Balanced scoring, tough defense and 43-27 second-half run lifts Trailblazers into the CIF Southern California Open Division regional final.
The Trailblazers (26-4), who feature at least eight Division I players on their roster, broke open a close game with a 43-27 second-half spurt keyed by balanced scoring, stifling defense and a whole bunch of high-flying action.
Mike Price led the way with 15 points, USC-bound post
Kijani Wright added 14 and UCLA-bound
Amari Bailey, who didn't play the first quarter for undisclosed reasons, added 13 acrobatic points as Sierra Canyon not only moved into Tuesday's regional final against No. 3 Centennial (Corona), but avenged a loss to the Wolverines 18 days earlier.
Bronny James, the son of LeBron James, went scoreless in limited action while nursing a sore hip. He also picked up four quick fouls.
Landon Lewis and
Jacob Huggins had 14 points apiece for Harvard-Westlake and
Brady Dunlap added 10, but the Wolverines were no match in the second half for Sierra Canyon's energy and waves of athleticism. They shot less than 30 percent from the field but outscored the Trailblazers badly at the foul line.
The Trailblazers travel to Centennial on Tuesday after the Huskies (31-1) defeated Bishop Montgomery 76-55.
Wright was the best player on the court in the first
half with 10 points and six rebounds as Harvard-Westlake took a 29-28 lead at intermission. A 3-pointer at the end the first quarter by
Ramel Lloyd Jr.
gave Sierra Canyon a 17-15 lead.
This was a rematch of a Southern Section pool play final on Feb. 18, a 63-60 Harvard-Westlake victory at Sierra Canyon. That knocked the Trailblazers out of section-title contention and brought tears to many of the Harvard-Westlake players. A large student body from Harvard-Westlake stormed the court.
Harvard-Westlake might not have had much in the tank a couple days later in the section final, losing convincingly to Centennial (Corona) 68-48.
Both teams had tough Open Division quarterfinal wins, Harvard-Westlake defeating St. Joseph (Santa Maria), 63-55, while Sierra Canyon edged St. Augustine (San Diego) 80-74 ... without James.
The Sierra Cayon-Centennial winner faces the NorCal winner in a week at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
