The boys’ basketball team defended home court against Corona Centennial High School in the opening game of the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section (CIF-SS) playoffs Friday night.
The number one-seeded Wolverines defeated the eighth-seeded Huskies 61-51 in their first of three home games in pool play Feb. 9. Four starters for the team scored double figures, including Trent Perry ’24 and Nikolas Khamenia ’25 with 15 points each, Christian Horry ’24 with 12 points and Robert Hinton ’24 with ten points. The team improves to a total record of 27-3 with a 1-0 playoff record.
The Wolverines started the game hot, quickly building a double-digit lead in the first quarter including two threes from Horry and a highlight dunk by Isaiah Carroll ’25 to make the score 21-9. By the half, the Huskies were held to only 20 points, and 2024 McDonald’s All-American Carter Bryant recorded only two points.
Although Centennial was able to come within a ten-point deficit multiple times in the second half, the Wolverines responded each time with a run of their own. The team’s game-winning sequence came late in the fourth quarter, where a three from Horry and a fast-break dunk by Perry extended the team’s lead to 55-38 with only a couple minutes remaining.
OPEN DIVISION STANDINGS
GROUP A
- No. 1 Harvard-Westlake (1-0)
- No. 5 Sierra Canyon (1-0)
- No. 4 St. John Bosco (0-1)
- No. 8 Corona Centennial (0-1)
GROUP B
- No. 2 Roosevelt (1-0)
- No. 6 St. Pius X – St. Matthias (1-0)
- No. 3 Mater Dei (0-1)
- No. 7 JSerra (0-1)
The top-seed Wolverines in Group A look to stay undefeated in pool play next week, and will host fifth-seed Sierra Canyon on Feb. 13 and fourth-seed St. John Bosco on Feb. 16. The team with the top record in each group will compete in the championship game, with a tiebreaker scenario favoring the lower seed.
Before becoming CIF State Champions, the team failed to advance in Southern Section group play, where one loss to St. John Bosco resulted in a tiebreaker scenario that eliminated the Wolverines as the higher seed. Boys’ Basketball Program Head David Rebibo said the team needs to win all three games as they are the number one seed.
“The reality of Open Division pool play is that being a one, two or three seed means your margin for error is zero,” Rebibo said. “Due to tiebreakers and the way the tiebreaker system works, is that you are rewarded for your body of work by getting home games, and we need to take care of business at home. Last year was a great lesson for us and I think our guys are ready and excited and are going to bring it.”
