AZUSA – Last was the best – or, at least, the most exciting – Saturday night in CIF Southern Section basketball playoff action at Azusa Pacific University.
In the finale of the six-game schedule, top-seed Windward held off No. 2 Riverside Poly, 54-49, for the boys’ Division I championship.
The Wildcats (27-7), in just their fourth season under Coach Colin Pfaff, took the lead the lead for good (47-46) on sophomore guard Dylan Andrews’ 8-footer with 1:13 remaining.
A 3-pointer from the left corner by junior Jaren Harris, set up by a pass from sophomore center Kijani Wright, pushed the advantage to four points but San Diego State-bound guard Lamont Butler nailed a 3 from the corner and Bears called timeout with 24 tics to go.
When play resumed, Devin Tillis was just able to get the ball into Wright and he dropped in both ends of the 1-and-1 – the first via a fortuitous bounce – for a 3-point edge.
Senior Evan Oliver – with a team-high 17 points at the time – took a dribble handoff from Butler from the top of the key but the shot was short and out of bounds with 12 seconds remaining.
After a timeout, Tillis – with the Bears denying passes to potential Wildcats in the backcourt – threw a strike to a streaking junior Henry Hopper who went in for a solo, title-securing slam followed by Wright blocking Oliver’s shot at the buzzer to set off the Windward hysteria, from the floor and stands.
The 6-1 Harris (pictured), usually out of the “media” (social and “traditional” media) spotlight, showed why he has been such a key element to the program’s championship run with a game-high 20 points by way of eight of 11 from the field including four of five behind the arc.
Wright scored eight points (all after intermission) and grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds; Andrews went for 12 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals; UNLV-bound Tillis, hampered by foul problems, was limited to nine points in 19 minutes but made some critical passes and played solid defense.
Butler and UC Irvine-bound D.J. Davis (who picked up three quick fouls), didn’t score in the first half and finished with just eight and two points, respectively.
The Bears (26-6) and Wildcats each open competition in the State Southern Division I playoffs Tuesday night.
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