Harvard-Westlake Wins Another Section Title

IRVINE — Ho-hum. North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake won another Southern Section boys’ basketball title.

That was the demeanor of the state’s top-ranked Wolverines after beating Inglewood Morningside, 84-64, Thursday night in a Division III-A final in front of 931 at the Bren Center.

After winning three consecutive section titles, what else could it be but business as usual?

“This is great and all but we’ve been here before and our goal is to get back to [the state final],” said Wolverine guard Rico Cabrera, who scored a team-high 22 points, including 16 in the first half.

Harvard-Westlake (32-1), which won its first three playoff games by an average of 43 points, was never threatened.

Six-foot-10 twins Jason and Jarron Collins were double-teamed often and the Monarchs rarely gave either of them a clear shot under the basket. Three Monarchs, including two starters, each had four fouls before the start of the fourth quarter.

But each of the twins grabbed 13 rebounds and combined for 33 points.

Morningside (22-6), which had won 18 straight before facing Harvard-Westlake, had three players in double figures but shot only 34% from the floor.