Trailblazers uses run late in the third quarter to pull away for 75-59 win.
Video: See what makes Sierra Canyon specialTrailblazers opened the season ranked No. 1 nationally.Don't count
Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) out of the national championship race just yet.
The Trailblazers knocked off
Memphis East (Memphis, Tenn.) 75-59 Saturday night in the final of the Bass Pro Shops Tournament of Champions, capping an impressive run at the event in Springfield, Mo.
Sierra Canyon (15-1) trounced
Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.) 76-47 in the semifinals and
Republic (Mo.) 72-54 in the opening round. The Trailblazers checked in at No. 3 in this week's High School Top 25.
No. 5 Memphis East (14-3) also entered the contest riding high, beating Independent Top 10-ranked
Montverde Academy (Fla.) at the buzzer twice in the last week, including in Friday night's semifinals.
Sierra Canyon celebrates a win in the Bass Pro Shops Tournament of Champions final. The Trailblazers were beat at the buzzer by Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) in last year's Bass Pro championship game.
Photo by Randy Kemp
UCLA-bound senior forward
Cody Riley led Sierra Canyon in the CBS Sports Network-televised final with 22 points and 16 rebounds.
Marvin Bagley III, the nation's No. 1 Class of 2018 prospect, added 18 points and 12 rebounds.
Guards
Adam Seiko (15 points) and
Remy Martin (14) also finished in double figures for the winners.
Sophomore star
Chandler Lawson led Memphis East with 21 points and nine rebounds.
The game went back and forth with seven lead changes and four ties until Sierra Canyon closed the third quarter with a 13-2 run. That put the Trailblazers up 45-36 and they maintained a comfortable distance from head coach Penny Hardaway's squad in the final eight minutes.
Sierra Canyon's gauntlet continues Monday at the Spalding Hoophall Classic against Independent Top 10 No. 1
La Lumiere (LaPorte, Ind.).
Cody Riley piled up 22 points and 16 rebounds Saturday night against Memphis East.
Photo by Randy Kemp
