State D-1: Centennial Falls To Monte Vista
Monte Vista Shoots its Way To 66-55 Victory
Division I State Championship:
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Monte Vista Mustangs 66, Corona Centennial Huskies 55By Gerry Freitas
SACRAMENTO - The Monte Vista Mustangs' Trevor John came out firing, nailing five three-pointers in the first quarter (and 6 for the game) to lead his team to a 66-55 victory over the Centennial Huskies for the Division I State championship on Friday evening at Sleep Train Arena.
Monte Vista finishes its remarkable run with a 32-1 record in its first title game appearance ever. Centennial ends the season at 29-4, also in its first championship game appearance.
When high school teams play on the big stage in a professional arena they usually don't shoot the ball very well. Don't tell Trevor John that. He knocked down 6 of 9 from three range, tying a Division I record (set by Katin Reinhardt of Mater Dei) for most threes in a state title game.
John was casual about his own performance afterward simply saying, "Wherever you go the hoops are still ten feet."
John's shooting gave Monte Vista a 20-12 lead after one quarter and they would never trail in the game. The Mustangs built the lead up to 17 points (51-34) after three quarters and held on in the final period to secure the win.
"Sometimes you're really hot and sometimes you're really cold. They were hot," said Centennial coach Josh Giles. Monte Vista shot 68% (11-16) on threes for the game. Centennial was an abysmal 11% (2 of 18) from three-point land.
Monte Vista coach Nick Jones was asked what the victory meant for the Monte Vista program. "It's just special," said Jones. "It's a special group of kids. The chemistry has been phenomenal. They did something very special. I can't say enough."
John (who is headed to Cal Poly SLO) led all scorers in the game with 23 points. Senior Grant Jackson chipped in with 12 for the Mustangs.
Junior Sedrick Barefield (SMU commit) led Centennial with 16 points and senior Deontae North (Long Beach State) and sophomore Jordan Griffin each had 14.
Scoring Totals:
Monte Vista (66): Trevor John 23, Brendan Pedley 9, Grant Jackson 12, Rishi Satoor 7, Spencer Rust 8, Stefan Mitu 3, Wilson LaShells 4.
Centennial (55): Sedrick Barefield 16, Deontae North 14, Khalil Ahmad 5, Jordan Griffin 14, Kyle Hamilton 5, Marcus Ford 1.