It has been about three weeks since the boys and girls basketball season started, and Harvard-Westlake has picked up right where it left off last year.
The school’s boys team, coming off its most decorated season in program history, is 8-0 to start the 2024-25 campaign.
Last year the Wolverines won the triple crown — the Mission League title (for a sixth straight season), the CIF Southern Section Open Division crown and the CIF State Open Division championship for the first time.
This year’s boys team had a chance to demonstrate its talent in front of some of the best competition in the country at the Take Flight Challenge showcase over the weekend at Redondo High.
Led by Nikolas Khamenia’s 21 points, eight rebounds and four assists, Harvard-Westlake defeated the defending state champions from Idaho, Owyhee, 74-51.
“I really like our team. We’re very selfless. We know how to share the ball. We kind of know who and what we are and we’re evolving,” Wolverines head coach David Rebibo said. “Guys are accepting larger roles and taking on larger roles. And they’re starting to master those roles.”
Key contributors on last year’s team, Amir Jones and Isaiah Carroll, have joined Duke-bound Khamenia, junior playmaker Joe Sterling and big man Dominique Bentho in the starting lineup.
The reconfigured starting five and the team’s depth presents a bevy of challenges for opposing teams. The Wolverines can score on fastbreak opportunities, stretch the floor and pound the ball on the inside in halfcourt sets with their skilled bigs.
“I think our bigs have developed at a really strong rate and they’re starting to show that as well,” Rebibo said. “I think as Amir and Isaiah kind of continue to come into their own, the potential for this team is extremely high. And, obviously, Nik and Joe are what they are. And they’re really, really talented basketball players who can do a lot. So, it’s exciting.”
The girls squad, led by interim head coach Alex Nailes and assisted by Rebibo, also participated in the Take Flight Challenge.
Harvard-Westlake defeated Lincoln 49-38 on Saturday and beat Daramalan College (Australia) 67-27 on Tuesday to improve to 5-2, a huge improvement from last year’s 2-5 start.
The Wolverines closed last season strong, making the semifinals of the CIF-SS Division 1 playoffs and winning the CIF State Division II championship.
The team has resumed its solid play this year, despite missing senior leader Valentina Guerrero, who fractured her foot in the second game of the season and will likely be out until early January.
Seniors Deana Thompson, who won the Player of the Game award at the Take Flight Challenge, and Bella Spencer, have been shouldering the workload.
The team is also getting key contributions from up-and-coming sophomores Hollen Vann and Oyinkan Iriafen and senior Madison Gillett.
“Deana and Bella obviously lead the way. Oyinkan, Maddie — they’re stepping up and providing sparks and being competitive. Hollen Vann has been playing extremely well and improving game to game,” Rebibo said. “The team is getting better. They’re working hard, they’re playing great defense. They’re organized, they’re prepared and it’s really all you can ask for.”
Both the boys and girls team have a busy upcoming schedule, with the boys flying to Salt Lake City on Thursday to play Bartlett (Tennessee) and Timpview (Utah) before flying home Sunday.
Both teams will take part in the 24th annual Desert Holiday Classic in Rancho Mirage this year, a tournament that hosts some of the best teams in the state and on the West Coast.
The boys will take a trip to Arizona to face Perry in the Hoophall West Tournament and potentially two other teams to start the new year.
Mission League play opens Jan. 7 for the girls and Jan. 8 for the boys against Chaminade.
Sierra Canyon edges Millennium at Take Flight
The Sierra Canyon boys basketball team joined its league counterparts in the Take Flight Challenge over the weekend, defeating Millennium of Arizona 62-61.
The Trailblazers were led by three seniors: Gavin Hightower, Chris Nwuli and Bryce Cofield. Hightower recorded 17 points and six assists, Nwuli scored 16 points and grabbed eight rebounds and Cofield added 10 points.
Sierra Canyon (7-1) travels to New York this week to play Long Island Lutheran on Friday followed by a trip to Las Vegas to play Coronado on Saturday.