The Sunnyslope Vikings won the Open Division State Championship after a hard fought nine-point victory—the game finale 60-51.

The game featured several of the nation’s top prospects.

The big name of the night was St. Mary’s five-star senior Cameron Williams, while Sunnyslope entered with a star-studded lineup of its own, highlighted by five-star junior Darius Wabbington, four-star senior Rider Portela, and three-star junior Delton Prescott.

The two teams had played each other earlier in the season which resulted in a dominant win from Sunnyslope, 65-43, but entering the championship game, St Mary’s was determined to have a different ending.

Coming from an upset win against Millennium off a game winning three from Mick Riordan, St. Mary’s had proven themselves capable of winning against the premier schools in the state.

Sunnyslope going to be a tough matchup. Ranked fifth in the nation compared to St Mary’s 70th ranked spot.

As fans began to file into the iconic Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Saturday the atmosphere was strong with fan support. Sunnyslope’s Rider Portela said after the game how much the fans impacted the game.

“They give us the confidence, we saw how many people were there, they gave us the confidence, and they believed in us,” Portela said.

The student sections for both teams were on fire.

Wabbington started the game quickly, scoring the first four points for Sunnyslope.

However, it did not take long for Williams to make his presence known.

After converting an and-one opportunity, Williams later knocked down a three-pointer over Wabbington to close the quarter.

St Mary’s held a slim 11-10 lead at the end of the first.

The second quarter was more or less the same as teams traded bucket for bucket, a three from Sunnyslope followed by a  powerful dunk from Williams.

When Williams went to the bench, Sunnyslope took advantage. Led by Portela they took a five- point lead.

St Mary’s answered back as soon as Williams returned, knocking down two three-pointers giving the Knights a one-point lead.

By halftime it was anyone’s game, with Sunnyslope clinching a meager 25-24 lead.

Wabbington after starting the game firing, quickly cooled off he then changed the narrative in the second half, Sunnyslope head coach Ray Portela commented on this change of pace

“He’s a great kid, but Darius didn’t have a very good first half, but he battled in the second half and came back,” Portela said.

Wabbington went to work on Williams in the post scoring the first basket of the half. Williams fired back with a mid-range fadeaway.

The game continued to go back and forth, being a game of runs.

After a Riordan three, St Mary’s found themselves with a seven-point lead, 37-30.

From here though the momentum began to shift.

A controversial goaltending call was made against Williams, which was also ruled a shooting foul. Sunnyslope missed the free throw but converted a putback, resulting in a four-point play.

Following the call, St. Mary’s head coach Damin Lopez was assessed a technical foul.

Sunnyslope capitalized, converting both technical free throws and retaining possession.

The ensuing possession ended with another Sunnyslope three-pointer, completing a nine-point swing and giving the Vikings a 39–37 lead.

The fourth quarter saw St Mary’s regain control with a quick six-point lead following a mid-range-pull-up from Carter Bagley.

Although a hook shot from Wabbington and a three from Prescott was enough to tie the game at 48-48 with four minutes left to play.

The momentum continued to be with Sunnyslope with Prescott hitting a contested midrange and Portela punching in a putback dunk, taking a four-point lead.

Williams tried his best to slow down Sunnyslope racking up block after block, but after a costly missed free throw from St Mary’s Noah Ondoua.

Immediately following Ondoua’s free throws Sunnyslope sunk the dagger converting an and-one off the inbounds, sealing the game.

Sunnyslope closed out the win in the Open Division State Championship, final score, 60-51.

Sunnyslope was led by Presscott’s 16 points and Portela’s stellar stat line of 16 points, 17 rebounds, and two assists which earned him the MVP award for the game.

Williams finished with a game high 23 points and following the loss was seen consoling his teammates.

When asked what it took to accomplish this win, Portela responded with the team’s chemistry

“It took everything we really needed to put aside our differences and work together as a team, no one really cares who takes the shots, as long as you know everyone’s going to work hard. That’s all I can ask for in a team,” Portela said.

It was clear—Sunnyslope was the superior team—perhaps not possessing the best player on the court, but certainly the best team on the court.

Sunnyslope’s head coach Portela was asked how proud he was of his son Rider

“I’m proud of all of them. I tell them they’re all my kids. So I love them all and I try to tell them that every day. I’m gonna miss them,” Portela said.

Many of the players in the championship game have bright futures ahead.

Williams is committed to Duke, while Portela has committed to Colorado.

Sunnyslope’s other standouts Delton Prescott and Darius Wabbington both look toward next season.

Wabbington told Northeast Valley News one simple message, “Watch out-we’ve got more coming.”