Sierra Canyon boys basketball rides 2nd-half surge to put away Crespi

CHATSWORTH — Sierra Canyon senior Brandon McCoy blasted his way into the paint for a fiery dunk over and over and over on Saturday.

McCoy punched in the bulk of the scoring in Sierra Canyon’s senior night home 90-77 win over Crespi.

The Trailblazers’ (20-1, 6-0) defense came up big late, holding the Celts to 14 points in the first and final quarter.

Crespi opened hot from behind the arc and played solid defense, leading to a 41-41 tie at halftime.

The Blazers came out of the halftime break with a strong fourth quarter but an even bigger fourth to close out the Celts.

McCoy hammered in 16 of his game-high 27 points in the fourth to put the finishing touches on yet another Mission League win. The senior also added nine rebounds, four assists, two steals and a pair of blocks.

“We played a really good team,” McCoy said. “They were fundamentally sound, moving the ball a lot. So we just adjusted. We didn’t get riled up or anything; it’s just part of the game, the game of runs. I think we made a really good push in the last, last couple minutes of the game.”

The uncommitted senior hit his only 3-pointer of the game, but added several of his booming dunks. McCoy dunked hard at the rim off the dribble, from a lob and even got a couple put-backs off his own misses.

“It’s just part of basketball, I get a lot of dunks obviously,” McCoy said. “I just enjoy winning and having fun.”

Crespi could not miss from deep in the first half. Celts guards Nickon Daei and Malakai Perrantes each added a trio of 3s in the first half alone. The Celts’ ball movement through the aggressive Trailblazer defense was smooth as Crespi continuously found the open man behind the arc.

Perrantes finished the night four triples for 12 points. Daei and Celts junior Carter Barnes finished with 12, while Crespi forward Cayman Martin led the way with 20 points and five rebounds.

Sierra Canyon senior Brannon Martinsen opened up the game with back-to-back offensive put-backs, a trend of the first half. The Trailblazers dominated the boards on both sides of the court. While the offense was stagnant at times, second-chance points added up throughout the night.

Three Trailblazers with multiple offensive rebounds, forcing Derek Fisher’s Celts to adjust inside for the second half.

Sierra Canyon also adjusted at halftime and were quicker to the perimeter, chasing the Celts off the 3-point line.

Trailblazers forward Maximo Adams added 12 points, seven boards and a block. JJ Sati-Grier, the team’s only transfer that sat out, played well off the bench with four points, one steal and six assists, including the lob to McCoy that ignited the packed Sierra Canyon gym.

The Trailblazers have now won 15 games in a row, with high-energy play night in and night out.

“Everybody on the team, we love to do what we do,” McCoy said. “We’ve worked so hard for this. It’d be doing the game disservice if we didn’t take it so seriously.”

Sierra Canyon continues to live up to the hype and is shaping up to be anything but just another Open Division team. The Trailblazers have now won 15-straight and are yet to lose a game in California. However, McCoy and team believe there is no need to get ahead and opt in to taking the season one day at a time.

“Honestly, we’re just taking it game by game, trying to get each win, taking practice very seriously, taking recovery seriously,” McCoy said.

Sierra Canyon closes out the regular season on Tuesday at Chaminade. Crespi will also conclude regular-season play on Tuesday, before the Mission League tournament, with a home battle with Loyola.