Two boys basketball teams from the Daily News area will be playing this weekend for CIF State championships in Sacramento.
The schools — Sierra Canyon and Chatsworth — are less than two miles apart from each other.
Sierra Canyon is making the trip to Golden 1 Center in Sacramento for a Friday game while Chatsworth is slated for Saturday.
Both teams will represent basketball in the 91311 zip code, but each one has something personal to prove:
DIVISION I
Sierra Canyon (26-7) vs. Stockton Lincoln (31-4)
Friday, 8 p.m.
TV: Spectrum News 1 & SNLA
Three Mission League teams reached the CIF State playoffs in Harvard-Westlake, Notre Dame and Sierra Canyon, but the Trailblazers were the only team to not be placed in the Open Division.
They’ve made it their goal ever since is to win a state title.
“We were disappointed that we didn’t make Open Division,” junior wing Stephen Kankole said. “We just want to show people why we’re in the wrong division, but at the end of the day, we want to win. Open Division, Division I, Division II, whatever it is — we just want to go out there and win.”
Friday night will be the first road game of the state playoffs for top-seeded Sierra Canyon, which beat Centennial, Santa Barbara, JSerra and Redondo to reach the finals. A win in Sacramento would give the Trailblazers their fourth state title and first since 2019.
Sierra Canyon reached the state finals in 2020 but the game was not played due to concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’ve gotta just play how the teams before us have played that won championships,” 6-foot-6 guard Bryce Cofield said. “They played with grit. They never gave up, so we’re just taking what they did. We’ve got a good example in the past few years. We’re trying to leave our own legacy.
Point guard and Iona commit Gavin Hightower sets the pace for an offense that has multiple scoring threats, including himself. Hightower scored 25 points in the CIF Southern California Regional championship win over Redondo in addition to pulling down nine rebounds and dishing out five assists.
Cofield logged 29 points and nine rebounds while Maximo Adams had 13 points in the double-overtime semifinal win against JSerra. Kankole had six points, all in double overtime. Arizona commit and Bryce James, the youngest son of Lakers star LeBron James, has a reliable 3-point shot and is calculated and aggressive on defense as well.
@haleymsawyer Sierra Canyon boys basketball beat JSerra 68-64 in double overtime in the CIF State Regional Division I semifinals on Saturday. #sportsreporter #sports #reporter #journalism #sierracanyon #highschoolbasketball #basketball #3pointer #rebound
DIVISION II
Chatsworth (26-8) vs. Jesuit (26-9)
Saturday, 4 p.m.
TV: Spectrum SportsNet
The Chancellors have a chance at redemption after losing in the Division IV state championship game last season.
“After all the adversity we faced, we finally can go back to Sac and finish what we started last year and get a state championship for the school,” senior center Taj Unuakhalu said.
Chatsworth got through Knight and Francis Parker at home before avenging CIF L.A. City Section championship loss to Westchester in the state regional quarterfinals. The Chancellors returned home to beat Bakersfield Christian 66-51 in the semifinals to reach the championship game.
USC commit and McDonald’s All-American Alijah Arenas, son of former NBA star Gilbert Arenas, handles the bulk of the scoring with 30.4 points per game. He has offensive support behind him, however, in the seven players who average four or more points per game — which includes sophomore Tekeio Philips (9.9 ppg) and senior V’Elijah Miller.
The 6-foot-8 Unuakhalu, who plays basketball and volleyball, holds down the defense in the paint at center. He averages 5.8 defensive rebounds per game and 3.6 blocks per game.
“I like the team play we keep on developing,” Unuakhalu said. “We’re developing our team play every game and we’re just getting better.”
Saturday could bring Chatsworth its first CIF State championship in boys basketball.
“It was a long road for us,” Chatsworth coach Sam Harris said. “Last year was our first time. Now, hopefully, the experience is there, we know what to expect and we can have a different outcome.”
