Gavin Hightower and Maximo Adams lead Sierra Canyon to basketball state title game
The 'James' era at Sierra Canyon is not over quite yet. There is still one game left to be won.
Bryce James, the younger son of Lakers superstar LeBron James, deferred to his teammates for most of Tuesday night's Southern California Regional Division I final, scoring only three points, but Gavin Hightower and Maximo Adams picked up the slack, finishing with 25 ands 22, respectively, in a 74-68 victory over visiting Redondo Union in Chatsworth.
Like the teams' first encounter in pool play of the Southern Section Open Division playoffs on Feb. 12, which the Trailblazers won by three in overtime, the talented rosters full of four- and five-star recruits traded baskets until the final minute. Hightower leaped high to rebound a missed Adams jumper, whirled and made a layup while being fouled to put the top seed ahead, 69-68, with 49 seconds left. He made the free throw to make it a two-point game and Redondo never scored again.
The game not only featured many of the finest basketball players in California, it also saw two of the state's winningest coaches matching wits in Redondo Union's Reggie Morris and Sierra Canyon's Andre Chevalier, who got a big hug from Adams when the buzzer sounded.
'This year's been a long road with lots injuries and lots of ups and downs,' said Chevalier, who has guided the Trailblazers to their first regional crown since 2020, when Bryce's older brother Bronny was on the squad. The state finals were canceled that season because of the COVID-19 outbreak, so Bryce and company have a chance to finish the job this time around. 'Reggie's an absolutely amazing coach and an even better man. He gave us a different look tonight, which I knew he would, and we had to adjust.'
An Arizona commit, Bryce took pictures with fans while hugging the regional hardware.
'He had the love of his brother holding up the trophy with him and that was beautiful to see,' Chevalier said.
Sierra Canyon (26-7) plays Stockton Lincoln (31-4), the Northern California champion, Friday at 8 p.m. at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
'Man, I've never won [the title] so I want to put a banner in the gym,' Hightower said. 'God's given us the opportunity. Bryce is a key piece to our team, but we all love each other. We don't care who scores more points.'
The third-seeded Seahawks (28-6) controlled the first half before Stephen Kankole's three-pointer with 25 seconds left gave Sierra Canyon its first lead, 37-35. Bryce Cofield added 14 points for the Trailblazers and Hudson Mayes scored 19 for Redondo, which finished 14-of-15 at the foul line.
'It was a great team win,' Adams said. 'We fought to the end. I wasn't aggressive enough last time we played them. Now it's about staying locked in for Friday. The job's not done.'
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