GLENDALE, AZ. – Three of the 14 divisional championship games went about as expected – down to the wire – Sunday on the final day of the Fiesta Bowl Section Seven Basketball Team Camp, held on the floor of the Phoenix Cardinals’ stadium.
In the showcase game of the entire three-day, 200-plus-teams event, California’s top two teams for 2022-23 clashed in the Field Bowl bracket finale, with Corona Centennial pulling away down the stretch to knock off Studio City Harvard-Westlake, 59-49.
Jared McCain and two other returning starters from the Huskies’ 33-1, CIF State Open-Division team, posts Aaron McBride and Devin Williams, proved the cumulative difference as Coach Josh Giles’ club scored the final eight points in the final two and a half minutes.
McCain (pictured), bound for Duke in 2022-23, scored 25 points – a big chunk coming in the lane via layups and tuff turn-around jumpers over congestion instead of his usual bag of deep 3s.
The “new” starters for Giles, guard B.J. Taylor and forward Eric Freeny, were each superb as well, as the Huskies knocked off potential 2023 state championship teams from Utah (American Fork), Texas (Houston Strake Jesuit), Nevada (Coronado) and California (Harvard-Westlake) in a stretch of roughly 24 hours.
That was quite a display of endurance while also showcasing why the Huskies’ ambitions for being California’s best team for a third year in a row are grounded in reality.
And, despite the loss, Harvard-Westlake Coach David Rebibo was gratified by what he saw from his team in wire-to-wire wins over three other 2023 state title challengers from Nevada (Durango), Arizona (Phoenix Mountain Pointe) and Florida (Miami Columbus) before hooking up in what can safely be tagged as the “California top high school team matchup of the summer”.
Senior-to-be forward Brady Dunlap (who hit the game-deciding shots in the closing moments against Mountain Pointe and Columbus), classmate Jacob Huggins, juniors-to-be Trent Perry and Robert Hinton and one of the west’s top players in the 2025 class, Nik Khamenia, each turned in “championship-level plays” throughout the four clashes.
In two gut-cutters, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame – projected as a strong challenger to Harvard-Westlake in the Mission League and in the hunt for a return to the CIF Southern Section Open Playoffs next February – was edged by Las Vegas Bishop Gorman, 60-56, in the Mayo Clinic bracket while Concord (CA) De La Salle edged another NorCal standout program, Carmichael Jesuit, 56-53, for the City of Glendale bracket crown.
NorCal’s 2021-22 Freshman of the Year, 6-foot-6 Alec Blair, hit a 3-pointer from beyond the top of the key at the buzzer to send the contest into OT for DL.
All in all, it was the perfect “basketball viewing experience” for fans, families, college coaches and media.
Props all the way around for the Matts – King and Gordon – and their crew in pulling it off in such spectacular fashion.
My All-Section Seven Selections
(Based upon how they played when I watched them and their teams’ success)
Most Outstanding Player
Jared McCain (Corona Centennial)
All-Section Seven
- Conner Amundsen (Clovis North)
- Alec Blair (Concord De La Salle)
- Carter Bryant (Fountain Valley)
- Brayden Burries (Riverside Poly)
- Cameron Boozer (Miami Columbus)
- Cayden Boozer (Miami Columbus)
- Blake Buchanan (Coeur d’ Alene, ID, Lake City)
- Liam Campbell (Meridian, ID, Owyhee)
- Semetri Carr (Ross, CA, Branson)
- B. J. Davis (Modesto, CA, Christian)
- Taj DeGourville (Las Vegas Durango)
- Jurian Dixon (San Diego St. Augustine)
- Brady Dunlap (Studio City, CA, Harvard-Westlake)
- Jaden Goodall (Anaheim Canyon)
- Aaron McBride (Corona, CA, Centennial)
- Ethan McCloskey (San Gabriel, CA Academy)
- Jacob McFarland (Moreno Valley, CA, Rancho Verde)
- Chris Nwuli (Las Vegas Bishop Gorman)
- Trent Perry (Studio City, CA, Harvard-Westlake)
- Jace Posey (Houston Strake Jesuit)
- Tyrone Riley (Downey, CA, St. Pius X/St. Matthias)
- Andrej Stojakovic (Carmichael Jesuit)
- Dusty Stromer (Sherman Oaks, CA, Notre Dame)
- Parker Strauss (Newport Beach, CA, Pacifica Christian)
- Dedan Thomas Jr. (Henderson, NV, Liberty)
- Tru Washington (Phoenix Mountain Pointe)
- Ashton Wallace (American Fork, UT)
- Cody Williams (Gilbert, AZ, Perry)
- Devin Williams (Corona Centennial)
- Tonde Yessoufou (Santa Maria, CA. St. Joseph)
Division Championship Finals
Arizona Family
Valley Christian 56, Tucson Magnet 48
Az Sports and Entertainment Commission Bracket
Dixie 77, Notre Dame Prep (AZ) 21
Azsta
Ironwood 75, Hillcrest (ID) 58
City of Glendale
Concord De La Salle 56, Carmichael Jesuit 53 (OT)
Diamond King Construction
San Gabriel Academy 59, Oakland 56
Fiesta Bowl
Corona Centennial 59, Harvard-Westlake 49
Legacy Foundation
Desert Edge 43, Carl Hayden 40
LEO Foundation
Valencia 70, Deer Valley
Mayo Clinic
Bishop Gorman 60, Sherman Oaks Notre 56
Powerade
Rancho Verde 48, L.A. Loyola 43
ServRX
Anaheim Canyon 66, Pleasant Grove 59
UniPhore
Branson 62, Mesquite 54
Visit Arizona
Lake City 74, Sacramento Inderkum 48
GraphX
Downey St. Pius X/St. Matthias 62, Peoria (AZ) 57
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