Centennial surges way to Open final
CORONA >> It was 41/2 minutes of near perfection for the Centennial boys basketball team.
Centennial was locked in another tight battle Friday night, this time against a hungry Bishop Montgomery squad, but the Huskies put together an 18-3 run in the second half to turn a close game into a runaway 83-55 victory.
With that win, Centennial finished as the only undefeated team in CIF Southern Section Open Division pool play and punched a ticket to the championship game Saturday at Honda Center in Anaheim.
The Huskies (28-3) will be trying for an unprecedented third consecutive Open Division section championship when they splay against St. John Bosco (26-5).
“It feels amazing to get back there, but like Kobe always said, job’s not finished,” said senior guard Jared McCain, who received his McDonald’s AllAmerican Game jersey prior to Friday’s contest. “... We still have work to do.”
Bishop Montgomery (264) had a chance to secure a spot in the Open Division championship game with a win, and the Knights knocked down 6 of 7 shots to start the game and held a 16-15 lead at the end of the first quarter. This marked the third consecutive game Centennial fell behind early and trailed when the second period began.
“I don’t know if it’s just us been lackadaisical coming in and trying to settle into games or that teams are coming out aggressive and it shocks us a bit,” McCain said.
“We will have to fix that for these last few games. Yeah, just come out with more energy.”
Mike Price knocked down a 3-pointer to give Centennial its first lead at the 5:10 point of the second quarter.
Centennial clung to a 4238 lead with 2:27 remaining in the third quarter, but the Huskies rattled off 10 straight points in a span of two minutes, highlighted by a 3-pointer by McCain.
Bishop Montgomery’s LaQwon Cole hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to slow the bleeding momentarily and get the Knights within 5241 at quarter’s end.
Bishop Montgomery turned the ball over on its first three possessions of the second half, and Centennial took advantage with an 8-0 run to extend the lead to 60-41. The Huskies led by 25 points when their five starters exited with 2 minutes still on the clock.
“We were turning the ball over way too many times, and there was a timeout in the third quarter when I said, ‘Fellas, if we stop turning the ball and get some shots, we should be fine,’” Huskies coach Josh Giles said.
Aaron McBride scored a game-high 20 points to lead another balanced attack for Centennial. Eric Freeny recorded his second consecutive doubledouble with 14 points and 12 rebounds.