ONTARIO, Ca. – Even when it’s short-handed – and playing against one of the top teams in Southern California – the Corona Centennial High boys’ basketball squad looks every bit capable of successfully defending its 2021 CIF Southern Section Open Division championship.
That was clearly the case Saturday night when the Huskies, despite playing without a 6-foot-9 junior that has hit 24 3s in his past five games (Devin Williams) and the 2021 co-Open Player of the Year for the second quarter (guard Donovan Dent), knocked off once-beat Irvine Crean Lutheran, 72-57, at Colony High in the final game of the State Preview Classic.
Centennial (which beat Santiago, by 50 points, earlier Saturday morning in a make-up Big VIII League game) got 22 points from junior guard Jared McCain, and 17 points and 15 rebounds from junior forward Aaron McBride to improve to 20-1.
The Saints fell to 17-2 –both losses coming to the Huskies – despite sophomore guards Vyctorius Miller and Darrell Morris combining for 39 points.
Williams was sidelined due to a sprained right ankle suffered earlier in the week against Corona.
Dent (who signed the University of New Mexico in November) picked up his third foul with five seconds to go in the first quarter and spent the rest of the half on the bench.
The Huskies were able to push their lead from four to 11 points with Dent as a spectator.
Coach Josh Giles’ team faces another one-loss opponent – Riverside Poly – Monday night on the road.
Crean Lutheran will face another Open Division candidate – Harvard-Westlake – next Saturday in the Mater Dei Extravaganza.
In the game played just before Centennial and Crean Lutheran, Etiwanda edged the host Titans, 53-52.
The Titans trailed midway through the fourth quarter by seven points but fought back behind the play of University of Minnesota-bound forward Jaden Henley (pictured/20 points/nine in the fourth quarter), whose two free throws with 28 seconds to go got his team to within a point.
Fouled with 18.1 seconds remaining, Etiwanda junior point guard Jimmy Baker Jr. was fouled and missed the front end of a 1-and-1.
After a timeout, another junior guard – Kollen Murphy of Colony – took a handoff on the right side of the court, turned the corner going to his left and had reasonably clearing sailing to the rim.
He laid the ball of the glass ever-so-gently off the glass and the ball went deep into the cylinder, did a 360 but rimmed out and into the hands of Etiwanda’s Quinton Webb, who handed the ball to teammate Kwinten Crenshaw, who was fouled with 1.7 ticks to go.
Crenshaw missed the front end of the 1-and-1 but Webb came up with another rebound and held it the second needed for time to expire.
Baker had a team-high 12 points (eight of those in the second quarter, in which his team outscored the hosts, 21-11) to go with four assists, five rebounds and three steals. Webb had 10 points and 10 rebounds.
The Eagles, who collected a critical, down-to-the-wire Baseline victory over visiting Damien Friday night, improved to 16-4 overall.
Colony fell to 18-2.
In the other six games played Saturday:
Studio City Harvard-Westlake 79, Lake Balboa Birmingham 55: Cameron Thrower (23) and Brady Dunlap combined for 45 points as the Wolverines, stepping out of Mission League play, improved to 19-2 while knocking off the defending champion in the L.A. City Section Open Division.
Junior Kory Blunt led Birmingham with 18 points.
Long Beach St. Anthony 60, SJC Capistrano Christian Valley 59: The Eagles had the ball, sidelines out of bounds, with 8.3 seconds to go in front of their bench but couldn’t get off a potential game-winning shots before the buzzer sounded.
Senior guard Jaayden Bush put the Saints ahead to stay with a layup from the left side with 16 seconds to go, after reserve guard Greg Walsh’s two free throws gave CVC lead with two free throws with 28 seconds remaining.
Six-nine Elijah Price, one of the better unsigned senior big men in the west, led the Saints with 22 points.
Hacienda Heights Los Altos 61, Riverside Hillcrest 50: The Conquerors pulled away in the fourth quarter to improve to 15-4 with a win in a game featuring two of the top big men in the western region.
Seven-foot Jazz Gardner scored 14 of his 18 points – intermission for Los Altos, while 5-10 Eastvale Roosevelt transfer C.J. Bellamy also scored 18. Gardner picked up second foul three minutes
Seven-two Dennis Evans scored 13 points (all in the first three quarters), grabbed nine rebounds and blocked six shots for the Trojans. Sophomore forward Deshawn Gory led them with 15 points.
San Pedro Rolling Hills Prep 68, Saugus 58: Forwards Seydina Thiombane and Kenny Manzi scored 21 and 19 points, respectively, as the Titans improved to 16-1.
La Canada St. Francis 64, Long Beach Poly 60: The Golden Knights, less than 24 hours after a huge Mission League victory over Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, pulled away in the fourth quarter to improve to 18-4 as seniors Jake Goldberg and Buckley Dejardin combined for 46 points.
Seniors Gabe Cummings (six 3s in the first half) and Christian Watson scored 20 and 19 points, respectively for the Jackrabbits (10-5.
Moreno Valley Rancho Verde 61, Hesperia Oak Hills 51: Senior guard Khemanni Davis scored a game-high 22 points as the Mustangs improved to 13-5 in the first game of the day.
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