Alijah Arenas’ CIF State basketball crowning spoiled by Jesuit’s stout zone defense

Alijah Arenas, the son of Gilbert Arenas, fell short in his second straight CIF State final appearance.

Jesuit's Asher Schroeder (22) and Maison Phillips (5) blocks out Chatsworth's Alijah Arenas during California (CIF) State Division 2 title game. / Photo: Ralph Thompson

SACRAMENTO — Most teams don’t have an answer for superstar Alijah Arenas.

The McDonald’s All-American and USC commit is averaging 30 points per game and can drop 40, 50, even 60 points on any given night — he’s done it before.

But on Saturday evening, Chatsworth had no answer for Jesuit’s zone defense, which stymied Arenas just enough to win the program’s first CIF State title in three tries with a 66-53 victory in the Division 2 final at the Golden 1 Center.

Maison Phillips of Jesuit dribbles around a Chatsworth defender during the California (CIF) State Division 2 state title game at the Golden 1 Center. / Photo by Ralph Thompson

“We’re really good at setting the pace of play,” Jesuit coach Tim Kelly said. “I feel good about keeping a team around 50 points that we are going to win.”

Jesuit assisted on all but three of their 22 made field goals and made eight 3-pointers.

Freshman Maison Phillips led Jesuit (27-9) with 19 points. Luke Browne and Asher Schroeder each had 12 points. Amaury Mckinney added 13 points.

Chatsworth (26-9) shot 41% from the field, made just five 3s (on 19 attempts), and was just 8 of 15 from the free throw line. But despite the numbers, it was the zone that froze the Chancellors.

“We couldn’t knock down enough shots, we weren’t aggressive enough,” Chatsworth coach Sam Harris said of Jesuit’s defense.

Arenas, who scored 22 points in the game and reached 3,002 points for his career, is the son of former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas. Alijah reached the 3,000-point milestone in just three years after reclassifying to the class of 2025.

Alijah Arenas free throws gets him to 3,000 career points. 14th player in CIF history to reach that milestone.

First from the City Section to do so. pic.twitter.com/fH4GxfDyyZ

— Tarek Fattal (@Tarek_Fattal) March 16, 2025

Arenas the 15th CIF player all-time to reache 3,000 points and is the first from the LA City Section to do so. He scored the 22 points on 8 of 21 shooting including 1 of 7 from downtown.

“We should have played harder,” Arenas said. “It was effort, (Jesuit) had more of it on both ends. We should have stuck together a little bit more.”

Jesuit players celebrate winning the California (CIF) State Division 2 championship game at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento. / Photo by Ralph Thompson

No other Chatsworth players scored in double figures. Taj Unuakhalu notched nine points and 10 rebounds.

Chatsworth was in the Division 4 state final last year and lost to Monterey Trail despite Arenas’ 44 points. It’s the first time a City Section team has played in back-to-back CIF State finals since 2009 and 2010.

”And we did it with homegrown, Chatsworth kids, too,” Harris said.

Jesuit coach Tim Kelly proudly hoists the trophy following his team's victory in California (CIF) State Division 2 title game at the Golden 1 Center. / Photo by Ralph Thompson

Jesuit players and coaches pose following their victory in the California (CIF) State Division 2 championship game at the Golden 1 Center. / Photo by Ralph Thompson

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