Playing at home, Sierra Canyon jumped out to a 12-7 lead after the first quarter, ignited by a Bronny James highlight slam on the break early in the contest — his only points of the first half.
Four-star sophomore
Kiyan Anthony scored his only basket of the first half early in the second quarter, hitting an open 3-pointer from the right corner to make things 12-10 just 50 seconds into the second period. He finished with eight points in the contest.
The star-studded crowd at Sierra Canyon included the King himself, LeBron James, shown here chatting with Bronny during a break in the action. (Photo: Michael Coons)
The Trailblazers methodically stretched their lead throughout the second quarter with a 3-pointer from the right wing from senior
Dylan Metoyer late in the period giving them a 27-17 lead headed into the intermission.
The highlight of the game came early in the second half when UCLA signee
Brandon Williams was emphatically stuffed at the rim on a dunk attempt by
Isaiah Elohim. The five-star junior provided a significant spark in the second half on both ends of the court and finished with 17 points and seven rebounds in the win.
Although Christ the King was able to cut the deficit under double digits multiple times in the fourth quarter, the Royals were never able to fully get back into the game as the Trailblazers maintained a lead between six and 12 points for the entirety of the final frame.
Bronny James came alive in the second half, scoring 10 of his 12 points in the final 16 minutes. He had a number of highlight plays throughout the outing, including an alley-oop dunk on the break with just over six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter to extend the lead to 51-39.
Bronny James throws down a dunk in Monday's win. (Photo: Michael Coons)
Christ the King cut the deficit to 57-51 with under one minute remaining in the fourth quarter, but the late comeback attempt came up short as made free-throws put things away down the stretch.
Just over 20 years after LeBron James led St. Vincent-St. Mary against Carmelo Anthony and Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) in February of 2002, the sons of the future hall of famers faced off Monday night on ESPN2. The broadcast marked the 522nd high school basketball game aired on ESPN.
Sierra Canyon (7-1) takes on St. Vincent-St. Mary (Akron, Ohio) on Saturday at the Ohio Play-By-Play Classic at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
Christ the King (2-2) looks to rebound from the tough loss against Cardinal Hayes (Bronx, N.Y.) on Sunday.
Five-star junior Isaiah Elohim provided a spark for the Trailblazers in the second half. (Photo: Michael Coons)
Senior guard Taheen Oliver Jr. goes up for the contested jumper over the outstretched arms of the defenders. (Photo: Michael Coons)
