Finally cleared by the Southern Section to play for Sierra Canyon after transferring from St. John Bosco, Brandon McCoy unleashed a spectacular five consecutive dunks in the fourth quarter on Saturday night at Pauley Pavilion to send the Trailblazers to a 60-45 victory over JSerra in the Trinity-Mission League Challenge.
He finished with 25 points, including nine dunks. JSerra (4-1), after scoring only two points in the second quarter and falling behind 31-21 at halftime, made a comeback, closing to 43-39 in the fourth quarter. That’s when McCoy, who was pulled in the third quarter with four fouls, led a 10-0 surge with four dunks.
“I was really excited to play,” said McCoy, who missed Sierra Canyon’s opener while waiting for Southern Section clearance. “I’m happy to be out there. I’m a California kid. Playing in historic Pauley Pavilion was great.”
Earl Bryson had 19 points for JSerra.
Santa Margarita 77, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 73: Down by 10 points after the first quarter, the Eagles rallied behind Brayden Kyman, who finished with five threes and 28 points in the arena his brother, Jake, used to make threes.
“It was super fun, and I’m super grateful to be here,” he said.
NaVorro Bowman of Notre Dame had 34 points.
St. John Bosco 57, Harvard-Westlake 55: Christian Collins scored 37 points to rally the Braves from an eight-point halftime deficit.
Servite 62, Loyola 61: Freshman Tariq Johnson made a three-pointer with 3.8 seconds left to deliver the Friars a victory. He finished with 16 points.
Orange Lutheran 58, St. Francis 49: Noah Zeola had 19 points and Josh King 18 for the Lancers. They combined for nine threes at Pauley Pavilion. Cherif Millogo had 17 points and 21 rebounds for St. Francis.
Crean Lutheran 71, Campbell Hall 57: Chadrick Mpoyi, a 6-foot-11 senior headed to Minnesota, had 26 points for Crean Lutheran.
Crespi 90, Mater Dei 59: Passing the ball with unselfishness, the Celts cruised to victory at Pauley Pavilion. Isaiah Barnes, playing in the arena his father, Matt, once played in, scored 23 points and made four threes.
“Oh man, I love it,” Isaiah said.
The Celts received balanced scoring. Cayman Martin had 19 points, Nickon Daei 16 and Christian Tshina-Nzambi 15. Richie Ramirez had 26 points for Mater Dei.
Cathedral 71, Santa Clara 41: Michael Taylor Jr. scored 25 points for the Phantoms.
Chaminade 82, Chaparral 60: Freshman Braylon Sherwood scored 25 points and sophomore Troy Arthon added 20 points for the Eagles.
Crossroads 58, Taft 49: Evan Willis, a sophomore transfer from Mater Dei, scored 20 points and had 12 rebounds in his debut for Crossroads.
Redondo Union 68, Ariz. Sunnyslope 64: SJ Madison and Chris Sanders each scored 18 points to knock off a nationally-ranked team.
Village Christian 96, Palisades 68: Freshman Will Conroy led the 3-0 Crusaders with 23 points.
Valencia 65, Agoura 53: Steve Irons had 20 points and 10 rebounds for the 3-0 Vikings.
Eastvale Roosevelt 81, Rancho Cucamonga 52: Cam Anderson scored 20 points and Travis Walton Jr. 17 points for Roosevelt.
Mira Costa 63, Bonita 47: Paxx Bell finished with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Damien 68, Anaheim Canyon 59: The Spartans (4-0) won the Sunny Hills tournament championship behind 32 points and nine threes from Zaire Rasshan.
Girls basketball
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 65, Palisades 50: Zi Kennybrew led Notre Dame with 14 points and MaZiya Randolph added 13 points and 10 rebounds.
Ontario Christian 91, Phoenix O’Connor 37: Kaleena Smith finished with 35 points for 2-0 Ontario Christian.
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