STUDIO CITY – A showdown involving reigning California state champions turned into a showcase of efficient and effective 3-point shooting Wednesday night for host Harvard-Westlake in the opening round of the Southern California Regional in the Open Division boys basketball state playoffs.
The fourth-seeded Wolverines knocked down 10 3-point field goals, including five from Joe Sterling and four made by fellow junior Amir Jones, to pull away from No. 5 St. John Bosco in a 70-55 victory.
Harvard-Westlake (31-2), the two-time Open Division state winner, prevailed for the third year in a row in the postseason against reigning Division 1 state champion St. John Bosco (26-7), including twice in the Open Division regional playoffs.
The Wolverines will play Saturday at top-seeded Eastvale Roosevelt (32-2) in the regional semifinals, looking to continue its quest to become the first program in state history to win three consecutive Open Division state championships.
Harvard-Westlake boys basketball team | Erik Boal photo
Harvard-Westlake surrendered the first seven points of the contest, but responded with the first of two 12-point runs in the opening half.
After St. John Bosco cut the deficit to 19-17 with 5:15 left in the second quarter, the Wolverines scored 12 unanswered points again, featuring a pair of 3-pointers from Sterling, another 3-point field goal by Jones and a three-point play from McDonald’s All-American Nik Khamenia.
Facing an 11-point halftime deficit, the Braves pulled to within 36-31 with 5:50 remaining in the third quarter, before Harvard-Westlake scored 13 of the next 15 points, with Sterling accounting for 10 points during the Wolverines’ surge.
Sterling finished with a game-high 23 points, including 17 in the second half, and contributed six rebounds for Harvard-Westlake, which established its biggest advantage at 52-35 with two minutes left in the third quarter.
Jones added 20 points and five rebounds for the Wolverines, with the Duke-bound Khamenia recording 15 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds.
Khamenia’s final assist was an alley-oop to Isaiah Carroll for a slam dunk with less than 90 seconds remaining.
Carroll had seven points and eight rebounds, along with a 3-point field goal for Harvard-Westlake, which limited St. John Bosco to just three 3-pointers for the contest.
Brandon McCoy, Jr., a junior guard for the Braves who missed nearly two months during the season with a lower leg injury, had a team-high 21 points, in addition to eight rebounds and five steals.
McCoy Jr. played nine games for St. John Bosco after returning from injury Jan. 20, averaging 15.8 points per contest down the stretch for the Braves, who concluded the season with back-to-back losses, including a 58-51 setback Feb. 25 against Eastvale Roosevelt in a CIF-Southern Section Open Division pool-play contest.
Elzie Harrington contributed 12 points, six assists and five rebounds for St. John Bosco, which received eight points from Chris Komin and seven points from Max Ellis.
Harvard-Westlake, which played its final home game of the season, will renew its rivalry Saturday at CIF-Southern Section Open Division champion Eastvale Roosevelt after securing a pair of victories last year in the postseason against the Mustangs.
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame (27-7), the No. 3 seed, overcame a two-point halftime deficit against No. 6 Montgomery High of San Diego and earned a 76-56 victory Wednesday to advance to the regional semifinals Saturday at second-seeded Santa Maria St. Joseph (31-1).