The562’s coverage of Long Beach Wilson Athletics is sponsored by Joel Bitonio, Class of 2009.
Wilson senior Sean Oliver said, “It was hell,” to miss the last seven games of the regular season due to injury.
“I love being out here with my boys,” he said. “I knew when I came back I had to bring that impact back to get us on track to win this championship.”
Oliver did exactly that while scoring a game-high 29 points and leading Wilson to a 72-63 win over visiting Saint Monica Prep in the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division 4AA playoffs on Friday night.
The victory moves the Bruins to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2008, and they will host Nordhoff on Tuesday.
“These kids did it and they’re a special group,” Wilson coach James Boykin said. “When they’re dialed in they’re really good.”
After a slow start Oliver scored 24 points in the second half, and 14 points in the fourth quarter while making six 3-pointers. Fellow senior Keon Young sparked an 8-0 run in the first quarter that gave the Bruins (20-10) a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Young finished with a double-double 15 points and 11 rebounds, and Oliver thinks Young’s performance was the key to victory.
“He’s probably the best scorer on the team and our best rebounder,” Oliver said.
“(Young) is probably our most consistent player,” Boykin added. “He’s our physicality guy who does the work rebounding and doing the things that go unnoticed, and then he does stuff that is noticed. I love that kid. For he and Sean (Oliver) to show up like that in the playoffs, I can’t ask for much more.”
Wilson led 20-11 early in the second quarter when Saint Monica Prep’s Mouhamed Kandji scored on three consecutive buckets to get his team back into the game. He finished with 20 points.
The Bruins held a 30-24 advantage at halftime and early in the third quarter Oliver hit his first 3-pointer in the corner in front of the Wilson bench to get the big home crowd going again. A few minutes later, he hit two more 3-pointers on consecutive possessions, and the second was an And-1 through contact that put Wilson up 42-30.
“I felt it,” Oliver said of the energy he created in the gym. “We have the best student section in Long Beach, in my opinion, and I had to put on a show because I’ve been talking a lot about winning CIF and State so I’ve got to do my best to make sure that happens.”
“He’s a big time player who had a big time game and it’s been so long since we’ve seen that out of him,” Boykin said of Oliver. “For him to have a special night like that, I couldn’t be happier for him.”
Wilson started to pull away in the third quarter, but Saint Monica Prep’s Luke Johnson sparked a 12-0 run that made it a four-point game headed to the fourth quarter. However, Boykin wasn’t worried.
“We’ve played Bosco, Los Al, Lakewood and Long Beach Poly so we’re battle tested,” Boykin said. “I told them at halftime those teams are better than (Saint Monica Prep) and so we stuck with it.”
Oliver and fellow senior Mikey Kirley both hit huge 3-pointers in the final two minutes of the game to protect the double digit lead.
“It means a lot to me to (transfer from St. John Bosco) to this school and have that impact, but I know none of us are satisfied because we feel like in our division we’re the best team and we won’t be satisfied until we get that ring,” Oliver said.
The fantastic contest was marred in the final seconds when a shoving match between players turned into a scary situation. Saint Monica Prep coaches came out to restrain their players from fighting, but the melee lasted about four minutes and included fans coming onto the court.
After everyone was finally cleared from the court, the referees called the game with 17 seconds still left on the game clock.
“It’s an emotional game and an emotional sport,” Boykin said. “At times things get under your skin and it got to them a little bit. (Their coach) wasn’t happy and the players kind of fed off of that. My guys have experience in these heated battles and I’m so happy that they stayed on the bench. It is what it is and I’m just happy we’re moving on.”
