No. 5 Salesian handles UCLA-bound Eric Freeny, Arizona signee Carter Bryant, beats No. 6 Corona Centennial for tourney title
Salesian boys basketball coach Bill Mellis, in his 26th season for one of Northern California's top programs, isn't much into payback. And he won't get over-worked at a 9-0 start either.
Much like his teams, especially the 2023-24 version, Mellis stays even-keeled, never getting too high or low.
But back-to-back wins over Idaho power Owyhee and 2022 California Open champion Corona Centennial did elicit a "very pleased," after claiming the title of the Pro Image Sports Champions tournament in Meridian (Idaho) on Saturday.
After handling Owyhee 55-47 on Friday, the Pride (9-0) took care of Centennial 62-51 Saturday afternoon, racing to an 18-5 lead and holding off numerous runs by the Huskies (7-4).
Alvin Loving had 14 points, Zander Jimenez 13 and Deundrae Perteete 12 for Salesian.
As usual with the Pride, it was most about defense as they held 6-foot-8, 225-pound Arizona-bound senior Carter Bryant, California's No. 2 senior recruit, to 10 points and 6-4 UCLA-bound wing Eric Freeny to eight. Perteete, a 6-5 senior, and Carlton Perrilliat, a 6-5 sophomore, did most of the defensive work on Bryant.
Salesian is No. 5 in the latest SBLive California rankings and Centennial is No. 6. Isaiah Rogers led the Huskies with 14 points and Justice Griffith added 12.
"A lot of hustle and defensive switching on both of those guys," Mellis said. "Overall, I was really pleased with how we defended, shared the ball and just how hard we played up here."
Freeny was coming off a 41-point explosion Thursday in a 76-68 win over Pocatello.
Centennial defeated Salesian last season in the Crush of the Valley Showcase, 64-52. While a load of talented Husky seniors graduated off that team, including All-American Jared McCain (now at Duke), Salesian returned almost all of its core players, including All-State point guard Aaron Hunkin-Claytor, who Saturday helped keep the Huskies at bay.
(See video interview with Hunkin-Claytor after beating Capital Christian 67-56 last season at the De La Salle MLK Classic presented by SBLive Sports).
"They got within five several times but every time they made a run we had a response," Mellis said. "It was very encouraging."
The whole season has been.
After opening the season with wins over Campbell Hall (84-59) at the NorCal Tip-Off, Salesian scored a decisive 53-41 victory over state-ranked Mitty. Last weekend, the Pride won the loaded Gridley Invitational, highlighted by wins by two more state-ranked squads, Clovis North (82-56) and Branson-Ross (63-60).
Mellis was befriended at last year's Damien Classic by Owyhee coach Andy Harrington, whose team beat the Pride 62-50. Harrington invited Mellis and his team up for this week's event, which worked out well with finals.
The teams met up on Friday, with Amani Johnson going for 18 points, Loving with 15 and 12 by Elias Obenyah in Salesian's eight point win. It was the first loss for Owyhee (5-1), which got 14 points by Liam Campbell, 11 from Boden Howell and 10 by Jackson Rasmussen.
After a non-league game next week with Ygnacio Valley-Concord, the Pride will play Windward in opening round play of the Platinum Division of the Damien Classic Dec. 27. If victorious, the Pride could get yet another game with Corona Centennial, which takes on Arizona power Basha.
"We're not celebrating too hard after this one," Mellis said with Saturday's win. "If we see (the Huskies) again, they'll no doubt be wanting another shot at us."
