The boys’ basketball team began the toughest stretch of their regular season, barely escaping with victory in overtime against McEachern High School in the Hoophall East Classic on Jan. 15.
The Wolverines defeated the Indians from Georgia 60-59 in a non-league game, picking up their 20th victory of the season. According to MaxPreps and ESPN, McEachern is currently ranked 11th in the nation, led by five-star forward Ace Bailey, who is currently ranked third in the nation among all 2024 recruits. Junior forward Nik Khamenia ’25 led the team in scoring with 21 points and was named player of the game. The squad improves to an overall record of 20-1 with a league record of 3-0.
The Wolverines controlled the game in the first half and established a double-digit lead, holding McEachern’s Bailey to 8 points on 4-13 shooting. Senior guard Robert Hinton ’24 had two highlight dunks in the first two quarters, and senior guard Christian Horry ’24 recorded three three-pointers.
Harvard Westlake’s Robert Hinton got @HoophallClassic @HWHoops pic.twitter.com/dHnxvsWuUG
— League Ready (@LeagueRDY) January 15, 2024
However, the struggles began for the Wolverines after halftime when McEachern switched to zone defense and started to gain momentum on offense.
The Indians were able to cut the 18-point deficit in the final two quarters, leading Head Coach David Rebibo to call multiple timeouts. Although the Wolverines had possession up three points in the fourth quarter with 31 seconds on the clock, a backcourt violation by junior forward Isaiah Carroll ’25 gave McEachern another possession, where they scored a deep three-pointer to tie the game at 54-54. The Wolverines were unable to score on the last possession of regulation, taking the game to a four-minute overtime period.
In the team’s first overtime of the season, scores by senior guard Trent Perry ’24 and Khamenia gave the Wolverines a four-point advantage, but a McEachern offensive rebound and putback on a missed free throw cut the margin back to one.
Trent Perry comes up clutch again
The @USC_Hoops commit up to 13 points @trent_perry0 | @HWHoops pic.twitter.com/XdOsNaPkTU
— League Ready (@LeagueRDY) January 15, 2024
The Wolverines were unable to score on their next possession, leaving nine seconds on the game clock for McEachern on offense. However, Perry was able to end the game for the Wolverines on defense, contesting a layup without fouling and giving bonus free throws to McEachern.
The close victory will be one of three tests for the Wolverines this week, who will travel back from Massachusetts to resume Mission League play, where they will face Notre Dame at home on Wednesday and Sierra Canyon on the road on Friday. The two games will likely decide seeding for the Mission League Tournament from Jan. 31 to Feb. 2, as all three teams are currently tied at the top of the league with three wins each.
