Moments after an emphatic two-handed jam in the closing seconds that sealed Sherman Oaks Notre Dame’s 68-61 upset of Harvard-Westlake on Friday night in Studio City, Tyran Stokes clenched both fists, turned toward his teammates and screamed at the top of his lungs.
It was a deserving victory cry for the fifth-seeded Knights (26-6), who avenged two defeats to the Wolverines — The Times’ top-ranked team — including a heartbreaking, three-point loss in the Mission League tournament final this month.
“I’m really proud of these guys,” Notre Dame coach Matt Sargeant said. “We had a strategy that worked in the second half of the last game and we executed it tonight. When we defend, rebound and make free throws, we win.”
Stokes finished with 24 points and Zachary White added 23 as Notre Dame improved to 4-0 in Pool A to clinch a berth in the Southern Section Open Division final at Toyota Arena on March 1. The Knights have a bye in the final round of pool play Tuesday. Harvard-Westlake dropped to 2-1 and hosts No. 4 Santa Margarita on Tuesday, and the best the Wolverines can finish is second.
Nikolas Khamenia nearly willed Harvard-Westlake (29-2) to victory, but even his 31 points were not enough for the Wolverines, who had their 20-game winning streak ended by a familiar foe that on this night was the hungrier team.
“We wanted to start fast in the first quarter tonight and play the whole game,” said White, whose team led 33-29 at halftime and 47-43 after three quarters. “Never did I think we had it won until the last second.”
Joe Sterling had 10 points and Isaiah Carroll had eight for Harvard-Westlake, which pulled to within 66-61 with 16 seconds left on Khamenia’s driving layup. The Wolverines tried to steal the inbounds pass, but Stokes sneaked behind the defense and dunked to clinch it.
“I’m coaching to play in these kind of games,” Sargeant said. “Yes the Mission League tournament is tough but there’s no better preparation for the playoffs.”
Harvard-Westlake had not tasted defeat since a 61-49 loss to Provo (Utah) Timpview on Dec. 14.
Also on Friday, second-seeded Eastvale Roosevelt edged No. 6 Sierra Canyon 65-64 to remain unbeaten in Pool B. It can secure a spot in the championship game with a win over third-seeded St. John Bosco on Tuesday.
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