OAKLAND — Ardarius Grayson, Oakland Tech’s senior star guard, didn’t celebrate when the final horn sounded. He high-fived his teammates, flashed a calm smile and went to sit on the bench. This was business as usual.
His free throw sealed the top-seeded Bulldogs’ a 66-60 win over Oakland to win the Oakland Section championship, held Wednesday at Fremont High in East Oakland. Tech now waits for its next opponent when the state tournament bracket is released on Sunday.
Grayson finished with 13 points, his second consecutive game where he struggled to score. In the team’s last meeting two weeks ago, he needed 23 shots to score 17 points. But Tech prevailed with its physicality, tough shot making and ability to get stops.
And because it had the best player on the floor.
Grayson’s passing, penetration, defense and his refusal to lose was too much for the No. 3 Wildcats (22-8).
“Tech did what they were supposed to do,” Oakland coach Orlando Watkins said. “They’re the champs, and they’re the champs for a reason. They had a great game plan, weathered our storm in the beginning and proceeded to kick our (expletive) the rest of the game.”
Wednesday marked the 11th game between Tech and Oakland in the last three seasons. The Bulldogs’ 10 wins have been by an average score of 6.4 points per game. The only game Grayson has lost to Tech’s rival was the 2023 CIF NorCal Division III championship.
The Bulldogs, having beat the Wildcats twice that season, gave up home court advantage to accommodate the demand. The game was played at Laney College before a standing-room only crowd. Oakland won that game by 16 and went onto win the state championship.
Since then, Tech has won seven straight in the rivalry, including all three meetings this season. Grayson has averaged 21 points during the win streak over the Wildcats and has been the difference late in games.
“We knew it was going to be a physical game,” Tech coach Karega Hart said. “We started slow. I wasn’t very happy about the way we started. But you know, basketball is all about runs and our bench came in and gave us some good minutes and played tough defense. That’s why it’s a team game, you start slow and guys come in ready to make plays and change the energy and flow of the game.”
Junior wing Jasen Davis led the Bulldogs with 15 points and senior guard Caleb Rollins totaled 14 points.
Oakland was led by 6-foot-5 junior Romyn Waugh, who scored 12 points.
After falling behind 22 points with just over two minutes left in the third quarter, Oakland responded with an 8-0 run, which included back-to-back three-pointers by Couraji West and Khaleed Odumuyiwa.
The Bulldogs needed their captain to quiet the growing optimism and momentum the Wildcats were gaining.
Grayson drove toward his right, attacking his defender as he had done the entire night. Two other Wildcats met him in the air. He landed square on his tailbone and stayed down for several minutes. After splitting the ensuing free throws, Grayson hobbled over to the bench in obvious pain. He could only watch as his Bulldogs took a 13-point lead into the final 10 minutes.
The fourth quarter started with Grayson still on the bench, and back-to-back turnovers to start the quarter opened the door for the Wildcats and prompted Grayson to limp to the scorer’s table.
Oakland had whittled the lead back down to 10, the closest it had been since the first quarter.
But Grayson answered.
With a Wildcats defender draped all over him, he used a double crossover to get to his pull-up jumper, fading right and burying it from the right elbow.
It was an illustration of how this game would end. Oakland would get close, but Grayson kept the Wildcats at bay. It wasn’t a great offensive night, but he made enough plays and controlled the game. He got enough help from his teammates to survive the threat from the Wildcats.
“We rely on a lot of guys,” Hart said. “It’s a total team, it’s not one or two players that’s going to be the determining factor. Basketball’s the ultimate team game, of course he plays a huge part, but it’s next man up. Guys got to step up and make plays. And that’s what’s expected from everybody on the team.”
And it helps to have the best player on the floor.
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Girls Championship Tech vs Skyline
The top-seeded Oakland Tech girls’ basketball team led off the night by cruising to a CIF Oakland Section girls basketball championship 75-22 win over the No. 4 Skyline.
The Titans, fresh off a win over No. 2 KIPP King, came in hungry to prove they could hang with the Bulldogs, who had beaten them two times in the regular season by an average of 40 points.
Any hope that Skyline had was quickly crushed. The Bulldogs (20-8, 8-0) jumped on the Titans immediately, scoring the first 26 points of the game. Skyline’s first basket didn’t come until the 2:16 mark of the first quarter on a three-point play by Jane Alexander. Tech responded with the next 13 points and finished the first quarter leading 36-3.
Ball game.
Bulldogs coach Leroy Hurt pulled his starters early after what he said was his team’s “best first quarter of the year.”
“It felt awesome,” said Hurt, whose Bulldogs have beaten Skyline by a combined margin of 133 points in three games. “And the first quarter set up that subbing. … We took care of business and that set it up where the two stars didn’t play after the first quarter.”
Junior post players Jhai Johnson and Terri’A Russell combined for 23 points in limited action. Tech’s dominance paved the way for sophomore guard Nailah Davis, who led the Bulldogs with 20 points.
Oakland Tech’s Jhai Johnson #5 run a fast break against visiting Oakland High, Friday, Jan. 24, 2025, in Oakland, Calif. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
