Khamenia, Wolverines pull shocker
Sophomore scores 20 as Harvard-Westlake topples the top seed for regional crown.
Raising his right arm in triumph after making a three-pointer late in the first half Tuesday night before a sold-out crowd at Corona Centennial’s noisy gym, an amped-up Nikolas Khamenia of Studio City HarvardWestlake was letting everyone know this historic moment to decide a trip to Sacramento to play for the Open Division championship would be something he would never forget.
Again and again, the 16year-old, 6-foot-8 sophomore born in Los Angeles to parents who came here from Belarus delivered baskets, rebounds, took a charging foul and even dribbled the ball like a point guard. He finished with 20 points as Harvard-Westlake defeated the top-seeded Huskies 8061.
“We’ve always known what he’s been capable of,” coach David Rebibo said. “He showed it tonight.”
Harvard-Westlake (32-2) will play Santa Maria St. Joseph for the Open Division championship Saturday night at Golden 1 Center. The Wolverines have never reached the highest level before. They won consecutive state Division III championships in 1996 and 1997 with the Collins twins, Jason and Jarron. They won a Division IV title in 2016. But to knock off the three-time defending Southern Section
Open Division champions with a team that has no transfer students other than senior Brady Dunlap when he was a freshman is truly a monumental achievement.
Centennial (30-4) had not lost to any team from California since May 28, 2021. And that was HarvardWestlake doing the honors. The Wolverines were mad having to play a regional championship game on an opponent’s home court, but they have now won four times at Centennial in recent years.
From the outset, the Wolverines took charge and did everything needed to win. “We rebounded, we moved the ball, we hit the open man,” Rebibo said.
When Trent Perry, who finished with 25 points, and center Jacob Huggins were sent to the bench after picking up two fouls each midway through the second quarter, you would think the Wolverines would be in trouble. But others stepped up, from Dunlap (18 points) to Khamenia.
“It hurt last year coming here and losing to them as a freshman,” Khamenia said. “I wanted to win it for my teammates and my coach.”
Asked how he was able to make clutch shot after clutch shot, Khamenia said, “It’s just confidence and coaches trusting me.”
With 47 seconds left and a 21-point lead after HarvardWestlake emptied its bench, Khamenia let out one of those primal screams to express the accomplishment. Centennial then pulled out All-American Jared McCain in an emotional moment.
McCain, who scored 21 points. was trying to hold back tears as he embraced fellow senior Devin Williams and received an ovation in his final game.
“He’s a special talent, an unbelievable competitor,” Rebibo said of the Dukebound McCain.
In the Division I regional final, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame beat Chatsworth Sierra Canyon for a fourth time, 80-61 at Calabasas.
Every jab was met with a roundhouse kick, every tough finish was answered with a raucous three-pointer, and when the dust settled there was no doubt left as to Notre Dame’s superiority. It was the final game for Sierra Canyon’s Bronny James.
Senior Duke commit Caleb Foster scored 28 points, attacking the rim and hitting two huge second-half threes to help send Notre Dame to Friday night’s Division I final against Livermore Granada.
“Notre Dame has never won a state championship in any sport,” Foster said. “It would be special if we could be the first ones.”