SACRAMENTO —
Jesuit (Carmichael) took down
Chatsworth and McDonald’s All American
Alijah Arenas 66-53 in the California Division II championship on Saturday at Golden 1 Center.
With his father, three-time NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas, sitting courtside, Alijah poured in 22 points while adding seven rebounds and three assists in the loss.
"We know he is going to score, we just try to make them contested looks," Jesuit head coach Tim Kelly said. "Get over there on defense and make it as crowded as we can on him."
Jesuit freshman
Maison Phillips dominated on the biggest stage and finished with a team-high 19 points. The Marauders held a 36-34 lead just as the second half began when Phillips scored five points in a row to take a 41-34 lead.
Jesuit celebrates after defeating Chatsworth in the California Division II championship. (Photo: David Steutel)
From there, the Jesuit defense kept getting stops and the lead grew to double digits.
Seniors
Luke Browne,
Asher Schroeder and
Amaury McKinney all scored in double-digits. The trio also combined for five steals on defense.
"Those three seniors are great leaders," Phillips said. "They showed me throughout the season to always keep my head up through everything. They lead us so well in practice everyday."
The win comes two weeks after Jesuit suffered a crushing loss in the Sac-Joaquin Section championship game on the same court against Rocklin after holding a two-possession lead with 30 seconds to go.
"We’ve had some tough losses, we got our heart ripped out in the last minute of the section championship game," Kelly said. "Those tough times teach lessons and if you learn to use those lessons the right way, you can have something special. And these guys have."
Jesuit has won five straight since that loss.
This was also the final game in the career of McDonald’s All American Alijah Arenas. The five-star USC pledge scored his 3,000th career point with 39 seconds left and he did it in three years. Originally a member of the Class of 2026, he reclassified and will graduate this school year.
"I’ll miss my team," Arenas said. "This is the most connected I’ve ever felt with a team."
