Boys’ basketball: Young Harvard-Westlake opens Mission League with win over Loyola

There were three freshmen and a sophomore on the court at key moments for Harvard-Westlake on Wednesday night in its Mission League basketball opener against Loyola before a sold-out crowd in Studio City.

Sophomore Cassius Stanley sent the fans into a frenzy with a couple of thuderous dunks in the fourth quarter. Everyone better take advantage of the Wolverines’ youth while they can, because one day, they’re going to be very tough to beat.

Despite bouts of inconsistency, the Wolverines prevailed, 61-54, against a feisty Loyola team that got back senior guard Khristion Courseault, who produced 15 points in his season debut after suffering a broken hand from an accident.

“We’re learning and growing,” Harvard-Westlake Coach David Rebibo said.

The Wolverines (9-6) got leadership and 14 points from senior Carter Begel, who made an important three with 2:27 left to put Harvard-Westlake ahead, 53-47.

Stanley finished with 21 points. He has a new role this season, playing point guard. With UCLA Coach Steve Alford in the bleachers, Stanley had his ups and downs but his talent is massive. He’s learning to create shots and scoring opportunities for teammates, and by season end, if all goes well, the Wolverines will be quite OK.

Freshmen Mason Hooks, Terren Frank and Johnny Juzang all made contributions.

As for Loyola (8-4), Coach Jamal Adams is doing one of his best coaching jobs. Seemingly every game, there’s a new leading scorer. That means the Cubs are hustling and finding ways to succeed. They were down, 22-21, at halftime but couldn’t maintain their offensive scoring punch when the game was on the line in the second half.

But with the return of Courseault, Loyola is going to cause lots of problems in the Mission League.

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