As the final seconds ticked off the clock and with the victory secured, Sierra Canyon forward Maximo Adams leaped and rejected a shot by Sherman Oaks Notre Dame guard NaVorro Bowman Jr. rather than concede a meaningless layup.
The play exemplified the Trailblazers’ defensive intensity all game — a collective effort that produced a 63-54 victory in the prime-time matchup of Saturday’s Trinity-Mission League Showcase at the Intuit Dome.
The six-game extravaganza, which tipped off at noon, featured seven schools in The Times’ Top 25 rankings and the finale had the most at stake, with both squads looking to earn a bye and two days off in the Mission League tournament, which opens Sunday.
Gavin Hightower scored 21 points before fouling out with 1:01 left and earned most valuable player honors. Adams added 18 points for Sierra Canyon (20-4, 6-1), ranked No. 6 by The Times.
Sierra Canyon’s Bryce Cofield, left, grabs a rebound while teammate Maximo Adams, right, boxes out against Notre Dame’s Zach White at the Intuit Dome on Saturday night.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
“We’re excited we were able to get the win, we know how good we can be, and having the extra time off is huge because we’ll probably see that team again and this gives us a couple days in the gym to clean up our mistakes,” said Hightower, an Iona commit. “It’s a blessing to play in an arena like this. It’s all about being confident and having fun, but honestly we need the rest because we go hard every day in practice.”
Bryce Cofield finished with 15 points for Sierra Canyon.
“We hang our hat on defense, Cofield said. “We’re used to playing on big stages in front of lots of fans. You get the nerves out of your system in the first few minutes, then it’s all about basketball.”
Tyran Stokes led the fifth-ranked Knights (20-5, 5-2) with 23 points and Bowman added eight. The teams likely will meet again in the league tournament semifinals Tuesday.
