CHATSWORTH — On every defensive possession, Sierra Canyon senior guard Brandon McCoy plays with intensity and passion. He invites other guards to attack him, gets amped for every defensive stop and makes an impact with his high-flying blocks.
Midway through the third quarter of the Trailblazers’ game Tuesday night, Notre Dame junior guard NaVorro Bowman Jr. tried to shoot a step-back 3-pointer over McCoy.
Blocked.
McCoy then ran the floor and made a dunk on the other end, screaming on his way down. It wasn’t his only dunk of the game, nor his only block.
That passion led to smiles postgame, as McCoy’s effort helped Sierra Canyon beat Notre Dame 70-46 in the CIF-SS Open Division semifinals.
The Trailblazers (26-1) will face Mission League rival Harvard-Westlake in the Open Division championship game Saturday night at Toyota Arena in Ontario.
The Knights (22-7) will continue their season in the CIF State basketball playoffs that begin March 3.
McCoy finished with 13 points and three blocks.
“I love basketball, so when I make exciting plays, I get excited myself,” McCoy said.
His teammate, senior forward Maxi Adams, had a quiet first half – zero points.
But Adams, who is a McDonald’s All-American this season along with McCoy, finished with a team-high 20 points. He helped the Trailblazers break out to a big lead in the second half by scoring 11 points in the fourth.
“That’s the strength of our team,” Sierra Canyon head coach Andre Chevalier said. “Or at any given moment, one of our guys can get hot and take over the game, and so it’s a pleasure to have (Maxi) on the team.”
Chevalier called his team’s performance against Santa Margarita in the quarterfinals their best performance of the season. They followed it up with another dominant defensive performance Tuesday, holding Notre Dame to only 16 points in the first half.
Adaptability was a major factor in Sierra Canyon’s win, as it adjusted to Notre Dame’s zone defense. It seemed like no issue after some early struggles, as the Trailblazers were able to penetrate it with ease and attack with aggression.
“They’re just locked in at a high level and working with each other,” Chevalier said of his team. “And so I was just excited to see the team work out there. We’re playing defense at a high level right now, so that’s always going to help us.”
McCoy and Adams found success, but the depth of Sierra Canyon shone again. Senior forward Brannon Martinsen scored 15 points, being the third consistent threat on offense. Sophomore guard Jordan Mize and guard JJ Sati-Grier made heavy contributions with key plays all game.
Sati-Grier finished an up-and-under layup late in the third quarter right after Notre Dame cut the lead to 10. He got fouled and turned the play into a three-point play.
While plays like that won’t light up the scoreboard, it’s plays like that making Sierra Canyon hard to beat. The depth shows up every game.
“We play a lot of players, a lot of teams don’t do that, so we have a lot of elite players,” McCoy said on the depth of Sierra Canyon. “Everybody does a role really well. It’s great.”
Intensity and passion are something all Mission League teams are familiar with. Sierra Canyon showed it Tuedsay night, but they’ll have to show it one more time against a familiar foe on Saturday, against a team that shares that same passion for the game.
“It’s a war every game we play in league,” Chevalier said. “I expect it to be a war game on Saturday.”
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