All photos by Benjamin Becher.

SUN VALLEY – Just 10 days earlier, Granada Hills and Poly faced off in the LA City Section Division 1 semifinals. In that matchup, the top-seeded Highlanders had home court advantage but fell to the fifth-seeded Parrots, who rode a dominant 35-point performance from super-senior JD Wyatt. Now in the State Playoffs, the roles were reversed, with Poly as the higher seed. However, Granada Hills head coach Jonathan Bent wasn’t fazed. Determined not to let Wyatt take over again, Bent assigned senior Izaiah Williams to shadow Wyatt full-court the entire game, a strategy that disrupted Wyatt and kept the ball out of his hands.

Poly head coach Joe Wyatt’s response to Bent’s adjustment was to move the ball and find the open man—make the Highlanders pay for double teams on his son. And senior Quian Khawaja stepped up, keeping the ball in his capable hands and becoming the aggressor, scoring 14 first-half points while dishing out three assists. However, the Parrots’ supporting cast struggled to hit shots—an issue compounded by Granada Hills’ tenacious perimeter defense, led by senior Julius Washington.

From the tip, the Highlanders signaled their intent to avenge the loss as they raced to an early lead before Poly’s Jao Libuano sparked a response with three quick steals leading to transition buckets. Wyatt then made his presence felt with a steal and a breakaway dunk, giving Poly a 10-6 lead with 4:37 left in the opening frame and sending the crowd into a frenzy. Sensing Wyatt might lead the Parrots on one of their patented runs, Coach Bent called a timeout to settle his team. The adjustment worked, as the Highlanders took better care of the ball and found their rhythm offensively.

Washington emerged as Granada Hills’ offensive catalyst. Determined to be more of a factor than he had been in the previous match, Washington knocked down a pair of three-pointers and repeatedly attacked the paint with crafty finishes. He was a perfect 5-for-5 from the field in the first half and capped the opening quarter with a buzzer-beating three to cut Poly’s lead to 16-15.

Granada Hills carried that momentum into the second quarter as they opened on a 10-4 run, taking a 25-20 advantage. Senior Quion Williams found his groove scoring 8 in the frame, while juniors Mateo Achoyan and Kristapor Kedikian applied non-stop defensive pressure pressured Poly into playing too fast and committing uncharacteristic mistakes. Achoyan’s shot wasn’t falling, but Kedikian converted several buckets around the paint.

Meanwhile, the Parrots struggled from beyond the arc, missing all six of their three-point attempts in the first half and finishing just 1-for-14 from beyond the arc overall. Izaiah Williams and the Highlanders double teams held Wyatt to 10 first-half points—a relatively quiet outing by his standards. Khawaja hit buzzer-beater at the half but Poly and their 17-game winning streak were in jeopardy, trailing 31-28 at the half.

Wyatt opened the second half determined to ignite a comeback, knocking down a pair of quick buckets, including a three-pointer, and finally earning several trips to the free-throw line—something the Highlanders had worked hard to limit. However, Washington remained relentless, frequently driving Wyatt into the paint, accounting for 8 more tough points in the quarter, keeping Granada Hills ahead at 35-30 with 5:59 left in the third quarter.

Libuano continued to disrupt defensively, swiping possessions and helping his Parrots close the gap to 39-36 with 3:21 left in the third. It seemed like poly was on the verge of a momentum shift, but their lack of depth—relying heavily on their starting five—began to take its toll and by the end of the third quarter, the Highlanders had extended their lead to 47-40.

Desperate for a spark, Poly deployed a full-court press in the fourth quarter. The press proved to be a double-edged sword, creating turnovers but also leading to easy buckets for a disciplined Highlanders squad. Determined to keep his team in the fight, Wyatt attacked the paint and drew fouls, scoring 17 second-half points. However, his offense came in hard-fought, isolated moments rather than the electrifying runs Poly needed. With Washington and Kedikian continuing to deliver buckets on the other end, the tired Parrots never gained the momentum necessary to stage a comeback.

In the end, Granada Hills’ relentless defense and balanced scoring secured the 65-56 victory, avenging their earlier loss and setting up a showdown against top-seeded Fresno Christian in the Regional Final on Tuesday at 7:00 PM.

Khawaja capped off a senior season as the perfect Robin to Wyatt’s Batman, with 19 points 5 assists and 5 rebounds. For JD, who finished with 27 points, and his father Joe Wyatt, the loss marked a bittersweet ending. “He was special. He faced double teams, triple teams. Having Quian (Khawaja) come over took some of the pressure off. But, I never thought (JD) would average 28 points both years. He hasn’t disappointed me — he works his butt off. I think he’s earned the right to be a college player. I think he’s a D1 basketball player, in my eyes, but he doesn’t have one offer. Not D2, not D3 — nothing. For him to grind like he has, win a city championship — proving he’s a winner— and give everything and for him not to complete the journey… it’s ridiculous.” You don’t have to be a scout to see what he brings to a team night-in-and-night-out. Any college in need of a prolific, dynamic, and athletic scorer should look no further than J.D. Wyatt.

Bent spoke about his approach to containing Wyatt after the game: “Not letting him turn a corner. (laughter) Right? I mean, they had 19 points from the free throw line the last time we played them. You can’t win that way.” He credited his team’s resilience, saying, “We were able to keep our composure, compile some stops, and get some rebounds. We went a little smaller (line up) so we could play a little faster. (Poly) did a great job last time really getting after (Masumyan). He’s a 20-point game-capable guy, and for him to be such a great teammate, knowing we had to make adjustments but still being ready when his number got called… that was huge. That’s the kind of selflessness we’ve preached all year.”

Kedikian accounted for 14 points, Williams contributed 12 but it was Washington—whose 29 points led all scorers. “(Washington) makes our engine go,” Bent reflected. “He played both ends of the floor. Part of it was to play with more pace because I know they got a limited number of guys they want to play. So I wanted to tax their bodies by the end of the game. And I think we were able to execute that plan.”

Division IV Regional Final is set for this Tuesday at 7:00 PM!