Boys basketball roundup: Oaks Christian, Westlake, Thousand Oaks finish as tri-champions
Triple overtime. Triple champions.
In what has been a back-and-forth quest for the Marmonte League boys basketball title, it was fitting the final night of the regular season would end in dramatic fashion.
Oaks Christian earned its first share of Marmonte League championship by outlasting host Westlake in triple overtime, 73-67, on Thursday night to leave the league with three champions.
Oaks Christian (18-10 overall), Westlake (22-6) and Thousand Oaks (22-6) all finished 8-2 in league play to share the championship.
Oaks Christian's last boys basketball title came in 2014, when the Lions won the Tri-Valley League title before joining the Marmonte League the following season. The Lions went 5-6 and finished fourth in the Marmonte last season after going 0-10 the previous season.
Nick Giarrusso hit two clutch free throws with 4.8 seconds left in regulation after being fouled on an out-of-bounds play to send the game into its first of three overtimes and finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds and six assists to lead Thursday's thrilling win. Isayah Garcia had 15 points, six rebounds and three assists, Troy McGovern had 14 points and six rebounds, Brett Johnson contributed 12 points and five rebounds, and Stevie Prudholme scored 10 points for the Lions.
More: Girls basketball: Ventura beats Oxnard to earn share of Channel League title with Buena
Austin Maziasz finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds, Kayden Elsokary had 16 points, nine rebounds, three assists and two blocks, and Dante Deshautelle had 11 points, six rebounds and five assists for the Warriors.
Westlake, which finished fifth last season in the league, won its first Marmonte title since 2020.
Trent MacLean poured in 31 points and grabbed nine rebounds, Elias Chin finished with 21 points, seven rebounds and five assists, Jacob Burton scored eight points, and Luke Koren added six points, three rebounds and two assists as Thousand Oaks earned its share of the league championship with an 88-43 win over Newbury Park.
The Lancers, who finished second in league the last two seasons, earned their first Marmonte title since 2015.
Alex Depatie had 11 points and four assists, Blake Jones had 10 points and four rebounds, and Miles Montero had eight points and five rebounds for the Panthers, who finished their season 12-16 overall and 0-10 in league.
Grayson Coleman scored 17 points and Bryce Dameworth and Josh Ness each had eight points to as Calabasas (18-10, 4-6) defeated Agoura 36-33 to finish fourth in the Marmonte.
The Chargers, who won the league title last season, finished their season 9-19 overall and 2-8 in league.
Santa Paula boys unbeaten in league
Jose Valdovinos scored 23 points to eclipse the 1,000-point mark for his career, Sammy Gomez and JJ De Santiago each had 10 points, and Carlos Xicotencatl and David Alvarez each added seven points as the Santa Paula boys basketball team defeated Hueneme 67-41 to complete the program's first undefeated league championship.
The Cardinals, who secured the Citrus Coast League title on Tuesday for their first outright league title since 1997, finished league play at 12-0 and went 23-5 overall to tie the program record for wins in a season.
Christopher Juanillo led the Vikings with 11 points.
Rajai Moody scored 16 points, Joshua Cardenas had 11 points and Nazir Ivey had nine points as Channel Islands (13-11, 9-3) defeated Malibu 72-23 to finished tied for second place in the Citrus Coast League and qualify for the CIF-SS postseason.
Nordhoff, Hueneme and Fillmore all finished tied for fourth place in the Citrus Coast League at 4-8 and will play tiebreaker games Friday at Santa Paula High to determine the final automatic playoff spot. Nordhoff will face Hueneme at 5 p.m. with the winner playing Fillmore at 7:30.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Oaks Christian, Westlake, Thousand Oaks finish as tri-champions
