Sierra Canyon boys basketball knocks off Harvard-Westlake in league showdown

CHATSWORTH — The coaching staff for the Sierra Canyon boys basketball team wasn’t pleased with the team’s defensive effort in the first half against Harvard-Westlake on Wednesday night.

But in the second half, the Trailblazers turned up the defensive pressure, making it difficult for the Wolverines to find their offensive rhythm.

Sierra Canyon extended its lead during the second half and was able to defeat Harvard-Westlake 55-47 to move to 5-0 in the Mission League and 19-1 overall.

“We were terrible (defensively) in the first half,” Sierra Canyon head coach Andre Chevalier said. “In the second half they were rotating and helping each other. When we’re playing defense like that and helping each other, it’s very hard to beat us.”

Sierra Canyon’s suffocating defense led to a 4-of-17 shooting performance from 3-point range for the Wolverines.

Joe Sterling, the leading scorer for Harvard-Westlake (21-3, 4-1), was held without a field goal in the second half and had just five points all game. In the first half he had to deal with early foul trouble.

Brandon McCoy led Sierra Canyon with 20 points, including a 10-point scoring burst in the second quarter.

Brannon Martinsen complimented him with 16 points that included a couple of timely shots that quelled any momentum Harvard-Westlake was trying to build.

Martinsen made it a point to get to the basket and draw contact, getting to the line when his shot wasn’t falling for him early in the game.

“I missed the first three (shots), so I decided to see if there’s other ways to get myself going,” Martinsen said.

He started to heat up from long range, hitting a 3-pointer late in the second quarter to give Sierra Canyon a six-point lead.

Late in the fourth quarter, Martinsen’s 3-pointer made the score 48-40. McCoy hit a 3-pointer right after to put the game out of reach.

“He’s a mismatch problem for everybody that we play,” Chevalier said about Martinsen. “He can handle the ball as a big, he can shoot it, finish it around the rim and he makes free throws at a very high clip. We’re always comfortable with him having the ball in his hands.”

Pierce Thompson led the way for the Wolverines with 14 points, including an impressive third quarter where he hit a well-timed 3-pointer that stopped a mini-run by the Trailblazers.

Dominique Bentho and Amir Jones both had 11 points for Harvard-Westlake, with the latter’s all coming in the first half.

Sierra Canyon will host Crespi on Saturday as the team inches closer to an undefeated Mission League campaign. Harvard-Westlake will be at home Saturday against Notre Dame.