STUDIO CITY – The Harvard-Westlake boys basketball team’s 76-66 home victory over Chaminade Wednesday night was a multi-pronged accomplishment:
It, 1) Secured an unbeaten (6-0) regular-season Mission League record; 2) it gave the Wolverines the No. 1 seed and a spot in the Feb. 5 semifinal doubleheader of the league tournament and, 3) it was another notch on the CIF Southern Section Open Division “resume” for Coach David Rebibo’s squad.
Although the margin of victory – the Wolverines were up by 16 points with about three minutes to go in the third quarter – wouldn’t suggest it, it was nothing short of a hard-earned win against a Chaminade squad (22-6 overall and 3-3 in league) that was coming off a Saturday victory against Richmond Salesian, one of Northern California’s best teams.
The jump-shooting of juniors Keith Higgins Jr. (who finished with 15 points, including two 3s) and Colin Weems (17 points, including five 3s) almost pulled it out for the visiting Eagles.
A second consecutive 3 by Weems got them to within 67-63 with 2:38 to go and, after Spencer Hubbard missed the front end of a 1-and-1 free-throw opportunity for the Wolverines, Higgins buried a 22-footer to get his team to within a point with 2:02 remaining.
But those were to be the visitors’ final points.
Hubbard missed on a drive but junior forward Truman Gettings snatched the rebound and scored to put the advantage at three points with 1:42 to play.
Higgins rushed an attempt to tie the score from deep with 1:30 remaining and, after Gettinsg cleared the missed, Hubbard – via a pass from Holden McRae – knocked in a 3.
Consecutive turnovers led to the final two buckets by Brase Dottin and McRae.
Princeton-bound center Mason Hooks – the high school master of the jump hook – led the Wolverines with 21 points and 10 rebounds on “Senior Night” while classmates Hubbard (12) and Brase Dottin (13) also scored in double figures.
Making the comeback by Coach Bryan Cantwell’s team more impressive is that it, mostly, came with the Eagles’ best player on the bench with an ice pack on his right knee.
K.J. Simpson, one of the elite junior prospects in the west, got a steal near mid-court and was heading for a high-rise assault on the rim with 1:48 to go in the third quarter.
Hubbard fouled him, though, sending Simpson to the floor and clutching his knee.
It was ruled an intentional foul but the sub sent in to shoot free throws, sophomore Caden Cantwell, missed both free throws.
Ten or so minutes after the game, Simpson (who scored 12 points with four assists, five rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot before leaving the game) said the knee was “sore” but that it was the result of the front of the knee hitting the floor after the foul, not from any “twist” or awkward landing.
“I’ll go home and ice it and rest and I should be OK next week,” he said.
The Eagles open Mission Playoff action Monday night at home, when they face the winner of the Loyola at Sherman Oaks contest (the No.’s 7 and 6 seeds).
Harvard-Westlake (21-3 overall and No. 8 in the BurlisonOnBasketball Top 25 this week) will face the winner of the Monday night Crespi at Alemany game.
St. Francis gets the last team standing after the Loyola-Notre Dame/at Chaminade clashes.
The semis and final (Feb. 7) will be played on sites “neutral” for all participants.
In warm-ups Wednesday night at Harvard-Westlake, the Wolverines wore various Kobe Bryant jerseys as “shooting shirts” to honor Bryant, who perished – along with his 13-year-old daughter and seven others – Sunday morning in the crash of the helicopter they were aboard.
Included among the jerseys were replicas of the ones he wore at Lower Merion High (33) and assorted Laker jerseys with both uniform numbers he used, 8 and 24.
“Most of the players already had them,” Rebibo said.
“For those who didn’t, I let them use some of mine – I’ve got a bunch – or our other coaches had some they used.”
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