Sierra Canyon holds off St. John Bosco
BELLFLOWER >> Senior forward Noah Williams scored a gamehigh 23 points, including nine points in the fourth quarter, as Sierra Canyon pulled out a 72-67 win at St. John Bosco in the CIFSouthern Section Open Division boys basketball playoffs Friday night.
“The significance of it was my teammates, they always propel me forward,” said Williams, who has signed with Cal State Northridge. “If I was slacking, someone else would have stepped up . ... I think it's very important that I lead and I lead by example.”
Trailblazers coach Andre Chevalier said Williams' senior leadership is always key.
“His leadership is wonderful and he's going to be the one that leads us to the championship if we make it there,” Chevalier said.
Senior guard Justin Pippen had 20 points and six rebounds as the No. 5 seeded Trailblazers improved to 25-2 overall and 1-0 in Pool A play. Junior guard Bryce Cofield had 12 points and seven rebounds. Senior guard Isaiah Elohim had 12 points and five rebounds before being ejected in the third quarter.
“Our team has been working together all year long no matter what,” Chevalier said. “We've had people sit out. Isaiah was injured at the beginning of the year, so we're used to playing without people, so they just rally and support each other and help each other.”
Sierra Canyon will play at No. 1 Harvard-Westlake on Tuesday.
No. 4 seed St. John Bosco (236) was led by sophomore guard Brandon McCoy Jr. with 21 points and five rebounds. Senior guard Jack Turner had 18 points, including three 3-pointers. Junior guard
Elzie Harrington had 10 points.
Braves junior forward Kade Bonam had 10 points and four rebounds in his first game back since suffering a shoulder injury on Jan. 6.
Sierra Canyon's length and athleticism helped it establish a 2515 lead heading into the second quarter.
Sierra Canyon continued attacking the basket and led 39-30 at halftime.
Sierra Canyon led 55-50 at the end of the third. The Trailblazers started the fourth on a 7-0 run, highlighted by Pippen's fastbreak dunk and led 62-50 before Bosco sophomore forward Dominic Perfetti's corner 3-pointer made it 62-53.
Williams' three-point play put Sierra Canyon up 69-62. However, another corner 3-pointer from Perfetti in front of the student section made it 69-65 with about two minutes to go.
Williams was fouled, which was deemed flagrant with 16.9 seconds to go. He made both free throws. The Trailblazers retained possession up 71-67. Williams was fouled again with 8.8 seconds left. He made one of two free throws to seal the 72-67 victory.
“This is what I work for, the late nights, the early mornings,” Williams said. “I'm always shooting in different spots, getting to my spots and it just showed (Friday). The work is showing and it feels really good to know that.”
“Every Open Division game is a monster, so we're going to take one at a time and see what we can do,” Chevalier added. “We're excited about it.”