Brayden Burries leads Roosevelt to first Big VIII title since 2017 in win over Centennial
CORONA, CALIFORNIA - It was personal for Brayden Burries.
His Roosevelt Mustangs lost to Corona Centennial 82-78 on Jan. 9 thanks to 39 points from Arizona signee Carter Bryant.
Burries was guarding Bryant that night.
"I felt like he caught me on an off night," Burries said of the loss. "But tonight, I made sure I was mentally focused."
Burries, a 5-star-rated junior, returned the favor in the Big VIII League tournament final with 31 points and seven rebounds to anchor a 63-50 wire-to-wire victory over Centennial at Santiago High Friday night in front of a sold out crowd.
The Mustangs (26-2) clinched its first league title since 2017 and snapped Centennial's 70-game win streak in the league play. Roosevelt is also likely to lock up a top four seed in the CIF Southern Section Open Division playoffs.
Burries scored 10 points in the first frame to pace a 20-4 Roosevelt run to start the game.
"I just felt like we had something to prove," Burries said. "This was one of our goals this season, and now we want the Southern Section (Open Division championship)."
Issac Williamson added 12 points for the Mustangs. Centennial was led by Eric Freeny's 15 points and Bryant, who was recently selected to the 2024 McDonald's All-American game, was held to just 12 points.
Roosevelt led 32-19 at halftime and Centennial cut the deficit to 37-32 in the third quarter, but never got closer than that. Burries hit a step-back 3-pointer to beat the third quarter buzzer to make it 44-34 before nailing his fifth (and final) 3 of the night with four minutes to play to create a 54-42 advantage that was too large for Centennial to overcome.
Centennial now drops to 20-10 overall. Despite Friday night being the Huskies' first loss to a Southern Section team all season, it puts their Open Division playoff hopes in question going into Sunday's playoff announcement.
However, after playing a national schedule, the Huskies being omitted from the field would be surprising, especially considering they are the three-time defending Open Division champion.
