In the biggest game of the season, the smallest players on the floor came up huge.
Canyon Hills High School, which hadn’t won a league boys basketball championship since the 2013-14 season and had 12 losing seasons since 2005-2006, got 19 points from 5-foot-7 Anthony Ojeda and 22 from 5-9 Gabe Orila in Tuesday’s 69-67 overtime win over Patrick Henry.
Canyon Hills now controls the City League with one game remaining in the regular season. On Thursday, the Rattlers will travel to Hoover, which is winless in league play.
This is the second time this season Canyon Hills beat Patrick Henry by two points. In the first round of league play, the Rattlers — playing at home — hit a buzzer-beater to edge the Patriots 60-58.
Canyon Hills improved to 16-8 overall and 7-3 in the league with Tuesday’s win. Patrick Henry falls to 18-9, 6-3.
“I tried not to tell my guys this was a big game,” said Canyon Hills coach Brady Sirota. “We play better when we’re loose. So I didn’t want to put any pressure on them. Those two kids have huge hearts. They play bigger than they are. They fight like heck for everything they get.
“We certainly didn’t make it easy on ourselves, but we got it done.”
SAN DIEGO, CA – February 10, 2026: Canyon Hills’ Anthony Ojeda Jr. left, and Patrick Henry’s Madin Gardini chase a loose ball late in the second half at Patrick Henry High School in San Diego on Tuesday, February 10, 2026. (Hayne Palmour IV / For The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Canyon Hills led by 10 at the half, but Patrick Henry, despite eight fourth-quarter turnovers, tied the game and sent it to overtime.
In OT, Ojeda, who had 14 points in the first half, hit a corner 3-pointer. Orila had four points, including the go-ahead bucket with 27 seconds to play.
The Rattlers went up by four points on Nehemiah Miller’s breakaway dunk, but he was charged with a technical foul for hanging on the rim.
Isaac Weatherred made two free throws for Henry. And, with 1.4 seconds to play, the Patriots had the ball out of bounds.
Weatherred, who finished with 36 points, got the ball, turned and fired, but his shot rattled off the rim.
“We got the ball to the guy we wanted, and he got a shot off. It just didn’t fall,” said Henry coach Kenny Caesar. “Now we have to refocus and play Lincoln on senior night and see where we get seeded.”
Henry is a Division 2 team for the playoffs. Canyon Hills is in Division 3.
Both came into play Tuesday seeded fifth out of 16 teams in their divisions.
“We can’t afford a letdown against Hoover,” Orila said. “We’ve worked too hard to let down now. I was able to get some shots off tonight, take the shots my team trusts me to take. I work hard in practice to gain that trust. Basketball is a five-on-five sport, a team sport.
“We like to play fast, and we trust each other.”
SAN DIEGO, CA – February 10, 2026: Patrick Henry’s Isaac Weatherred goes in between Canyon Hills’ Slade Stevens, left, and Nehemiah Miller as he attempts a shot in the first half at Patrick Henry High School in San Diego on Tuesday, February 10, 2026. (Hayne Palmour IV / For The San Diego Union-Tribune)
While Ojeda did his scoring early, Orila had 14 points in the second half and overtime.
“We’re small, but we can play,” Ojeda said. “We’re more physical than we look.
“This team has great chemistry. That’s a big part of our success.”
While Orila had 22 points and Ojeda 19, the 6-7 Miller added 11 points and six rebounds and blocked a pair of shots.
Weatherred, who led all scorers with his 36 points, made six 3-pointers. He also had six rebounds.
Owen Anderson had five points and nine rebounds, while 6-9 Alexander Newlands had six points and 13 rebounds and blocked four shots.