Donovan Dent leads Corona Centennial to 59-50 win over Modesto Christian in CIF State Open Division championship
SACRAMENTO, Calif. - Donovan Dent has been doing it all year.
When Corona Centennial needs a bucket or has made a few mistakes in succession, Huskies’ head coach Josh Giles calls a play for the New Mexico signee. That was the case again on Saturday night in the CIF State Open Division championship game against Modesto Christian.
Corona Centennial hadn’t scored for over three minutes in the fourth quarter and all of a sudden a nine-point Huskies lead had vanished to nothing following a 3-point play from Pince Oseya.
On Corona Centennial’s next possession, Dent got into the lane for a layup to give the Huskies a 48-46 lead which launched a 13-4 run propelling Corona Centennial to a 59-50 win and the school’s first-ever state championship.
Following Dent’s bucket, Oseya hit two more free throws to tie the game at 48-48 before Dent gave Centennial the lead for good with two straight layups. Dent finished with a game-high 21 points.
With 2:20 to play, Jared McCain drilled a 3-pointer giving Corona Centennial a 55-50 lead. Ramsey Huff then converted a layup before Dent dished to a wide open Aaron McBride for a dagger dunk.
Dent started the game with a layup and then beat the first-quarter buzzer with a layup. His calm, cool and collected play was a big reason why the Huskies ran through both the Southern Section and Open Division State playoffs heading into Saturday.
Modesto Christian was the first team to play Corona Centennial under 20 points this postseason. Trailing by 14 points in the third quarter, the Crusaders fought back to tie the game in the fourth quarter before running out of steam.
Jamari Phillips scored 20 points in defeat for Modesto Christian. McCain scored 16 for the Huskies. McBride and Devin Williams each added 10.
Corona Centennial came into the state championship game ranked No. 14 in the country in the SBLive/SI Power 25.
