Harvard-Westlake routs St. John Bosco to face Roosevelt in Open Division final (2/16/2024)
STUDIO CITY, CALIFORNIA - It was a week to remember for Harvard-Westlake, but not in the way you might think.
The Wolverines endured a gauntlet of a week starting on Monday, Jan. 15, Martin Luther King Jr. Day. They were in Springfield, Mass. at the Spalding Hoophall Classic playing on ESPNU before flying 3,000 miles back to Los Angeles to face Notre Dame and Sierra Canyon in the same week.
Harvard-Westlake won the game on Monday, but lost the Mission League bouts on Wednesday and Friday. It was the first time the program had lost two straight games since 2021.
"You know what they say, 'A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor,'" Harvard-Westlake coach David Rebibo said. "We gave the boys the weekend off after that week to decompress."
Harvard-Westlake has been on a rampage since, winning nine in a row including a 64-40 rout over St. John Bosco at home Friday night to finish CIF Southern Section Open Division pool-play 3-0 and advance to the Open Division final against Eastvale Roosevelt on Feb. 23 at Cal Baptist University.
"We learned we can't take any games for granted," senior Trent Perry said of the two straight losses in January. "The losses were very humbling."
It will be Harvard-Westlake's second appearance in the Open final after falling in the 2022 final against Corona Centennial. The game was played at Centennial due to lingering impact of COVID-19.
Perry finished with 14 points and five rebounds in the victory. Nik Khamenia added 15 points, Robert Hinton and Christian Horry each had nine.
St. John Bosco started the game 1 of 9 from the field and down 12-2. The Braves had just three field goals in the first half. Harvard-Westlake led 29-9 at halftime and 45-24 at the end of the third quarter. It was 64-35 in the fourth quarter ... the rout was on.
"The credit goes to all these guys," Rebibo said of his team.
Brandon McCoy led St. John Bosco with 14 points.
In other Open Division action ...
Roosevelt defeated Mater Dei 80-76. Brayden Burries had 22 points and 11 rebounds.
Sierra Canyon beat Corona Centennial 61-55. Isaiah Elohim scored 22 points.
St. Pius topped JSerra 70-58. Tyrone Riley led the way with 22 points and eight rebounds.
PERRY PRESENTED MCDAA JERSEY
Trent Perry was presented with his 2024 McDonald's All-American jersey Friday night before the game.
Perry is the third McDonald's All-American to be selected from Harvard-Westlake's boys' program after Jason and Jarron Collins.
Perry is signed to play at USC next season.
Trent Perry presented with 2024 McDonald's All-American jersey on Friday, Feb. 16, 2024.
Tarek Fattal/SBLive
