Five-star Duke signee
Nikolas Khamenia led the way with 14 points, six assists and five rebounds while junior guard
Amir Jones provided a spark with 14 points on 5 of 9 from the field and 3 of 5 from 3-point range
Harvard-Westlake scored the first five points in the title game as Khamenia knocked down a deep mid-range jumper on the opening possession before Jones knocked home a 3-pointer just under two minutes into the opening period. The Wolverines pushed ahead 16-10 at the end of the first quarter before extending their margin to 35-17 at the half.
Duke signee Nikolas Khamenia led No. 16 Harvard-Westlake to the wire-to-wire victory with 14 points, six rebounds and five rebounds. (Photo: Kevin Ballton)
The decisive stretch of the game came early in the second quarter as Harvard-Westlake went on a 18-4 run that spanned from a Jones jumper at the end of the first quarter through a
Pierce Thompson layup midway through the second period that made things 32-14.
After the Wolverines stretched their advantage to a game-high 20 points with 2:37 remaining in the third quarter, De La Salle clawed back with a 7-1 spurt to cut the deficit to 48-34 to begin the fourth quarter.
Although the Spartans were able to cut the margin to 12 points multiple times in the final stanza, they were unable to significantly cut into the lofty deficit.
The two-time defending CIF Open Division state champions picked up wins over top five opponents in consecutive nights to reach the championship game, defeating No. 4
Perry (Gilbert, Ariz.) 57-54 in the opening round before taking down No. 2
Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) 66-63 in the semifinals.
Khamenia averaged 16.0 points, 5.7 assists and 5.0 rebounds over the weekend to help Harvard-Westlake capture the title of the eight-team bracket. The Wolverines move to 18-1 on the season and are in line for a major boost in the MaxPreps Top 25 this week.
Four-star Oklahoma signee
Alec Blair
had 15 points, six rebounds and four assists in the loss. He averaged
17.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists per contest to lead his squad
to the title game.
The third-place game saw Gonzaga get back in the win column by blowing past
Chaminade (St. Louis, Mo.) 66-45. The Eagles were led by 21 points, six rebounds and three assists from four-star Xavier signee
Nykolas Lewis along with 18 points, four rebounds and three assists from four-star North Carolina pledge
Derek Dixon.
Lewis averaged 16.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.0 assists while Dixon tallied 16.3 points, 4.3 assists and 2.7 rebounds in three games of Hoophall West action. Gonzaga is 12-2 this season.
In the fifth-place game, Perry secured a quality 72-51 victory over No. 22
Duncanville (Texas), paced by 25 points, 16 rebounds and seven assists from five-star senior prospect
Koa Peat.
Peat averaged 22.0 points, 12.7 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 2.0 blocks per contest while shooting 56.6 percent from the field over three games at the event as the Pumas move to 13-1 on the year.
