That happened? Dante Chachere saves day and Clovis West wins section title in double OT
Dante Chachere is fast, and that’s a good thing for the Clovis West High boys basketball team.
In an epic battle with Bullard on Saturday night at Selland Arena, Chachere made the play that had everyone asking: Did that just happen?
Chachere went coast-to-coast with 3.8 seconds remaining and made a layup to send the game into double overtime.
The Golden Eagles outscored Bullard 13-5 in that final extra period for an 89-81 victory, securing Clovis West’s first Central Section Division I championship since 2006.
“Dante did a hell of a job getting down there real fast,” said Clovis West coach Vance Walberg, who picked up his first section title since 2002. “That’s what an athlete did, and that second overtime … I don’t know. It was amazing. One of the nicest games I’ve (been) in.”
In double overtime, Grayson Carper made a steal and sprinted down for a layup with 2:40 remaining and Clovis West never relinquished the lead.
Alex Villi finished with a game-high 42 points on 15 of 29 shooting, 5 of 8 from 3-point range and was 7 of 8 from the free-throw line.
“We got the best athlete in the state,” said Villi, who made a 3-point play in regulation to send the game into overtime. “To go down and score a layup with three seconds … that’s just insane. It’s unreal.”
Bullard’s Jalen White was at the line with 4 seconds remaining in the first overtime. He made 1 of 2 for a 76-74 lead and Clovis West called a timeout.
Walberg designed the play for Chachere and he didn’t disappoint his coach.
“I looked at the scoreboard and I was like, ‘Dang,’” said Chachere, who will play football at Portland State next season. “I need to get there real quick and I used all my speed and the lanes opened up and went down there and laid it up.”
This story was originally published February 23, 2019 at 11:09 PM with the headline "That happened? Dante Chachere saves day and Clovis West wins section title in double OT."
