Live! CIF State Basketball Championships Friday

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California state basketball basketball championships — boys and girls — for Divisions 1, 3 and 5. Until games take place, enjoy the previews to each game.

Division I
Monte Vista (Danville) 66, Centennial (Corona) 56

A long journey for a senior-laden Monte Vista team ended with a title win keyed by long-distance shooting.

Trevor John made six of his team’s 11 3-pointers and scored a game-high 23 points as the Mustangs (32-1) delivered a Division I championship win over Centennial-Corona Friday at Sleep Train Arena.

While the Mustangs drilled 11 of their first 13 3-point attempts, Centennial, a team filled with quickness and shooters, finished a paltry 2 of 18 on 3s and shot just 16 of 57 from the field for the game. It was the Huskies low point total of the year.

Monte Vista’s lock-down defense held Centennial (29-4) 17 below its season average while winning its first state title in any sport and 14th straight game to end one of the finest boys basketball seasons in Bay Area history.

Grant Jackson had 12 points and Brendan Pedley drilled three 3-pointers for the winners, which shot 46 percent and made 19 of 27 free throws. 

“Yes, it was a magical season and that first state banner in the Monte Vista gym is going to look awfully sweet,” said Monte Vista coach Nick Jones, a graduate of the school in his second year as head coach.

John, a Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo signee was hot from the start, drilling back-to-back 3-pointers to start the game. That definitely set the tone.

“It calmed us down is what it did,” Jones said. “We were pretty amped but that totally settled us down on both sides of the court.”

But the end of the quarter, he had hit three more by the end of the quarter and the Mustangs had a 20-12 lead.

His sixth 3-pointer, which tied the state D1 record, gave Monte Vista a 26-13 lead early in the second quarter before Centennial, got its pace to the frantic pace it likes. It rattled off nine straight points to close to 26-22.

But Monte Vista, home of Warriors’ GM Bob Myers, extended the lead to 35-28 by halftime. Centennial, which got 16 points from Sedrick Barefield and 14 each by Deontae North and Jordan Griffin, never got within nine.

Most prep players struggle on 3-poiners at Sleep Train, but John made 6 of 9.

“The basket is still 10 feet high and the 3-point lines are still the same,” John said. “I just blocked everything out. …To win the first state title is fantastic, but to win it with all my best friends is the very best.” 

It was a disappointing loss to a fantastic season for Centennial, which could only put together one significant run all night.

"It's hard to get into your press when you're not making shots," Centennial coach Ben Roberts said. "We were definitely surprised how well they shot the ball from the perimeter. But that's basketball. Sometimes you just get hot."

Monte Vista 66, Centennial 55

CENTENNIAL (29-4)
Sedrick Barefield 5-20 6-6 16, Deontae North 3-11 5-7 14, Khalil Ahmad 2-7 1-1 5, Jordan Griffin 5-10 1-2 14, Kyle Hamilton 1-4 3-4 10, Marcus Ford 0-4 1-2 1. Totals 16-57 18-21 55.

MONTE VISTA (32-1)
Trevor John 7-13 6-9 23, Brendan Pedley 3-6 3-5 9, Grant Jackson 1-5 10-15 12, Rishi Satoor 2-3 1-17, Spencer Rust 2-5 4-4 8, Stefan Mitu 1-3 1-1 3, Wilson LaShells 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 18-39 19-27 66.

Centennial    12  16   6  21 – 55
Monte Vista  20  15  16 15 — 66

3-point goals: Centennial 2-18 (North, Griffin), Monte Vista 11-16 (John 6, Pedley 3, Satoor, Mitu). Rebounds: Centennial 36 (Hamilton 10), Monte Vista 38 (LaShaells 7). Turnovers: Centennial 11, Monte Vista 17.

Preview
Win streaks: Centennial 4, Monte Vista 13
State record: Centennial 0-0, Monte Vista 0-1
Points per game (allowed): Centennial 76.3 (59.7), Monte Vista 60.4 (43.3)
Terrific trios: Centennial — G Sedrick Barefield, F Deontae North, G Jordan Griffin. Monte Vista — G Trevor John, C Spencer Rust, G Brendan Pedley
Notes: Centennial has just two seniors on a 13-man roster, Monte Vista starts five seniors. … Centennial, known for its powerhouse football teams, has won 17 of 18. … The most points MV has allowed is 59, which is 17 points lower than Centennial averages.
Predicted winner: Centennial Click next page to see Division III state boys title {PAGEBREAK}Division III
Chaminade (West Hills) 71, Drake (San Anselmo) 51
The dream season of Drake (26-7) came to an close due to a nightmarish shooting night (12 of 49) and a superlative effort by 6-2 guard Michael Oguine who finished with game highs of 26 points and 13 rebounds.

