SACRAMENTO – Salesian, under the brightest lights, on the state’s biggest stage, against California’s most talented team, played its game.
After Elias Obenyah bullied his way to the bucket and flipped in a hook shot with 1 ½ minutes left to give Salesian a one-point lead, the Richmond program stood on the brink of a monumental upset.
The ultimate embodiment of a team, one that went 10-deep, lost that lead and the state title when Harvard-Westlake McDonald’s All-American Trent Perry made a layup past all five defenders, hit a tough mid-range jumper and canned two free throws to finish the game.
Harvard-Westlake defeated Salesian 50-45 to repeat as the California Open Division champions.
“In the last minute and a half, the switch kind of clicked,” Perry said.
After Perry made his mid-range jump shot with a hand in his face to put the SoCal champs up 48-45, Salesian had a chance to tie the game with 25 seconds remaining.
The Pride committed a turnover, its second in the final minute, on a wild pass to give Harvard-Westlake the ball back and essentially ice the game.
“We’ve had so much fun coaching this group because not only did they buy into everything we were teaching, sharing the ball and running the floor and playing defense,” Mellis said. “But because they’re just great kids.”
Obenyah led Salesian with 14 points and De’Undrae Perteete scored 10. Robert Hinton went 7 of 8 from the field to lead Harvard-Westlake with 19 and Trent Perry had 17.
The fact that Salesian pushed one of SoCal’s great teams to the brink was a testament to the Richmond’ schools system and the selfless players that made it great.
The Pride, which went the entire season without having a player average double-digit in points, passed the ball from one side to the other and screened with a purpose.
After going down 21-11 at the end of the first quarter, Salesian’s veteran group refused to get rattled. Senior guard Aaron Hunkin-Claytor found De’Undrae Perteeete for a layup to start the second period, and then Zion Yeargin canned a couple threes to make it a five-point game again.
Being hounded by Harvard-Westlake’s taller and more athletic defenders at Sacramento’s Golden 1 Center and playing in front of thousands, Salesian’s players ran their motion sets, taking and making their open shots.
“Our chemistry helped us get all this way, because nobody cared who scored,” Perteete. said. “As long as we got the win, everyone was winning.”
Staring down the defending champion and its array of high-profile stars, Salesian coach Bill Mellis’ team trusted in their system in Salesian’s heartbreaking loss.
With the stakes at their highest, Salesian did what it had all season against elite teams.
The Pride trailed just 31-27 at halftime, and was tied with the SoCal power at 42 apiece with around four minutes left in the game.
“We’ve been in that situation before, so coming out of the break, we knew we just had to take it quarter at a time,” Hunkin-Claytor said. “We just came up short.”
After Obenyah made a close basket to tie the score at 42, Salesian went on a three-plus minute scoring drought. The Pride got good looks, including a multitude at the rim.
But the shots just wouldn’t fall. In the end, Harvard-Westlake’s veteran group made Salesian pay.
“They gave us everything we could handle and more,” Harvard-Westlake coach David Rebibo said. “It was a heavyweight bout with knockout punch after knockout punch. In the end, the team with the most resolve was going to finish it, and I’m glad it was us.”
Salesian lost one game, a 68-66 overtime thriller to eventual CIF Division I state champions St. John Bosco-Bellflower, in the regular season. The Richmond program entered Saturday night on a 19-game winning streak, something that wasn’t achieved against a cupcake schedule.
After cruising to yet another Tri-County Athletic League title, Salesian defeated traditional East Bay powers San Ramon Valley and De La Salle to capture the North Coast Section Open Division title.
Mellis’ juggernaut then carried that momentum into NorCal Open play.
After not winning a game in five trips to the region’s toughest bracket, the Pride suffocated perennial participant Modesto Christian in the semifinals before outlasting a more athletic and taller Archbishop Riordan team to punch its ticket to Sacramento.
Salesian ends its season 31-2, firmly entrenched among the pantheon of great units Mellis has coached in 26 years at the Richmond powerhouse.
He has had more talented teams, with more star power and name recognition.
But there was no doubt in Mellis’ mind that this year’s group-oriented team, even with the title game loss, was among his best.
“We’ve had a lot of success over the years, and this (team) is right up there,” Mellis said. “This team accomplished something the other teams couldn’t in the Open Division. It’s a good question and a hard answer. But they’re up there.”
