Brayden Burries finishes with 44 points to lead Roosevelt past Riordan in Open Division state championship game
Brayden Burries finishes with 44 points to lead Roosevelt past Riordan in Open Division state championship game
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SACRAMENTO — For 30 straight games, Riordan was a stingy defensive team that strung together stops when the Crusaders needed to most.
The San Francisco school had the athleticism, length and grit to match up with just about anybody it faced. Riordan hung its hat on defense all year, not allowing an opponent to score more than 60 points in a single game
But in the final and most important game of the season, the Crusader’s defense was helpless against Roosevelt-Eastvale’s Brayden Burries.
Burries, a five-star recruit, broke the record for most points scored in an Open Division final as he finished with 44 points to lead Roosevelt to a 80-60 win over Riordan and a state championship in an all-time performance. Roosevelt won its second state title and its first in the Open Division.
“I feel like I was just in that mode,” Burries said. “And then when I got in the court, it was over for them.”
Burries was an efficient 15 of 22 from the field and also grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds.
“I think he got going early,” Riordan coach Joey Curtain said of Burries’ performance. “We tried face guarding him. We tried throwing different bodies at him, different types of defenders, different sizes.
“Hats off to Burries there. He played phenomenal.”
Riordan senior and Texas A&M commit Jasir Rencher led the Crusaders with 22 points and junior Andrew Hilman totaled 11.
Roosevelt believed Riordan wasn’t ready to play a team like the Mustangs.
“No disrespect to Riordan, they play hard and they’re a tough team,” Roosevelt coach Stephen Singleton said. “But what we went through to get here is unmatched across the whole country. … They haven’t seen what we’ve seen all year.”
Led by Burries, Roosevelt punished Rioirdan’s defense early.
The Mustangs got to the free throw line often, hitting all 13 of their foul shots in the first quarter. Riordan’s offense played well as the Crusaders shot 46.2% from the field in the first half, but didn’t have an answer for Burries.
Burries shot 10 for 13 from the field and hit all four of his free throws to finish with 27 points in the first half. The five-star recruit scored in just about any way he wanted, hitting outside shots and scoring in transition even as Riordan threw double teams his way.
Hilman’s 10 points kept Riordan in the game as the Crusaders went down 44-33 at half.
The halftime break didn’t cool Burries down in the third quarter. Riordan threw multiple defenders at Burries, but the 6-foot-4 senior was already in a groove.
He made a ridiculous pull-up 3 from the top of the key and was fouled in the process that pushed Roosevelt’s lead to 16 just minutes into the second half.
An up-and-under layup, a couple of free throws and an and-one pull-up jumper capped off Burries’ 12-point third quarter. Roosevelt led by 17 entering the final period and Riordan never threatened to get back in the game.
The Crusaders made just two field goals in the fourth quarter and couldn’t string together stops to stifle Roosevelt’s run.
Burries’ final made field goal came on a thunderous one-handed slam after Roosevelt successfully broke a Riordan press to hammer the nail even farther into Riordan’s coffin.
“What we saw on film was that they played hard for maybe the first 10 seconds of a possession, but after that it starts opening up,” Singleton said. “They’re not as disciplined as I feel like we are.”
Saturday’s loss won’t change the fact that Riordan’s had one of the most dominant seasons the Bay Area has seen.
In the leadup to the Open Division final, Riordan ran through the West Catholic Athletic League, defeating opponents by an average of 38 points. The Crusaders then went on to defeat WCAL foe St. Ignatius in the CCS Open Division championship game and East Bay powerhouses Salesian and De La Salle to capture the NorCal title.
It’s a season the Crusaders won’t forget.
“It’s every kid’s dream to win the section title and state title too,” Rencher said. “We came up short, but it means everything to the north. I got my 15 guys over anybody’s 18 guys any night.”
