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In the old days, during the 1980s and 1990s, when the Notre Dame-Crespi basketball rivalry was in peak form, it would get so hot in Notre Dame’s sold-out gym that they’d have to open windows from high above or sweat would be everywhere. Then came the invention of air conditioning, but Friday’s Mission League tournament semifinals were also super hot in terms of intensity and top performances.

Notre Dame (20-6) was able to pull out an 82-78 victory over Crespi on the strength of four consecutive pressure free throws made by standout junior guard NaVorro Bowman Jr. in the final 14 seconds to earn the Knights a championship game appearance against host Sierra Canyon on Wednesday night.

Crespi (19-11), which went on the road to upset Harvard-Westlake on Saturday, gave the Knights plenty to sweat about. The Celts held a 70-67 lead with 4:46 left until a Josiah Nance three tied the score and started a 10-0 Notre Dame run. A three by sophomore Zion Lanier off an assist from Bowman with 1:10 left put the Knights on top 77-70. The Celts were forced to foul and never got closer than two points.

Notre Dame has produced some outstanding high school guards in the past five years, from Dusty Stromer to Mercy Miller to Angelino Mark, who’s a freshman at Rutgers and showed up Monday night to root for his former teammates. But Bowman is headed to rarefied air. From making threes to powering his way through defenders to converting layups to making a seemingly impossible off-balance shot Monday, he has been in a class by himself.

He’s averaging 23 points and finished with 32 points, eight rebounds and six assists.

“He’s a special player,” Notre Dame coach Matt Sargeant said. “He shows up in big moments. He’s super mentally tough.”

His father was an NFL player, and Bowman has the family genes to perform at his best when the team needs him the most. Crespi was trying to cover him closely in the first half. Notre Dame players kept setting him screens, but Bowman was a little bit off, missing six shots. In the second half, he couldn’t be stopped.

“I had to lock in,” Bowman said.

The game was briefly halted early in the second quarter when the officials gave a warning to Sargeant and Crespi coach Derek Fisher to stay in their coaching boxes. Adding to the drama, Fisher’s wife was asked to leave the gym by Notre Dame officials. Both teams plowed through the distractions to put on a terrific second half that went back and forth.

Isaiah Barnes finished with 24 points and Cayman Martin had 20 points. Ilan Nikolov helped out Notre Dame with 19 points.

“This has been a rivalry for years,” Bowman said. “It feels good to win twice.”

Wednesday’s Mission League tournament final will also decide league MVP honors. The league champion gets to pick who the MVP is, so if Notre Dame wins, it surely will be Bowman.

Sierra Canyon 103, Loyola 74: The Trailblazers (22-1) received 30 points from Brandon McCoy and 23 points from Maxi Adams, both of whom were selected for the McDonald’s All-American Game in an announcement on Monday.

Mater Dei 92, Orange Lutheran 65: Luke Barnett scored 31 points to lead Mater Dei in an opening game of the Trinity League tournament.

JSerra 78, Servite 53: Ryan Doane had 16 points for the Lions.

Cleveland 61, Chatsworth 56: Harout Posheyan had 14 points and Charlie Adams 13 for Cleveland, which clinched the West Valley League championship. Aaron Krueger had 13 points for Chatsworth.

Brentwood 71, Viewpoint 56: Ethan Hill had 24 points and 20 rebounds for Brentwood.

Los Alamitos 68, Edison 61: Tyler Lopez led the way with 17 points.

Mike Erush is the soccer coach at Cal State Los Angeles. He’s also the coach for Harvard-Westlake, which won its third Mission League title in four years Friday by defeating Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 1-0 on an early goal from sophomore Truman Kim.

The Wolverines (16-1-3, 8-0-1) have received strong play from the Chen brothers, JT, a sophomore, and Ollie, a freshman.

“They have some good chemistry,” said goalkeeper Jackson Friedman, one of the best in the Southland.

The Chens take turns passing the ball to each other and pressuring opponents. Landon Marks leads the team in goals.

Cathedral 2, Bishop Amat 1: The Phantoms (14-2-2, 6-0-1) won the Del Rey League championship. Adrian Rivera and Christopher Guzman each scored goals.

Oak Park 2, Moorpark 1: Ryder Cash and Carson Casella (penalty kick) scored goals for the Eagles.

El Camino Real 2, Chatsworth 0: The Royals are closing in on the No. 1 seed for the City Section Open Division playoffs with a 7-0-1 mark in the West Valley League. Caleb Haynes and Josh Serrano scored goals.

Girls’ soccer

El Camino Real 1, Chatsworth 0: Jacky Alvarado had the goal for the Royals, who face defending City champion Granada Hills on Wednesday.

Boys’ basketball

Oak Park 61, Moorpark 49: It’s another Coastal Canyon League title for coach Aaron Shaw. Beau Prophete finished with 23 points. Oak Park is 7-0 in league.

St. John Bosco 73, Servite 65: The Braves (19-6) claimed the No. 1 seed for next week’s Trinity League tournament. Christian Collins scored 23 points and Gavin Dean-Moss had 13 points.

JSerra 67, Mater Dei 66: The Lions earned the No. 3 seed for the Trinity League tournament.

Santa Margarita 102, Orange Lutheran 81: Kaiden Bailey scored 31 points and Drew Anderson 30 for the Eagles, which have the No. 2 seed for the Trinity League tournament.

Oaks Christian 64, Newbury Park 28: Brady Sullivan and Andrew Logan each scored 13 points for Oaks Christian.

Thousand Oaks 62, Calabasas 50: The Lancers won the Marmonte League game.

San Pedro 54, Carson 45: Bryce Jackson had 18 points for 20-6 San Pedro.

Palisades 75, Fairfax 47: Jack Levey made eight threes to score 24 points for the Dolphins.

Birmingham 68, Chatsworth 47: X’zavion McKay had 19 points and Tekeio Phillips added 18 points for Birmingham.

Los Alamitos 74, Newport Harbor 60: Tyler Lopez led the way with 18 points.

Brentwood 56, Campball Hall 49: The Eagles (24-3) rallied in the fourth quarter to win the Gold Coast League game.

Heritage Christian 72, Valley Christian 34: Freshman Ty Lazenby had 20 points to set up a showdown Saturday in a rivalry game at Village Christian.

Redondo Union 101, Palos Verdes 67: Chace Holley had 21 points and SJ Madison and Devin Wright each had 18 points as Redondo Union moved closer to the Bay League title.

Girls’ basketball

Sierra Canyon 66, Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 27: Jerzy Robinson finished with 20 points for Sierra Canyon (23-2).

Oak Park 89, Moorpark 20: The Eagles (17-6, 6-0) continued their march to a Southern Section Open Division playoff spot. Karisma Lewis scored 19 points and Diana Sorrondo had 18 points.

Windward 67, Crossroads 40: Charis Rainey had 22 points and 13 rebounds for Windward.

St. Margaret’s 53, Rosary 49: Freshman Jayden Witten had a 35-point performance for St. Margaret’s.

Oaks Christian 56, Newbury Park 48: Presley Kushner scored 32 points for Oaks Christian.