Harvard-Westlake edges Roosevelt, punches ticket to second straight CIF State Open final

USC commit Trent Perry scored 21 of his 28 points in the second half to anchor Harvard-Westlake's comeback victory over Roosevelt

Tarek Fattal | Mar 6, 2024

STUDIO CITY, CALIFORNIA - Trent Perry isn't a complicated young man, and with his Harvard-Westlake team trailing double-digits at halftime, his thought process was as simple as can be.

"It was easy," Perry said. "I thought to myself, 'The rest of my season is just 16 minutes long, or I can earn myself one more game'."

The USC-bound senior scored 21 of his 28 points in the second half to anchor the Wolverines back to the CIF State Open Division final with a 63-59 comeback victory over Eastvale Roosevelt in the SoCal regional final at home Tuesday night.

"It's easy to separate and become individuals when things aren't going well," fellow senior Robert Hinton said. "We stuck together."

CIF STATE BOYS BASKETBALL SCORES

Harvard-Westlake will take on Salesian, the NorCal champion, on Saturday at 8 p.m. at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento. The Wolverines won the CIF State Open Division championship last year, beating Santa Maria St. Joseph 76-65.

Perry was 11 of 11 from the free throw line Tuesday night and hasn't missed a free throw in his last two games (24 of 24). Hinton scored 14 points, 10 of which came in the second quarter. Nik Khamenia added 13 for the Wolverines.

Roosevelt, which fell to Harvard-Westlake just over a week ago in the CIF Southern Section Open Division final, was led by standout junior Brayden Burries' 24 points. Issac Williamson added 13 for the Mustangs.

Harvard-Westlake led 10-8 in the first quarter and didn't regain the lead until Perry's basket made it 47-46 with six minutes to play. Burries hit a 3-pointer to take the lead back at 54-53 with 2:30 to go, but Khamenia scored to take the lead back for good.

Perry converted an and-1 to give Harvard-Westlake a 59-55 lead with 35 seconds left that kept Roosevelt at bay with the help of made free throws.

Harvard-Westlake's girls basketball team will also be in Sacramento over the weekend after earning a trip to the CIF State Division II final.

Harvard-Westlake girls basketball downs Notre Dame, returns to CIF State final for first time since 2010

SIGHTS & SOUNDS

The celebration ensues as David Rebibo eurosteps the SoCal regional championship plaque into his Harvard-Westlake team.

Sacramento-bound. pic.twitter.com/vDC3ij4bkq
— Tarek Fattal (@Tarek_Fattal) March 6, 2024

Trent Perry, another and-1.

HW leads Roosevelt 59-55 with 35 seconds left. pic.twitter.com/G8KYfWekMs
— Tarek Fattal (@Tarek_Fattal) March 6, 2024

Trent Perry’s bucket gives Harvard-Westlake a 47-46 lead over Roosevelt with 6 to play. pic.twitter.com/jK8JoypcXi
— Tarek Fattal (@Tarek_Fattal) March 6, 2024

Published Mar 6, 2024

TAREK FATTAL

Tarek Fattal has been covering high school sports since 2015 in Southern California and primarily in Los Angeles, covering notable athletes such as Bronny James, Kayvon Thibodeaux and Alyssa Thompson. He was with the LA Daily News for eight years, which included being the beat reporter for the UCLA men's basketball team. Tarek can be seen on TV regularly on CBS/KCAL as a sports analyst with Jim Hill.