Balanced, unselfish Harvard-Westlake closes with style, beats St. Joseph for CIF Open boys title
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Winning the right way. Sharing the ball. Not caring who gets the points.
Coaches preach it. Teams wish it. The Harvard-Westlake boys basketball team out of Studio City executed it Saturday night to win California's top prize.
Like they've done all season.
The Wolverines got contributions from all around in a 76-65 CIF Open Division championship game over St. Joseph-Santa Maria.
"I'm so incredibly proud," said Harvard-Westlake coach David Rebibo, in his eighth season after assisting at the University of San Francisco. "We were very unselfish tonight like we've been every night. It's a great group with great chemistry and they capped it off with finishing as the No. 1 team in the state. I couldn't be prouder."
Harvard-Westlake coach David Rebibo celebrates with his team following a convincing CIF Open Division championship win over St. Joseph Saturday night at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento. Photo: Dennis Lee
The Wolverines (33-2) had won three previous state titles but at lower levels. Their 1996 and 1997 teams, led by the Collns twins, Jarron and Jason, won consecutive state titles and the latter went 36-1 and was considered the greatest in school history.
After finishing off what Rebibo called "the gauntlet" of winning the Southern California regional title and then following with Saturday's win, the debate of the school's greatest team will now begin.
The 2022-23 team is the only one in school history to hold the Open prize.
They can thank their many contributors for that.
Trent Perry, a 6-foot-4 junior guard, finished with 16 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds to typify Harvard-Westlake's well-rounded squad. His 10 assists was a CIF Open Division championship-game record. .
Brady Dunlap led the Wolverines in scoring with 18 points, Nikolas Khamenia added 16 and Jacob Huggins added 15 points and 12 rebounds.
The Wolverines were in control most of the way, but St. Joseph (28-7) was always in contact. They were led by 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting by Luis Marin. Harvard-Westlake did a great job holding down prolific sophomore Tounde Yessoufou, who finished with 14 points, about half his season average. He also was credited with just one rebound. He averages more than 12.
Caedin Hamilton added 14 points for the Knights and freshman Julius Price contributed 13.
Khamenia was credited with doing the brunt of the defensive work on Yessoufou. "From day one, Niko wanted him," Rebibo said.
Said Khamenia: "I wanted (the assignment) for sure. Playing against my guys every day at practice definitely helped. I'm just glad we got it done and can't wait for the ride back home with the guys. It's gonna be awesome."
Rebibo said the team's request to take the six-hour bus ride home together reflected their togetherness. Other squads in the past found other means of transportation home.
“Win or lose, they wanted to be together," he said. "That tells you everything you need to know about the character of these guys and how connected they are.”
All photos below from Dennis Lee. Check back for more on this game
