EASTVALE — Nothing can completely erase the sting the Roosevelt boys basketball team felt after losing a pair of title games to Harvard-Westlake last season.
Roosevelt guard Myles Walker #2 celebrates after a basket and foul against Harvard-Westlake in a CIF State Open Division boys basketball regional semifinal game in Eastvale on Saturday, March 8, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Roosevelt guard Jackson Haggins #4 tries to block the shot of Harvard-Westlake Dominique Bentho #30 in a CIF State Open Division boys basketball regional semifinal game in Eastvale on Saturday, March 8, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Roosevelt guard Jackson Haggins #4 takes an arm to the face from Harvard-Westlake Cole Holden #5 as they battle for the loose ball in a CIF State Open Division boys basketball regional semifinal game in Eastvale on Saturday, March 8, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Harvard-Westlake Cole Holden #5 defends Roosevelt guard Brayden Burries #5 in a CIF State Open Division boys basketball regional semifinal game in Eastvale on Saturday, March 8, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Roosevelt guard Brayden Burries #5 dunks over Harvard-Westlake’s Joe Sterling #21, Dominique Bentho #30 and Amir Jones #3 in a CIF State Open Division boys basketball regional semifinal game in Eastvale on Saturday, March 8, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Roosevelt guard Brayden Burries #5 celebrates his there pointer with guard Jackson Haggins #4 as Harvard-Westlake Isaiah Carroll #13 reacts in a CIF State Open Division boys basketball regional semifinal game in Eastvale on Saturday, March 8, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Roosevelt guard Issac Williamson #12 steals the ball fro mHarvard-Westlake Nikolas Khamenia #4 in a CIF State Open Division boys basketball regional semifinal game in Eastvale on Saturday, March 8, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Harvard-Westlake Isaiah Carroll #13 blocks the shot of Roosevelt guard Issac Williamson #12 in a CIF State Open Division boys basketball regional semifinal game in Eastvale on Saturday, March 8, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Harvard-Westlake Amir Jones #3 and Harvard-Westlake Cole Holden #5 are unable to pull the rebound away from Roosevelt guard Issac Williamson #12 in a CIF State Open Division boys basketball regional semifinal game in Eastvale on Saturday, March 8, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Harvard-Westlake Dominique Bentho #30 is fouled by Roosevelt Christian Benjamin #10 in a CIF State Open Division boys basketball regional semifinal game in Eastvale on Saturday, March 8, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Roosevelt guard Brayden Burries #5 is defended by Roosevelt guard Kubrick Carenzo #13 in a CIF State Open Division boys basketball regional semifinal game in Eastvale on Saturday, March 8, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Roosevelt guard Issac Williamson #12 helps Roosevelt guard Brayden Burries #5 up after a foul as Harvard-Westlake Nikolas Khamenia #4 yells at an official in a CIF State Open Division boys basketball regional semifinal game in Eastvale on Saturday, March 8, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Roosevelt guard Brayden Burries #5 celebrates after a basket and foul against Harvard-Westlake in a CIF State Open Division boys basketball regional semifinal game in Eastvale on Saturday, March 8, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Harvard-Westlake head coach David Rebibo argues a call with an official during the CIF State Open Division boys basketball regional semifinal game in Eastvale on Saturday, March 8, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Roosevelt guard Brayden Burries #5 celebrates after a basket by Roosevelt guard Jackson Haggins #4 against Harvard-Westlake in a CIF State Open Division boys basketball regional semifinal game in Eastvale on Saturday, March 8, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Brayden Burries fans cheer after a three pointer by Roosevelt guard Brayden Burries #5 against Harvard-Westlake in a CIF State Open Division boys basketball regional semifinal game in Eastvale on Saturday, March 8, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Roosevelt guard Myles Walker #2 dribbles any from Harvard-Westlake defenders in a CIF State Open Division boys basketball regional semifinal game in Eastvale on Saturday, March 8, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Roosevelt guard Myles Walker #2 drives to the hoop for a layup against Harvard-Westlake in a CIF State Open Division boys basketball regional semifinal game in Eastvale on Saturday, March 8, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Roosevelt guard Myles Walker #2 changes direction on Harvard-Westlake’s Amir Jones #3 in a CIF State Open Division boys basketball regional semifinal game in Eastvale on Saturday, March 8, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Harvard-Westlake Amir Jones #3 and Harvard-Westlake Cole Holden #5 are unable to pull the rebound away from Roosevelt guard Issac Williamson #12 in a CIF State Open Division boys basketball regional semifinal game in Eastvale on Saturday, March 8, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Roosevelt head coach Stephen Singleton reacts after a foul against his team in a CIF State Open Division boys basketball regional semifinal game in Eastvale on Saturday, March 8, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Roosevelt guard Brayden Burries #5 drives past Harvard-Westlake Isaiah Carroll #13 in a CIF State Open Division boys basketball regional semifinal game in Eastvale on Saturday, March 8, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Roosevelt guard Issac Williamson #12 defends Harvard-Westlake’s Nikolas Khamenia #4 in a CIF State Open