STUDIO CITY — The first half of the CIF Southern California Regional Open Division boys basketball final between Harvard-Westlake and Roosevelt felt reminiscent of the semifinal game the Wolverines played against Carlsbad over the weekend.
Shots weren’t falling. Contested jumpers were going in for the opposition. The Wolverines trailed by double digits early.
But just like that game, Harvard-Westlake came charging back in the second half, igniting its trademark defense and playing aggressively on the offensive end.
With the backcourt of Trent Perry and Robert Hinton combining for 44 points, Harvard-Westlake defeated Roosevelt 63-59 Tuesday to earn its second consecutive trip to Sacramento and a chance to defend its CIF State Open Division title.
“This was the same scenario as last game. Down double digits, they are hitting all their shots and we had a lot of lapses on defense,” said Perry, who finished with 28 points, eight rebounds and went a perfect 11-for-11 from the free-throw line. “In the second half we came together as a family, stuck together, we chopped wood and we ended up getting it done.”
“The key for us staying in the game was staying together,” said Hinton, who recorded 16 points and was also a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe. “We couldn’t separate and we couldn’t become individuals. It’s so easy when you’re down to get desperate, chuck up shots, play bad defense, gamble, but we stuck together so well and I think that was the key for us coming back to win.”
Harvard-Westlake will travel to Sacramento to take on Salesian, the NorCal champion, in the Open final Saturday at 8 p.m. at the Golden 1 Center.
For the first 16 minutes of Tuesday’s game, the energy and momentum swung in Roosevelt’s favor. Brayden Burries was scoring at will, getting in the paint for easy buckets and making shots from beyond the arc.
Roosevelt’s Issac Williamson was making contested shots and finding his teammates for good…
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