The Trailblazers were down 66-49 with 6:41 remaining, but clawed back in the MaxPreps Top 25 showdown thanks in large part to four-star seniors
Isaiah Elohim and
Justin Pippen. Sierra Canyon finished the game on a 32-9 run as Elohim had 18 points, the majority coming during the fourth-quarter comeback.
Sierra Canyon senior
Noah Williams tied the game at 73 with a pair of free throws in front of a star-studded crowd that included NBA Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen, Bronny James and Kenyon Martin Sr.
On the ensuing inbounds, Williams stole the ball and found junior
Bryce Cofield, who scored to give the Trailblazers a 75-73 lead, their first of the second half.
No. 10 Sierra Canyon senior Isaiah Elohim goes up for a dunk in the Trailblazers 81-75 win over No. 5 Notre Dame on Friday. (Photo: Samuel Mawanda)
Cofield extended the Sierra Canyon lead with an offensive rebound off his own miss and made both free throws to boost the lead to 77-73 with less than 40 seconds left.
Sierra Canyon (24-1) has now won 17 straight games while the loss snaps Notre Dame's 30-game win streak.
Four-star Houston commit
Mercy Miller, the son of rapper Master P, led Knights with 28 points, including 13 in the first quarter. He entered the night averaging 30.5 points per game.
Pippen was a great facilitator all night finishing with eight assists to go with 19 points. Early in the game, Pippen glided toward the basket, before throwing the ball to the corner where a wide open
Bryce James caught the rocket pass and buried the triple. James, son of LeBron James, had eight points off the bench.
Notre Dame closed out the second and third quarters strong. Up 39-33 with the second quarter coming to a close, sophomore
Zachary White got to the basket to send the Knights into halftime with a 41-33 lead.
Then at the end of the third quarter,
Angelino Mark drove the length of the floor and scored at the rim to take a 60-49 lead.
Miller started the fourth by hitting a 3-pointer and Sierra Canyon called a timeout down 63-49. After the timeout the Trailblazers scored 32 of the next 44 points to win and extend their winning streak to 17.
