Brayden Burries’ final career performance on his home court left a lasting impression in Eastvale Roosevelt High boys basketball program history Tuesday night, giving the McDonald’s All-American and the top-seeded Mustangs an opportunity to play for an Open Division state championship following a 79-76 victory against No. 3 Sherman Oaks Notre Dame in the Southern California Regional final.
Burries scored 16 of his game-high 37 points in the fourth quarter, including a 3-pointer with 1:11 remaining to give the Mustangs a 70-68 advantage, and Roosevelt (34-2) never trailed the rest of the way.
Burries hit six 3-pointers and converted 9 of 11 free-throw attempts for the Mustangs, in addition to contributing four rebounds and three assists.
Roosevelt, which has won 11 in a row, will play at 8 p.m. Saturday in the Open Division state final at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento against Northern California Regional winner Archbishop Riordan (29-1), a 52-40 winner against Concord De La Salle (28-5).
Archbishop Riordan, which has won 20 straight contests, earned its fourth all-time berth in a state championship game, seeking its first Open Division crown after securing a Division 3 title in 2002 in its last finals appearance.
The Mustangs won the 2017 Division 1 championship with a 54-45 victory against James Logan in their only previous appearance in a state final.
Roosevelt prevailed in its only previous meeting against Archbishop Riordan, with a 77-72 victory last season in the NorCal Tip-Off Classic at Dublin High.
Roosevelt also extended its home winning streak to 30 consecutive games Tuesday, with the Mustangs’ last loss in 2023 against Big VIII League rival Corona Centennial.
Eastvale Roosevelt boys basketball team | Photo courtesy of Eastvale Roosevelt
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame (28-8) suffered its third loss of the season against Roosevelt, including a 74-67 setback March 1 in the CIF-Southern Section Open Division final at Toyota Arena in Ontario.
The Knights rallied from a nine-point halftime deficit Tuesday to grab a 54-53 advantage entering the fourth quarter.
Burries and Myles Walker, who had 10 points, 10 assists and four steals, hit back-to-back 3-pointers for the Mustangs to regain the lead at 59-54 early in the fourth.
NaVorro Bowman, who had 19 points for the Knights, hit a 3-pointer with three minutes remaining to put Notre Dame back in front at 66-64.
Bowman made a pair of free throws with 1:39 left to give the Knights their final lead at 68-67, before Burries hit his biggest 3-pointer of the night to help the Mustangs regain the advantage for good.
Burries extended the Roosevelt lead to a four-point margin by making two free throws with 43 seconds remaining.
Tyran Stokes, who led Notre Dame with 23 points, hit one of two free-throw attempts with 38 seconds left to close the gap to 72-69.
Stokes was held to only two fourth-quarter points for the Knights, who also endured a 76-58 loss Dec. 21 against Roosevelt at the Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas.
Walker sank two free throws to give the Mustangs a 77-72 lead with 24 seconds remaining.
Notre Dame cut the deficit to a three-point margin again following a layup with 16 seconds left, but Burries and Isaac Williamson both made free throws in the final 13 seconds to create enough of a cushion for Roosevelt, despite another late basket from the Knights.
Williamson contributed 21 points and three steals, with Dominic Copenhagen adding eight points for the Mustangs, who made 10 3-point field goals and hit 17 of 24 free-throw attempts overall.