There was no love between these teams as tension rose in the gym at Mt. San Antonio on Saturday, March 15. Both teams are playing in the season’s biggest game, and there’s only room for one to determine who moves on and who packs up to go home. Fullerton is on their revenge tour after a heartbreaking loss to College of Sequoias in last year’s tournament, and they’re seeking different results this time.
At halftime, Fullerton led 38-30. Although they had the lead, the game was nowhere close to being over. As time went on in the first half, San Bernardino Valley threw new roadblocks at Fullerton with each possession on both sides of the ball. Hornet’s star center Joe Grahovac was double-teamed constantly as the Wolverines began to full-court press the Hornets causing turnover after turnover. Grahovac was unphased as he turned into a low-post distributor, kicking the ball out to his perimeter shooters Addy G’Bye and Jackson Hopps. The versatility of Grahovac shows why he was recently chosen as the CCCMBCA South Player of the Year and the OEC Most Valuable Player.
“I think I could make a great impact for a team at the next level, and I’m looking forward to putting more work in during the offseason and continue to get better every day,” said Grahovac when asked if he has what it takes to play at a higher level.
Coach Perry Webster was colorful with his emotions on the sidelines, begging for foul calls and calling out plays on defense. As frustrated as he looks at times, Webster has full faith in his team and knows they didn’t come this far just to lose.
“I’m about to post this guy up for real,” said Grahovac to the referee right before the ball was inbounded to kick off the second half.
Grahovac meant what he said as he scored the first bucket of the second half with a low-post fade to put his point total at 14. The two teams were getting chippy and the referee’s whistle was making itself heard. Webster was not happy about the officiating as he was seen pleading for a call to be made against San Bernardino Valley after they hacked Fullerton Guard Darvelle Wyatt. One minute later back-to-back foul calls went against the Hornets, visibly upsetting Webster. On the next possession, Fullerton wasted no time getting downhill as Wyatt drove hard to the rim drawing defenders toward him which opened up a no-look dish to G’Bye in the corner, who drills one from behind the arc. G’Bye, on the next play, drove down the lane for a layup, drew contact and got the and-1. G’Bye scored six straight for Fullerton as they went on a 10-3 run to start the second half, putting the lead at 48-33.
Based on the progression, it seems like the Hornets dominated the game, but that was not the case. The Wolverines were strong out of the gates as they won the tip, scored on the first possession then got a quick steal leading to a wide-open three from Jason Hilliard, putting San Bernardino Valley at a 5-0 lead within a minute.
Grahovac couldn’t answer on the other end, which resulted in IEAC Offensive Player of the Year Darius Carr draining a mid-range jumper. To cap off this wild run, Hilliard posterized Grahovac to put San Bernardino Valley at a 9-0 lead.
Webster called a timeout as soon as he saw his team getting plastered early on. One can only guess what Webster told his players, but the timeout forever changed the outlook for the Hornets.
After the timeout, Grahovac made a much-needed jump shot to get Fullerton on the board. The Hornets began to put the clamps on the Wolverines as they figured out their ball rotation and offensive scheme. OEC Defensive Player of the Year Justin Davis, got a steal which was followed by a steal from Wyatt. Fullerton scores eight unanswered points after Wyatt’s two free throws and his finger-roll layup. All-State Fullerton Guard Jaqari Miles caps the Hornets run off with a strong drive to the rack, putting Fullerton up 10-9.
This sequence proved that Webster’s timeout was crucial and now the Wolverines are in shambles.
“I thought we kept the tempo good. We didn’t get too sped up with all their pressuring. For us it’s defend, rebound, take care of the ball. You do those three things you put yourself in a position to win the game,” said Webster.
Grahovac continued to give the Wolverines problems, using his height and length to snatch rebounds and gather lob passes from teammates. San Bernardino Valley was having nightmares about getting layups over Grahovac, forcing them to take contested shots. The combination of Grahovac’s rim protection and G’Bye’s 3-point shooting gave Fullerton a 26-16 lead.
“Holding each other accountable, that was a big thing and making sure everyone stays locked in you know, no mental relapses,” said Grahovac.
The building was loud to start the second half. Neither the fans nor the players wanted to lose this game. The referees were getting heckled by fans throughout the 20 minutes as many believed the game wasn’t being called fairly. With 13:59 to play in the second half, San Bernardino Valley had already racked up seven fouls. San Bernardino Head Coach Quincy Brewer marches out 10 feet into the court, yelling at the referee and winding up with a technical foul, sending Davis to the line for two free throws.
Due to his three fouls, Grahovac was on the bench for a while, opening up the floor for the Wolverines. The lead is now 56-47 in favor of Fullerton around the 11-minute mark. Shadale Knight went on a tear for the Wolverines as he got to the free throw line where he went 7-8 for the game.
Grahovac checked back in at 9:23 left with the score being 60-51. The game tightened up as San Bernardino Valley knew they couldn’t leave Grahovac in an iso situation. Hilliard began to lock down Grahovac on the defensive end and got gritty in the paint as he big-bodied the Fullerton players for some points. After his point total went to 17, Webster called a timeout with the lead getting cut closer to 66-59.
Webster had to settle his team down to make sure they closed out the game and advanced to the championship. Webster’s message was answered as Wyatt put on an absolute masterclass performance down the stretch. Wyatt put the team on his back and went on to stun the Wolverines with 10 straight points, finishing it off with a scoop layup over the San Bernardino Valley defender.
Hope for the Wolverines was lost as the Hornets were up 76-59 with only 2:11 to play. The energy from the crowd was electric and the Fullerton bench was ecstatic as they realized they were two minutes away from a trip to the State Championship.
A career game from Wyatt sealed the deal as he finished with 22 points and 6 rebounds.
“To be honest, I didn’t even know. I was just out there playing with my team and my brothers. We do what we do and it just came to me tonight,” said Wyatt when asked about scoring 10 points in a row.
The game is in the bag and the team is fired up. All the hard work pays off and Fullerton wins the game 83-76 over San Bernardino Valley for a chance to win their sixth state title.
“I’m very proud of our guys. I’m proud of them every day because I’m proud of who they are as people and what they do every day. Obviously, I’m proud of them for winning, but I’m just more proud of the people they are,” said Webster.