in the first quarter. It was the last time the Mustangs held the lead.
Harvard-westlake, which captured the CIF State Open Division championship last season, came right back with a 10-0 run to surge ahead. Six of the points by the Wolverines during the run came at the free-throw line. Harvard-westlake’s lead hit double digits when Isaiah Carroll sank a 3-pointer early in the second quarter.
Roosevelt trimmed the deficit to six points by the intermission, with its final seven points of the half coming from the line.
Harvard-westlake (30-3) once again stretched its lead to 10 points early in the third quarter, but Roosevelt answered with a 7-0 run. Issac Williamson hit a 3-pointer to get the Mustangs within 37-34 with 4:26 left in the period.
Roosevelt trailed by seven points midway through the fourth quarteer, but Slater nailed a pair of 3-pointers to cut the deficit to 50-47 with 42 seconds left on the clock. Slater finished with a game-high 18 points.
Trent Perry, Harvard Westlake’s Mcdonald’s All-american, stepped to the line for two free throws with 15 seconds left on the clock but missed both shots. A Roosevelt player pulled down the defensive rebound, but one official blew his whistle on Burries for a brief and slight jersey tug on Harvard-westlake’s Robert Hinton.
Hinton sank both free throws, and Perry added more at the line with 0.2 seconds left to seal the victory.
“It means everything,” Harvard-westlake coach David Rebibo said of the program claiming the Open Division section championship for the first time. “It’s one of the toughest championships in the nation to win, so this a real testament to the hard work and character of our players. It’s an exciting feeling, and I’m extremely proud of all my guys.”
Nikolas Khamenia and Hinton scored 15 points apiece to lead the Wolverines, while
Perry added 13 points.
Burries finished the evening with 14 points, and Williamson added nine points for Roosevelt.
Singleton said a new mission awaits his team in the coming weeks.
“We’ve lost three games now,” Singleton said. “The first two (Jserra and Centennial), we got the chance to see them again and it was a different story. The goal is to see Harvard-westlake again and hopefully come out on top.”
Harvard-westlake and Roosevelt are expected to receive the top two seeds in the Open Division regional when the CIF State playoff brackets are released Sunday evening. Slater said he and his teammates will be ready.
“This is going to add a lot of fuel to our fire, for sure,” Slater said about the ending of Friday’s game. “Tonight was a tough one, but we still have state in front of us. We’re just hoping to see them again.”