Harvard-Westlake edges Salesian to defend CIF State Open Division title
SACRAMENTO - After winning last year's CIF State Open Division crown, Harvard-Westlake boys basketball coach David Rebibo knew it might've been the start of something special.
He returned three starters in Trent Perry, Nik Khamenia and Robert Hinton.
“I think we are here to stay," Rebibo said last March.
Last year, the Wolverines hunted their success. This year, they were the hunted.
Despite everyone's best shot, Harvard-Westlake capped its California high school basketball treble at the highest level with a 50-45 victory over Salesian in the CIF State Open Division final at the Golden 1 Center Saturday night.
"It's a lot of pressure being hunted," Rebibo said in the post-game press conference. "It weighs on you ... as a coaching staff you try and make sure we're balancing our desire to get better while also managing expectations."
The victory gives Harvard-Westlake its fifth CIF State title in program history and its second straight Open Division crown after winning the Open Division sectional and regional championships.
Only Mater Dei (‘14), Chino Hills (‘16), Bishop Montgomery (‘17), Sierra Canyon (‘19) and Corona Centennial (‘22) have won all three in the same season.
"We won league, section, regional and state with no transfers. This is a special group," Rebibo said.
Perry, who's headed to USC and a McDonald's All-American, finished with 17 points. Hinton, a Harvard- commit, poured in a game-high 19, and Khamenia who's emerging as a Top 25 prospect in the class of 2025, tallied seven points and seven rebounds.
Perry gave Harvard-Westlake a 46-45 lead with 1:15 to play, then followed it with a dagger with 24 seconds left to balloon the lead to 48-45, essentially sealing the game.
"In the last minute and a half I just flipped a switch, I guess. I didn't want to lose," said Perry, who score 11 of his 17 in the fourth quarter.
Harvard-Westlake took its first double-digit lead at 21-11, but Salesian battled back to a pull within 31-27 at halftime despite 15 points from Hinton in the opening two quarters (going 6 of 6 from the field). He finished the game 7 of 8 from the field.
"Coach gave me the freedom," Hinton said. "Seven of eight shots, that's pretty efficient."
The Pride started the third quarter on a 5-0 run to take a 32-31 lead at the 4:55-mark in the third quarter on a basket from Elias Obenyah. Harvard-Westlake didn't convert a field goal until the 3:03-mark in the frame. Khamenia hit two straight shots sandwiched on each side of a Perry layup to give the Wolverines a 38-36 lead heading into the fourth quarter.
The game had eight lead changes and seven ties, but Salesian held a lead for just a total of 2 minutes and 32 seconds.
TWO STATE TITLES IN ONE DAY
It was a good weekend for Harvard-Westlake.
The boys won the Open Division championship and the girls basketball team won the Division II crown earlier that afternoon.
"It's amazing," Rebibo said. "It shows how committed both programs are."