The Pirates, who rose from the ninth seed to take its third NorCal title, appeared to get a break when Chaminade’s top player and scorer, Long Beach State-bound Jack Williams, was diagnosed with mononucleosis late in the week and missed the game.

Oguine picked up the slack by connecting on 10 field goals, including three 3-pointers and five putbacks. Oguine was responsible for getting Chaminade (27-6) to the state finals with a 3-point buzzer beater in the regional final.

Jesse Hunt led Drake with 16 points and 13 rebounds, but he managed just 2 of 14 shots. Malik Huff added 10 points.

“(Oguine) was pretty phenomenal,” Drake coach Doug Donnellan said. “He plays much bigger than he is. “

Chaminade coach Todd Wolfson can back up.

“He’s unbelievable,” Wolfson said of Oguine. “He’s accepted criticism early in the year and improved from level 1 through 5.”

The Eagles got plenty of other contributions without Williams, who averages 16.4 points and 11.5 rebounds per game.

Trevor Stanback, a 6-10 sophomore, effected many of the missed shots and had four blocks. He also had 12 points and eight rebounds. Justin Eisen added 15 points.

Jake Porath added six points and eight rebounds and Max Tinsley grabbed seven rebounds in just 15 minutes.

“Kids are unbelievable,” Wolfson said. “They did a great job of keeping Jack’s illness hush-hush. You don’t want to give the other team any extra time to prepare. They went out and won the game for Jack.”

Said Oguine: “Coach talked about stepping up for Jack. We know he wanted to play.”

And boy did they. Especially in transition. And on the glass. The Eagles had 17 offensive rebounds and 53 overall. Drake had 33 rebounds total.

“The difference in the game is that when we turned it over they made us pay,” Donnellan. “When we turned them over we just couldn’t finish.”

Despite the frustrating afternoon, an enthusiastic student body of more than 500 cheered to the end. When little-used Campbell Yamane made two free throws with 7.6 seconds left, the Drake faithful let out the loudest roar of the game.

“Our community was fantastic through our entire run,” Donnellan said. “Win or lose, they were going to let us know they loved us.”

Chaminade 71, Drake 51

CHAMINADE (27-6)
Jordan Ogundiran 1-5 2-2 4, Justin Eisen 5-11 2-4 15, Michael Oguine 10-22 3-3 26, Trevor Stanback 4-6 4-5 12, Jake Porath 2-6 1-2 6, Daniel Holcomb 1-3 0-0 3, Max Tinsley 0-3 1-2 1, Dylan Cuenca 0-2 2-2 2, Justin Brown 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 24-60 15-20 71.

DRAKE (26-8)
Malik Huff 3-10 2-2 10, Jasper Verduin 3-12 1-2 7, Cade Yongue 2-5 4-6 8, Sam Dines 0-1 0-0 0, Jesse Hunt 2-14 12-19 16, Brandon Vergara 2-6 2-2 7, Campbell Yamane 0-0 2-2 2, Dane Wells 0-0 1-3 1. Totals 12-49 24-36 51.

Centennial 19  16  20  16  - 71
Drake         12  13  17   9  -  51
3-point goals: C 8-23, D 3-11. Rebounds: Chaminade 53 (Oguine 13), Drake (Hunt 13). Assists: Chaminade 8. Drake 6. Turnovers: Chaminade 20, Drake 17. 

Preview
Win streaks: Chaminade 4, Drake 4
State record: Chaminade 0-0, Drake 1-0
Points per game (allowed): Chaminade 62.0 (49.6), Drake 58.7 (52.7)
Terrific trios: Chaminade — Trevor Stanback, F Jack Williams, G Michael Oguine. Drake — G Malik Huff, F Jesse Hunt, F Jasper Verduin.
Notes: Chaminade is the first Southern California school to qualify both boys and girls teams to the state title game since 2012 (Mater Dei). … Oguine made a 25-foot buzzer-beater for a 53-52 regional final win over Santa Margarita. … Drake won the state's first D2 title.
Predicted winner: Chaminade Click here to see D5 boys and wiping out a bad memory