Oakland schools, Athenian-Danville win state titles
Of the seven Metro basketball teams that qualified for the state championships Friday and Saturday at Golden 1 Center, three teams came home victorious — two from Oakland and one from Danville.
The Oakland Tech boys (Division 2) and Oakland girls (D5) won titles, giving the six-team Oakland Athletic League seven state crowns in the past four seasons.
At a news conference shortly after Tech’s 79-55 triumph over CentennialBakersfield, 14-year head coach and school alum Karega Hart said, “We take pride in being Bulldogs and being from Tech. But, most of all, we take pride in being from the city of Oakland.”
ArDarius Grayson, the OAL Player of the Year, and Caleb Rollins had 20 points apiece and Ahmed Gulaid added 16. It was the first state title for the Bulldogs (30-5), who dropped back-to-back D1 state title games in 2002 and ’03. Those teams were led by Leon Powe, who later starred at Cal and in the NBA.
“We’ve had a lot of rough times in Oakland,” Hart said. “To be able to celebrate and shine a positive light means everything.”
Oakland’s girls celebrated about 32 hours earlier in the first of 12 statetitle games with a 56-50 win over MontgomerySan Diego for the school’s second state title (the first came in 2019). Daijah Teague almost pulled off a triple-double with 15 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists. Ojiugo Egeonu (15 points, 15 rebounds) and freshman Tyliana Velasquez (four 3pointers) also stood out for the Wildcats (23-10).
It made a champion of first-year head coach Nita Simpson, whose team lost three times this season to Oakland Tech, which had won state titles each of the past three seasons. Tech was raised to Division 2 and Oakland dropped to D5 for the state tournament. Simpson said she had state-title aspirations from Day 1.
The state champions from Danville weren’t the one most were expecting — Division 1 power San Ramon Valley lost 78-62 to St. John Bosco-Bellflower — but instead the Owls of Athenian captured the Division 5 crown with a resounding 67-49 triumph over Verdugo Hills behind 20 points and 11 rebounds from Evan Lucas.
Teammates Surya Devasenapathy added 15 points and seven assists and Teni Salako contributed 13 rebounds and four blocks to go along with four baskets. Athenian, known for its academics, is tucked away on the base of Mount Diablo.
“It’s been a long journey,” Evans said. “I just hope we get put on the map for the future.” Open powers fall short: The Metro’s best teams, the Mitty girls and Salesian-Richmond boys, dropped Open Division games Saturday in different fashion.
Mitty, the nation’s No. 1 team, couldn’t overcome a dreadful start and lost to national No. 3 Etiwanda, 60-48, while Salesian couldn’t overcome a late onslaught by USC-bound guard Trent Perry in a 5045 loss to Harvard-Westlake.
Both teams fell to the defending state champions.
In Mitty’s case, it lost a dramatic 69-67 contest to Etiwanda in the title game last season, but on Saturday the Monarchs were in a deep hole from the outset and trailed 48-24 by the middle of the third quarter. Mitty (30-1) closed to within 11 following a 12-0 run, but never could cut the lead to single digits despite 14 points, 10 rebounds and six assists from McKenna Woliczko and 12 apiece for Belle Bramer and Abigail James. McDonald’s AllAmerican Morgan Cheli, a Connecticut signee, wasn’t 100% with a hamstring injury and finished with four points, nine rebounds and five assists.
Allyahna Morris had 20 points and five assists, USC-bound Kennedy Smith 15 points and Mykelle Richards 11 for the Eagles (32-3).
“We showed glimpses of the team we could be in the third and fourth quarter when we started to make a run,” Mitty coach Sue Phillips said. “But we are not into moral victories.”
Salesian led HarvardWestlake 45-44 with less than two minutes to play, but Perry scored the game’s last six points and 11 of his 15 in the fourth quarter to lift the Wolverines (33-3) to the tenacious win over the Pride (31-2), who got 14 points from Elias Obenyah and 10 by De’Undrae Perteete.
Harvard-Westlake had taken a double-digit lead in the first quarter, but the deep and balanced Pride eventually caught up and took the lead early in the third. The game seesawed from there, but down the stretch a couple of turnovers and missed chippies cost the Pride. Mostly it was Perry, a 6-4 point guard voted the California State Player of the Year last season.
“They gave us everything we could handle and more,” said HarvardWestlake coach David Rebibo.
Said Salesian senior guard Aaron HunkinClaytor, who had six points and six rebounds: “We just came up short.” Briefly: Luke Isaak had 18 points, Mason Thomas 13 and Seamus Deely, Jack Moxley and Matthew Diekmann combined for 24, but it wasn’t enough for San Ramon Valley (29-8), which couldn’t overcome the talents and shooting of Bosco, which got 20 points apiece from Jack Turner and Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland transfer Brandon McCoy Jr., the nation’s No. 1-rated sophomore. … Bishop O’Dowd’s girls (24-7) fought back from a 21point deficit but couldn’t overtake Bishop Montgomery-Torrance, losing 52-40 despite 11 points from Jayla Stokes.