Harvard-Westlake makes most of second chance, takes third state title

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Harvard-Westlake (Studio City) senior Wolfgang Novogratz, ran out of words. Not for his superlative 26-point effort in Saturday's 66-49 win over Palma (Salinas) in Division IV boys championship at Sleep Train Arena.

It was the ally oop pass Novogratz threw to super 6-foot-5 freshman Cassius Stanley, who somehow grabbed the high pass, hit his neck on the back board and sent a dunk straight down.

Everyone just gasped.

"We've had a few ally oop connections this season," Novogratz said. "That one was just shocking. I was hoping it didn't go out of bounds. It was just. …."

Novogratz just shook his head.

Think of what poor Palma thought. Stanley's dunk was just an exclamation point on a superlative effort for the Wolverines, who Friday night arrived at Sleep Train to watch the NBA Kings defeat the Phoenix Suns.

Stanley's dunk would have made the highlight reel for that game as well.

Considered one of the top freshman in the county, Stanley had just five points at halftime when the Wolverines (27-8) took complete command, but finished with 16 points.

Novogratz, a 6-foot senior who transferred from New York, played the game of his life, making 11 of 14 shots while adding eight rebounds and four steals.

Carter Begel added 14 points for the Wolverines, who won their third state title. Palma (26-5) was making its first state-title opponents since 1993 when it qualified back-to-back years, winning in 1992.

The Chieftains, led by 18 points from 6-8 post Wyatt Maker and 11 from Jamaree Bouyea, simply couldn't contain all of Harvard-Westlake's weapons. Especially Novogratz.

"I was very confident coming into the game," Novogratz said. "We were all very confident. This is why I play basketball for big moments like this."

Harvard-Westlake was ready from the outset, taking leads of 15-7 and 35-18 after the first half. The Wolverines made a point to keep the ball away from Bouyea and it translated to 14 of Palma's 19 turnovers.

"We've made runs all season, but at this level we just didn't get the stops and couldn't make the plays," Palma coach David Sullivan said. "It was hard, but give (Harvard-Westlake) all the credit."

First-year Harvard-Westlake coach Rick Commons, an assistant at USF last year, said he was just grateful to be given a second chance with an at-large selection after losing in the section playoffs.

"It was a character building time for us," he said. "We had another chance to find out what we are made of."

They made their post season charge largely on the defensive end, holding their last four opponents to below 50 points.

"I always believed we had a chance to do this," Commons said. "We battled at times and deviated from our path but we largely believed it staying the course. It all hasn't sunk in quite yet."