Hart’s Whitten Dominguez wins dunk contest

Hart basketball’s Whitten Dominguez is the shortest of all his siblings. So, winning the dunk contest at The Signal’s annual SCV Hoops Finale had an added bonus for the Foothill League Player of the Year.

“Now I can show this to my

brothers like, ‘What’s up?’ Because I’m the smallest in the family, but I have this and they don’t,” Dominguez said.

Highlights

Dominguez’s dunks – and those of several other seniors from around the Foothill League – were among the highlights at the Hoops Finale on Saturday at Valencia High School, which benefitted the WiSH Foundation.

Foothill League players competed in a complete game, with the team of Carson Wilson, Tre Harrill and Whitten Dominguez of Hart; Josh Tanjiri of Golden Valley; as well as Brody Briscoe and Jimmie Horton of Canyon taking earning a 107-61 win.

“It’s just a real relaxed environment,” said Dominguez, a Biola University commit. “We all know each other from playing and there’s no beef between anybody, so we had a good time.

“It’s like a bunch of friends playing pickup, really.”

Dominguez was named the game MVP after scoring 36 points in the contest.

Prior to the game was the 3-pointer contest in which six different players were pitted against each other to see who could hit the most treys in 30 seconds.

Valencia’s Lake Ballard beat Dominguez in the final round, draining nine 3s in half a minute.

“Just shoot,” Ballard, who plans to play junior college hoops at Snow College in Utah. “That’s what I always do. Just shoot. I wanted to beat anyone else when I step on the court, so that’s always my goal.”

The WiSH Foundation supports programs for students in grades 7-12 in the William S. Hart Union High School District.

This year, the nonprofit’s focus is raising $100,000 to update books and materials in school libraries at Santa Clarita Valley school sites.

For more information on the foundation, visit wisheducationfoundation.org.