Stuck behind a player headed to USC, Trent Perry, and a player headed to Harvard, Robert Hinton, sophomore guard Amir Jones of Harvard-Westlake has been forced to be patient and wait for his opportunity. He got it Tuesday night in an Open Division game against rival Sierra Canyon, and Jones delivered.
He went four for four from three-point range and finished with 13 points off the bench as Harvard-Westlake routed the Trailblazers 72-38 to improve to 2-0 in Pool A and set up a showdown with St. John Bosco on Friday night to decide a finalist for next weekend’s Open Division championship game.
The other finalist has been decided. Eastvale Roosevelt wrapped up Pool B and a spot in the Open Division final with a 64-59 win over St. Pius X-St. Matthias. Brayden Burries scored 21 points for the Mustangs, who clinched first in the pool after JSerra defeated Mater Dei 67-59. Sebastian Rancik had 21 points for JSerra.
Jones and Christian Horry (14 points) combined to make eight threes. Harvard-Westlake (28-3) was leading 34-19 at halftime, then went on a 17-2 run to start the third quarter to turn the game into a rout. The Wolverines’ defense held Sierra Canyon to a season low in points. Jones’ contributions in the first half when Perry and Hinton weren’t scoring were critical.
“I knew my moment would come,” Jones said of having patience.
Said Harvard-Westlake coach David Rebibo: “He’s a talented young guy. When you play on a real good team, knowing when and how to contribute is a skill. Despite what you encourage, they’re still kids. The moment was there and he rose. I couldn’t be prouder.”
St. John Bosco 72, Corona Centennial 55: Kade Bonam scored 20 points, Brandon McCoy 18 and Elzie Harrington 14 to lead the Braves.
Windward 77, Los Alamitos 75: Gavin Hightower made a shot with one second left in the second overtime to send Windward into the Division 1 semifinals.
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 63, Santa Margarita 50: The top-seeded Knights were led by Mercy Miller, who had 29 points and 11 rebounds in a Division 1 quarterfinal.
Damien 74, St. Bernard 46: Xavier Clinton scored 26 points and Nate Garcia added 20 points for Damien, which will play Windward in the Division 1 semifinals.
Redondo Union 65, Etiwanda 58: SJ Madison finished with 19 points for Redondo Union, which will play Notre Dame in the semifinals.
Bishop Alemany 77, Lynwood 71: Bourgeois Tshilobo scored 18, Michael Lindsay had 17 and Jared Mims 16 points for an Alemany team that withstood a 42-point performance from Lynwood’s Jason Crowe Jr.
Rolling Hills Prep 74, Culver City 62: Nick Welch scored 20 points for Rolling Hills Prep, which plays Thousand Oaks in the 2AA semifinals at Thousand Oaks.
Corona del Mar 67, Westlake 57: Austin Maziasz had 28 points for Westlake.
Boys’ soccer
Harvard-Westlake 2, Long Beach Millikan 1: Micah Rossen and Spencer Casamassimma scored goals to lift the Wolverines in the Division 1 semifinals.
Servite 2, Anaheim Canyon 0: In the 65th minute, Justin Cuevas scored, then scored again to deliver victory for the Friars.
Mater Dei 2, San Clemente 0: The Monarchs won their Open Division match and will have a big advantage going into a final game Friday in the semifinals.
