Oakland High makes history by winning state championship
SACRAMENTO >> The day began with a message from one of Oakland High's alltime greats, a video clip to tell the players how much he loved them and to remind them what they represent.
“Y'all know where we come from and y'all know what it means for the town,” Portland Trail Blazers superstar Damian Lillard said.
A few hours later, Lillard's former school ran through Buena-Ventura with an array of steals, blocks and superior play at Golden 1 Center on Friday to win the program's first state boys basketball championship 59-43.
The Division III crown was sealed when Oakland, leading by 10 at halftime, blitzed the Southern California regional champion with a huge run to start the third quarter.
Two minutes into the second half, the Wildcats led 33-13.
From there, the only unknown was how decisive the outcome would be as Money Williams, Anthony Lacy and the rest of the Wildcats took complete command.
Oakland never trailed and led for all but the first 69 seconds, when the score was 0-0.
Williams, a Montanabound star playing in his final high school game, finished with 22 points, nine rebounds, four steals, two blocks and two assists. He had 16 points after halftime.
As Williams answered questions in a postgame news conference, he still couldn't believe what just happened.
“Man, I am still thinking, `Is this reality?' This is crazy,” said Williams, the championship net draped around his neck. “I still think that I am dreaming. Me and my brothers did this. We really wanted it. People doubted us and we stayed composed, we stayed connected and we got the job done.”
In addition to Williams' contributions, Te'shawn Gamble added nine points, six assists and six steals and Anthony Lacy finished with nine points on 4-of-6 shooting and seven rebounds.
Oakland also got eight points, three steals and two assists from Josh Clark.
Zane Carter had points to lead Buena.
The Wildcats led 23-13 at halftime despite shooting just 32.1% from the field and 0.0% (0-for-9) from 3-point range.
What Oakland did well was defend. The Wildcats had nine steals and three blocks in the first two quarters and did not slow down after the break.
“We definitely knew they were going to be quick,” Buena coach Matthew Colton said. “You could see it on film. We took the wrong day to go cold offensively when we did get shots.”
If there was any hope for Buena (31-6) at halftime, it quickly evaporated as Oakland forced a turnover and had three steals on the Southern California team's first four possessions of the second half.
The Wildcats (27-8) were on their way to becoming the first Oakland Athletic League boys team to win a state title in basketball since McClymonds captured one in 2008.
The NorCal champs scored 30 points off of turnovers and finished with 19 steals.
Buena shot 20% in the first half and ended the game at 32% (16 of 50).
“I am not trying to be cocky, but that's just what we do here,” Williams said. “We're a defensive team. What you saw today is not new for us.”
Oakland — a school founded in 1869 — reached the state final with an epic victory earlier in the week at Laney College over rival Oakland Tech for the regional championship.
Three days later, the Wildcats made the most of their first trip to a state final.
“Everybody that comes into the program has a goal of winning state,” coach Orlando Watkins said. “There's been a lot of guys before these guys that had that dream and weren't able to achieve that for one way or the other.”
One of those guys was Lillard, the NBA star who sent the team a video message.
“I got my message right after we beat Tech, a personal message,” Watkins said. “It was big for these guys to see Dame taking time out of his day, during his season, trying to make the playoffs, to acknowledge these guys. But it also goes to show that once you join this program, you're in this program for life.”