Division boys basketball regional semifinal game in Eastvale on Saturday, March 8, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Roosevelt guard Jackson Haggins #4 flies to the hoop for a layup against Harvard-Westlake in a CIF State Open Division boys basketball regional semifinal game in Eastvale on Saturday, March 8, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Roosevelt guard Myles Walker #2 flies past Harvard-Westlake’s Amir Jones #3 for a layup in a CIF State Open Division boys basketball regional semifinal game in Eastvale on Saturday, March 8, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Roosevelt guard Issac Williamson #12 is defended by Harvard-Westlake Nikolas Khamenia #4 in a CIF State Open Division boys basketball regional semifinal game in Eastvale on Saturday, March 8, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Roosevelt guard Jackson Haggins #4 tries to block the shot of Harvard-Westlake Dominique Bentho #30 in a CIF State Open Division boys basketball regional semifinal game in Eastvale on Saturday, March 8, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Harvard-Westlake Joe Sterling #21 and Harvard-Westlake Cole Holden #5 fight for the ball with Roosevelt guard Myles Walker #2 in a CIF State Open Division boys basketball regional semifinal game in Eastvale on Saturday, March 8, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
Harvard-Westlake Isaiah Carroll #13 walks away after fouling Roosevelt guard Brayden Burries #5 in a CIF State Open Division boys basketball regional semifinal game in Eastvale on Saturday, March 8, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
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Roosevelt guard Myles Walker #2 celebrates after a basket and foul against Harvard-Westlake in a CIF State Open Division boys basketball regional semifinal game in Eastvale on Saturday, March 8, 2025. (Photo by Terry Pierson, The Press-Enterprise/SCNG)
But Saturday night’s result certainly left the Mustangs with a feeling of satisfaction
McDonalds All-American Brayden Burries scored a game-high 29 points, and Myles Walker added 20 more points as the Mustangs exacted a bit of revenge against Harvard-Westlake and pulled away for a 71-59 victory over the two-time defending CIF State Open Division champions.
Roosevelt (33-2) hosts Sherman Oaks Notre Dame (28-7) for this season’s Open Division regional title Tuesday night. It is a rematch of the CIF Southern Section’s Open Division final, which Roosevelt won 74-67 on March 1. Notre Dame held on for a 66-64 win at Santa Maria St. Joseph in Saturday’s other regional semifinal.
Harvard-Westlake beat Roosevelt in last year’s CIF Southern Section Open Division final and again in the CIF State Open Division regional championship game.
“We’ve been waiting for this game for a whole year,” Walker said of this game against Harvard-Westlake. “They ended our season last year, so this was personal.”
Harvard-Westlake (31-3) came out sizzling from the field, as the Wolverines knocked down 11 of 12 shots, including 4 of 5 attempts from behind the 3-point arc. Nikolas Khamenia, another McDonald’s All-American, led the way for Harvard-Westlake, as he racked up 11 points on 5-of-5 shooting during the opening quarter.
Despite those numbers, Harvard-Westlake only led 26-22 after one quarter. Roosevelt made 9 of 16 shots from the field, with Walker scoring nine to lead the way.
Issac Williamson then was assigned the duty to slow down Khamenia, and that he did. Khamenia went only 1 for 12 the rest of the way and finished with 15 points.
“I just tried to get into his face as much as possible,” Williamson said. “He like to draw a lot of contact, but I knew I just had to be smart and not pick up silly fouls.”
Roosevelt opened the second quarter with a 13-4 run to take a 35-30 lead. Burries scored six points in that stretch, and Walker added four more for the Mustangs.
Khamenia made some spectacular passes in the second period, setting up four easy buckets for Dominique Bentho. The Wolverines only trailed 38-36 at halftime.
Harvard-Westlake got within a point early in third period, but Burries made sure the lead didn’t slip away. He scored 12 of Roosevelt’s 18 points in the that quarter.
Roosevelt’s lead was 66-52 with 2 1/2 minutes still remaining on, the clock, but Joe Sterling sparked a 7-0 run that helped Harvard-Westlake cut the deficit in half.
Mustangs coach Stephen Singleton called a timeout to settle down his players. Roosevelt held the Wolverines scoreless the rest of the way to seal the victory.
“We couldn’t let that happen again,” Burries said, referring to Roosevelt letting a double-digit lead slip away in last year’s regional title game at Harvard-Westlake. “That has a lot to do with maturity. We couldn’t let them end our season today.”
Harvard-Westlake coach David Rebibo pointed to a few key possessions in the fourth quarter that halted some of the momentum his team was building.
“I think we had two bad possessions where we just didn’t get into stuff we wanted,” Rebibo said. “It just wasn’t our night, and you have to give credit to Roosevelt.”
Saturday marked one of the rare games Roosevelt won the rebounding battle (35-29). Dominic Copenhagen had a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
“We told Dominic he had to be ready tonight,” Singleton said. “He had to make open shots and move without the ball. He brought a lot or energy and effort tonight.”
Sterling knocked down three 3-pointers and scored 16 points to lead the way for Harvard-Westlake. Isaiah Carroll and Bentho each finished with seven rebounds.
“It’s been an incredible group of people,” Rebibo said about the program’s recent accomplishments, which includes a section championship and a pair of state titles. “We have a lot of young men who have bought in, sacrificed and given everything they have. That’s a credit to them, and I respect our guys for what they’ve done.”
