Facing a triangle and two defense from JSerra (three players playing zone and two others denying the ball), Harvard-Westlake had other players step forward to contribute and came away with a 61-48 win over the Lions to improve to 29-1 and 2-0 in its Southern Section Open Division pool.
No. 2 Eastvale Roosevelt (29-2) went on a 21-0 run to overwhelm Redondo Union 89-67 behind 44 points and 12 rebounds from Brayden Burries to go to 2-0 in its pool.
There are still roadblocks ahead, starting Friday with Harvard-Westlake hosting Mission League rival Sherman Oaks Notre Dame for the third time this season and Roosevelt hosting Sierra Canyon. But they remain the teams to beat on the road to the Open Division final on March 1 at Toyota Arena.
JSerra coach Keith Wilkinson pulled out a special defense from his USC days, and the Lions held a 27-26 halftime lead. Freshman Ryan Doane was denying the ball to McDonald’s All-American Nikolas Khamenia, who was honored before the game with a jersey presentation from former Harvard-Westlake All-Americans Jarron Collins and Kiki Iriaffen. And Grayson Sinek was in the face of Joe Sterling, guarding him all night.
BJ Davis-Ray of JSerra comes through with a dunk against Harvard-Westlake. He had 16 points.
(Craig Weston)
So the Wolverines turned to others to deliver decisive blows in the third quarter. Cole Holden, a sophomore, and Amir Jones each made threes. Isaiah Carroll made two threes. Eventually Sterling got involved. He didn’t miss a shot or free throw all night, making four shots and eight free throws for 18 points. Khamenia was limited to a season-low seven points but had six assists and six rebounds.
BJ Davis Ray led JSerra (22-9) with 16 points.
“It’s my job to come up with big plays,” Holden said.
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 67, Santa Margarita 59: Tyran Stokes scored 25 points and had 12 rebounds to make Notre Dame 3-0 in its Open Division pool going into a showdown with Harvard-Westlake on Friday that will decide a championship berth. Lino Mark added 19 points. Kaiden Bailey had 19 points for Santa Margarita.
St. John Bosco 60, Sierra Canyon 55: Brandon McCoy scored 17 points, Christian Collins 15 and Elzie Harrington 13 to keep the Braves in the title hunt. Maximo Adams had 16 points for Sierra Canyon.
Los Alamitos 56, Rolling Hills Prep 54: In overtime, the Griffins prevailed in a Division 1 quarterfinal. Liam Gray led the way with 19 points. Mylo Murphy had 18 points and 11 rebounds for Rolling Hills Prep.
Mira Costa 59, Windward 48: The Mustangs advanced to the Division 1 semifinals.
Santa Barbara 75, Mater Dei 70: In overtime, Santa Barbara won the Division 1 quarterfinal. Blake Davidson had 19 points for Mater Dei.
Oak Park 55, Los Altos 45: Despite a 13-17 record, the Eagles are in the 2A semifinals. Jaden Holmes scored 24 points.
Corona Centennial 72, Camarillo 51: The season ended for top-seeded Camarillo (28-3). Centennial, usually an Open Division team, is 17-16 and in the 2AA semifinals.