Ramsey Huff, the most unsung player on a Corona Centennial team that has looked unbeatable over the past month, started the Southern California Open Division regional final against Chatsworth Sierra Canyon with a three on Tuesday. Before the half ended, he had made four threes and drove past two McDonald’s All-Americans, Amari Bailey and Kijani Wright, for a layup as UCLA coach Mick Cronin looked on from the baseline probably wondering, “Who is that guy?”
“He’s been absolutely amazing all year,” Centennial coach Josh Giles said of the 6-foot-1 senior guard. “You can make the argument he’s been our most valuable player at times.”
Sierra Canyon left him open too many times and Huff made the Trailblazers pay. He finished with 20 points as all five starters reached double figures in Centennial’s 83-59 victory to earn the Huskies a trip to the state championship game on Saturday at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
For the last month, Centennial (32-1) has been unstoppable. No opponent has come closer than 20 points.
“This is just an unbelievable group,” Giles said. “Everything about them — they’re a coach’s dream.”
The reason Huff might be overlooked is that Centennial already has an excellent guard duo in Donovan Dent and Jared McCain. Dent was creating his usual problems with his ability to penetrate into the key or dish to a teammate. His lob to Aaron McBride, resulting in a dunk, gave the Huskies a 32-20 lead halfway through the second quarter. It was 38-24 at halftime after Huff’s layup.
Devin Williams finished with 19 points, Dent 18, McBride 13 and McCain 10. Sierra Canyon (26-5) received 15 points from Bailey in his final high school game. Isaiah Elohim added 14 points.
Dent played the whole game even though he injured his knee against Studio City Harvard-Westlake.
“He played incredible,” Giles said.
The pregame festivities included a long line of fans outside Centennial’s gym gathering 90 minutes before tipoff, with a DJ playing music so loud earplugs should have been provided. The father of Centennial’s Devin Williams participated in a dance contest in his red sweats while people complained the gym was so cold they should have brought a jacket.
The game started with Centennial making three consecutive three-pointerss, two by Huff, for a 9-0 lead. Sierra Canyon never got closer than within 13 points in the second half. Centennial has never won a state title and will play Modesto Christian at 8 p.m. Saturday.
In Division I girls, Los Angeles Windward defeated Orangewood Academy 61-58. Freshman Samari Bankhead had 16 points for Windward.
In Division I boys, La Verne Damien defeated Irvine Crean Lutheran 58-53. Kaleb Smith had 16 points while Spivey Word and RJ Smith added 14 points apiece.
In Division II boys, Santa Ana Foothill defeated Hacienda Heights Los Altos 46-41 while in Division III boys, Venice defeated Calabasas Viewpoint 62-55. Devyn Johnson scored 24 points and Tyler Hunt 22. It’s the first trip to the state championships for both schools.
For all the latest Sports News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
Denial of responsibility! NewsBit.us is an automatic aggregator around the global media. All the content are available free on Internet. We have just arranged it in one platform for educational purpose only. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, all materials to their authors. If you are the owner of the content and do not want us to publish your materials on our website, please contact us by email – [email protected]. The content will be deleted within 24 hours.
