A much-anticipated dramatic California Interscholastic Federation Southern California Open Division championship this was not. Second-ranked and host
Centennial (Corona) raced to a 9-0 lead Tuesday and never really took its foot off the gas in a thoroughly impressive and dominating 83-59 victory over No. 11
Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth).
Long considered a football school and national power, Centennial had all five starters score in double figures to move into Saturday's state championship game against Modesto Christan, a 63-56 winner at Campolindo (Moraga).
It was the second straight year Centennial defeated the star-studded Trailblazers, who feature as many as nine potential Division I players. Sierra Canyon's run of two straight state Open Division titles came to an end, though the 2020 and 2021 state championships were canceled due to the pandemic.
A 3-pointer by
Ramsey Huff on the game's first possession set the
tone for Centennial (32-1), which has won 29 games in a row. Most of
them haven't been close. The Huskies' average margin of victory coming
into the game was 30 points.
The Trailblazers (26-5) tried to get back in it behind UCLA-bound
Amari Bailey (15 points),
Isaiah Elohim (14) and
Mike Price (10), but they never got inside 15 points in the second half. Most figured the game would be tight, considering the team both lost close games to Texas power Duncanville, Centennial (75-70) and Sierra Canyon (80-73).
But the Huskies, a public school with more than 3,000 students in the Inland Empire of Southern California, has been more consistent and cohesive all season. It showed again on Tuesday before a packed home crowd.
