Prep basketball roundup: No. 1 Harvard-Westlake, No. 2 Roosevelt stay on collision course

Facing a triangle-and-two defense from JSerra designed to deny its top players the ball, Harvard-Westlake had others 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 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 and improve to 29-2 overall.

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 those two remain the teams to beat on the road to the Open Division final on March 1 at Toyota Arena in Ontario.

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 while guarding 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 Iriafen. And JSerra’s 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 made threes. Isaiah Carroll made two threes. Eventually Sterling got involved. He didn’t miss 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.

“It’s my job to come up with big plays,” Holden said.

BJ Davis Ray led JSerra (22-9) with 16 points.

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: 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. Eneasi Piuleni finished with 16 points.

Santa Barbara 75, Mater Dei 70: In overtime, Santa Barbara won the Division 1 quarterfinal. Luke Zuffelato had 28 points for Santa Barbara, which will play Mira Costa in the semifinals. Blake Davidson had 19 points for Mater Dei.

Oak Park 55, Los Altos 45: Despite a 13-17 record, the Eagles are in the Division 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.

Irvine 71, Long Beach Cabrillo 66: Cooper Stearns had 25 points, 16 rebounds and 11 assists for 29-2 Irvine.

St. Bonaventure 71, Villa Park 65: In overtime, the Seraphs won. Mathew Wilson had 21 points and Charlie Adams 19 points.

Canyon Country Canyon 60, Rancho Mirage 57: Eric Kubel scored 25 points for the Cowboys.

Crean Lutheran 73, Campbell Hall 66: Freshman Jordan Ceballos had 16 points to help Crean Lutheran advance to the Division 1 semifinals against Los Alamitos.