FAB 50 No. 31 Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.) upsets No. 2 Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) at the Hoophall West event in Arizona to set up a Saturday championship game (9 pm MT) with still unbeaten and No. 49 De La Salle (Concord, Calif.).
With California’s top three ranked clubs playing in the Nike Tournament of Champions featuring Hoophall West in Gilbert, Ariz., it was actually only one Golden State club that was featured in the event’s eight-team bracket. State No. 1 and FAB 50 No. 9 Roosevelt (Eastvale, Calif.) and No. 2 and FAB 50 No. 10 St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) are playing in three round-robin games at the event, so it was No. 3 and No. 31 Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.) that had the best opportunity to make a big splash on a national stage.
The Wolverines were at No. 31 in the latest FAB 50 National Team Rankings, primarily because of a December 61-49 loss to Timpview (Utah) on the road in Utah, but they have atoned for it big time through their first two games at Highland High School in the Southeast portion of Phoenix’s greater Valley. Coach David Rebibo’s club two games so far are not only great momentum builders in its quest for a never-before-accomplished third consecutive CIF Open Division state championship in California, but also a swoon for all top-rated California clubs.
That’s because Harvard-Westlake upset FAB 50 No. 2 Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.), 66-63, in Friday’s semifinals in a terrific game that came down to the wire. That came on the heels of its 57-54 first round victory over No. 12 Perry (Gilbert, Ariz.) on Thursday evening and those two results will certainly shake up the next FAB 50 update on Jan. 6.
Harvard-Westlake will take its 17-1 record into Saturday’s Hoophall West championship game at 9 pm (MT) at Highland (Gilbert, Ariz.) against another California club, No. 49 De La Salle (Concord, Calif.), in what could be a preview of the 2025 CIF open state title game which is always a North vs. South affair.
Gonzaga, one of the nation’s best programs as part of the powerful Washington Catholic Athletic Conference (WCAC), made only 9-of-26 field goals and had nine turnovers to Harvard-Westlake’s three and still led 25-23 at halftime. It was only a matter of time before the Purple Eagles’ effort started to show up on the scoreboard. They went on 8-0 run to take a 33-27 lead over Harvard-Westlake with 5:47 to go in the 3rd period and led by as many as nine points in the quarter.
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