Just when it looked like the top eight teams had been decided for the Southern Section Open Division boys’ basketball playoffs, upsets happened Tuesday night in the last week of the season to create uncertainty, especially since the final decision will be made by a computer algorithm.
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, a bubble team that has won the last two Division 1 championships, picked up a critical 83-72 win over Sierra Canyon to reach the Mission League tournament championship game Wednesday at Harvard-Westlake. Tyran Stokes looked like the All-American he is, scoring 28 points to help the Knights (22-5) avenge a 63-54 loss to Sierra Canyon (20-5) last Saturday at the Intuit Dome.
“I was frustrated the way I played,” Stokes said. “I talked to my coach. He told me I had to be a better leader and took that in.”
Said coach Matt Sargeant: “This was an example how good he is, under control, good leader and impacting the game on both ends.”
Notre Dame made 11 threes after making two Saturday. NaVorro Bowman Jr. contributed 20 points, Zachary White 12 points and Micha Tannenbaum 10 points. Maximo Adams had 20 points for Sierra Canyon.
The biggest upset of the night came when Mira Costa defeated Redondo Union 69-68 on a winning free throw from Jacob De Armas with six seconds left. Eneasi Piuleni had 20 points. Redondo Union (23-3) had been No. 5 and Notre Dame No. 9 in the computer rankings.
Adding to the intrigue, St. John Bosco won a share of the Trinity League title with Santa Margarita after a 71-53 victory over JSerra. Elzie Harrington and Brandon McCoy each had 20 points. JSerra had been ranked No. 7.
No. 1 Harvard-Westlake (26-1) cruised to a 68-50 win over Crespi in the other Mission League semifinal. Joe Sterling scored 22 points and Nikolas Khamenia added 19 points and 12 rebounds.
No. 2 Eastvale Roosevelt finished 27-2 and won the Big VIII League championship with an 83-51 win over Corona Centennial. Brayden Burries scored 39 points.
Heritage Christian finished at 25-3 with a 57-43 win over Village Christian behind 24 points from Tae Simmons. If the Southern Section were to expand to 10 teams for the Open Division, the Warriors would be in.
Los Alamitos finished unbeaten in the Sunset League after a 74-72 win over Fountain Valley. Samori Guyness had 17 points. It was the second straight season the Griffins were perfect in league play.
Oaks Christian went 10-0 in the Marmonte League after a 70-66 overtime win over Westlake. Nick Giarrusso scored 30 points.
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