Joe Sterling, one of the top 3-point shooters in the country, made a long-range 3-pointer early in the third quarter Wednesday night in Sierra Canyon. He must have forgotten who was guarding him because Brandon McCoy came flying in like Superman to block the shot, then scooped up the rebound, dribbled and made an uncontested dunk.
“I knew he was going to shoot it,” McCoy said.
McCoy’s athleticism was on display all night as No. 1 seed Sierra Canyon moved into next week’s Mission League tournament with a 55-47 home victory over Harvard-Westlake.
McCoy finished with 20 points, including back-to-back 3-pointers in the second quarter to help Sierra Canyon (19-1, 5-0) erase an early deficit. He had zero points in the first quarter and 20 the rest of the way.
“I wanted him to be more aggressive,” Sierra Canyon coach Andre Chevalier said. “He went into attack mode.
Not only did McCoy contribute offensively, but his defense helped the Trailblazers hold Harvard-Westlake’s leading scorer, Sterling, to a season-low five points. He made one of eight shots and was fouled.
“The fact that he plays defense at a high level is amazing,” Chevalier said. “That’s what college coaches are looking for.
Sierra Canyon also got a strong performance from 6-foot-8 Brannon Martinsen, who had 16 points. “I found my role,” he said. “It was figuring out how to supplement people as good as me.
Pierce Thompson led No. 3 Harvard-Westlake (21-3, 4-1) with 14 points. The Wolverines struggled with Sierra Canyon’s half-court trap and didn’t have enough offensive contributors as Sterling was shut out by the Trailblazers’ defense.
“They’re good,” Harvard-Westlake coach David Rebibo said. “I don’t think they’re invincible. They’re deep and versatile. That’s what makes them so dangerous.”
The Mission League will hold a tournament starting January 29. The first two teams in the standings of the regular season are guaranteed to advance to the playoffs of the southern division. Harvard-Westlake closes with tough games Saturday against Sherman Oaks Notre Dame and next week at home to St. Francis. Sierra Canyon has a home game against Crespi and a road game against Chaminade.
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 68, Crespi 56: NaVorro Bowman scored 33 points for the Knights.
Loyola 104, Bishop Alemany 70: Deuce Newt had 50 points and made 10 3-pointers for Loyola. Austin Acy, a freshman, had 40 points for Alemany.
St. Francis 66, Chaminade 56: Cherif Millogo had 20 points and Luke Paulus 17 for St. Francis.
Santa Margarita 102, served 69: Drew Anderson finished with 35 points and 10 rebounds for the Eagles.
Saint John Bosco 56, JSerra 50: Christian Collins scored 30 points and Max Ellis and Tariq Iscandari had key three-pointers to remain unbeaten in the Trinity League.
Mater Dei 81, Orange Lutheran 79: Zain Majeed scored with 1.5 seconds left for Mater Dei. Luke Barnett had 23 points to become Mater Dei’s career three-point leader with 373.
Cleveland 56, Chatsworth 55: Aaron Krueger led Chatsworth with 17 points.
Birmingham 74, Granada Hills 53: Tekeio Phillips had 16 points and Christian Graham 15 to help the Patriots set up a matchup with Cleveland on Friday for first place in the West Valley League.
El Camino Real 44, Taft 43: The Royals went three at the end and won.
Narbonne 63, San Pedro 62: Branden Key had 24 points to help Narbonne pull off the Marine League upset.
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