Harvard-Westlake basketball holds off St. John Bosco, advances to regional final vs. Centennial

BELLFLOWER — The Harvard-Westlake boys basketball team was not going to lose to the same team, the same way, twice in one season.

The scenario Saturday night was eerily similar to when the Wolverines lost to St. John Bosco on Feb. 14. They were up late again in the fourth quarter.

However, this time they withstood their opponent’s final run and pulled out a hard-fought 69-64 win at St. John Bosco in the CIF State Open Division Southern California Regional semifinals.

A pivotal point in the game came early in the second half.

Harvard-Westlake senior Brady Dunlap made a 3-pointer and was fouled on the play, but he also came down wrong on his lingering ankle injury. Dunlap’s four-point play put the Wolverines up 41-29 with 5:15 left in the third quarter.

After the 6-foot-8 forward made his free throw he went to the bench, visibly ailing but checked back in 25 seconds later and scored the final three of his team-high 18 points that went with his eight rebounds.

“I’ve done it before,” Dunlap said. “This ankle has been bothering me (since) the summer and just looking at my teammates, they were all cheering me on and telling me they need me and that was all the difference. Just them telling me that we’re a family and they need me on the court. It meant the world to me and I had to go out there and battle for them.”

Harvard-Westlake senior forward Brady Dunlap on playing through an ankle injury and scoring a team-high 18 points in @hwathletics’ 69-64 win at St. John Bosco in the CIF State Open Division regional semifinals. @Tarek_Fattal @Drebibo @ladailynews pic.twitter.com/Oe3ILuQTKB

— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) March 5, 2023

I’m breaking down Harvard-Westlake’s 69-64 win at St. John Bosco in @CIFState Open Division Regional Semifinals. HW’s senior Brady Dunlap played through an ankle injury to score a team-high 18 points. Bosco was led by sophomore Elzie Harrington with a game-high 20 points. pic.twitter.com/FnkZ9JrjeY

— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) March 5, 2023

“We stuck together. We dealt with some adversity,” said Harvard-Westlake coach David Rebibo. “We handled their runs and we came back and responded and I’m really proud of our guys.”

Senior forward Jacob Huggins, who had 14 points and 10 rebounds, provided Harvard-Westlake with a key inside presence.

Junior guard Trent Perry finished with 11 points and seven rebounds. Junior guard Christian Horry scored 11 points. Sophomore guard Nikolas Khamenia added 10 points and four rebounds.

“We’re a true team,” Dunlap continued. “Chemistry is insane. We trust each other.”

The Wolverines (31-2) will play at Centennial of Corona (30-3) in the CIF Southern California Open Division Regional final Tuesday, March 7.

“Can’t wait,” Rebibo said. “This is what we’ve worked for, we’re excited and we’re looking forward to the opportunity and we know it’s going to be a war.”

Harvard-Westlake boys basketball coach David Rebibo (@Drebibo) on his team’s 69-64 win at St. John Bosco Saturday night. @hwathletics is moving on to the Open Division Southern California Regional Final. @Tarek_Fattal @ladailynews pic.twitter.com/Aoazmv1ud4

— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) March 5, 2023

St. John Bosco (26-7) led 10-9 with 2:17 left in the first quarter but Harvard-Westlake closed the first quarter with an 8-0 run and led 17-10 heading into the second quarter.

The Wolverines extended their advantage to 37-29 at halftime.

Harvard-Westlake took a 51-44 lead into the fourth quarter. Huggins made it 56-46 with a free throw with 6:21 to go.

However, that’s when the momentum began swinging Bosco’s way behind the strong play of sophomore point guard Elzie Harrington, who scored eight of his game-high 20 points in the fourth quarter, and freshman guard Brandon McCoy, who scored eight of his 13 points in the fourth quarter.

“I love this group. Those two did a great job making plays,” said St. John Bosco coach Matt Dunn. “Obviously, they have a special future ahead of them. This is a special group. This hurts to be done.”

Harrington and McCoy’s aggressiveness was rewarded with multiple trips to the free throw line, cutting HW’s lead to 59-57 and 62-60.

“We know we always have a chance no matter what,” Harrington said. “We kept saying that to ourselves throughout the whole game… We’ve built such a bond off the court and I really love them and it breaks my heart (that our seniors) have to be done with it.”

St. John Bosco sophomore point guard Elzie Harrington finished with a game-high 20 points in Bosco’s 69-64 loss vs. Harvard-Westlake. @ElzieHarringto1 said it breaks his heart that this means the end for @BoscoBasketball seniors from the Class of 2023. @burrellee3 @CoachDunn10 pic.twitter.com/rVZiAijd3d

— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) March 5, 2023

However, the Wolverines responded and led 64-60 with 1:29 to go.

Bosco senior center Xinyi Li muscled his way to the basketball for a layup that cut HW’s lead to 65-62 with 27.4 seconds to go. Li finished with 10 points.

Perry made one of two free throws and HW led 66-62 with 21.5 seconds to go.

Harrington made two free throws, which cut HW’s lead to 67-64 with 1.1 seconds left in the game. Khamenia was fouled and made two free throws with 0.6 seconds left to give Harvard-Westlake a 69-64 win.

“This is a tough one but I still have great pride in what we accomplished,” Dunn said. “I thought they were a little more mature than us. We just struggled to do the right thing for whatever reason, obviously (Harvard-Westlake) is a big part of that. We had some self-inflicted stuff. We didn’t do the right thing enough to win a game at this level.”

St. John Bosco basketball coach Matt Dunn on his team’s 69-64 loss at home to Harvard-Westlake. @CoachDunn10 said this year’s team is a special group and it hurts for @BoscoBasketball’s season to be over. @presstelegram @sjbathletics pic.twitter.com/IPYKDnj4Hy

— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) March 5, 2023

Final: Harvard-Westlake 69, St. John Bosco 64. HW will play at Centennial on Tuesday in the regional final. HW senior Brady Dunlap with a team-high 18 points and 8 rebounds. Bosco sophomore guard Elzie Harrington with a game-high 20 points. @Tarek_Fattal @BoscoBasketball pic.twitter.com/9ZZncvU1zy

— John W. Davis (@johnwdavis) March 5, 2023