rolling hills prep

When it’s Harvey Kitani versus David Rebibo in a high school basketball coaching matchup, you know it’s going to be a defensive grind. They demand defensive production, so Rolling Hills Prep and Harvard-Westlake went at it for 32 minutes on Saturday night at St. Francis.

It took four consecutive free throws by Joe Sterling in the final 21 seconds for Harvard-Westlake (17-2) to hold on for a 50-46 victory. About the only mistake Rolling Hills Prep (13-5) made was choosing to foul Sterling, well known as a clutch free-throw shooter. But the Huskies had no choice after a three by Aaron Heinze got them to within 48-46 with 2.6 seconds left.

Sterling finished with 16 points. Pierce Thompson had 14 points and Dominique Bentho added 11 points and 12 rebounds. Nick Welch Jr. had a big game for Rolling Hills Prep with 21 points on eight-for-14 shooting. Carter Fulton added 10 points.

Santa Margarita 72, Fairfax 41: The Eagles (19-2) opened a 21-2 lead after the first quarter and cruised to victory at St. Francis. Brayden Kyman scored 21 points, Kaiden Bailey had 17 and Drew Anderson had 15.

St. Pius X-St. Matthias 67, JSerra 62: Kayleb Kearse finished with 27 points in the victory. Jaden Bailes had 30 points for JSerra.

Sierra Canyon 77, Phoenix St. Mary’s 45: The Trailblazers (13-1) tuned up for the start of Mission League play with a rout in Arizona. Brandon McCoy scored 18 points and Brannon Martinsen had 17.

Chaminade 70, Palos Verdes 44: Temi Olafisoye had 17 points for the 18-1 Eagles.

Thousand Oaks 53, Oak Park 46: The Lancers won their 16th consecutive game to stay unbeaten. Gabriel Chin had 14 points.

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 67, Layton Christian (Utah) 64: NaVorro Bowman led the Knights (13-4) with 24 points. Josiah Nance added 16 points.

Bishop Montgomery 71, Palisades 68: Austin Kirksey had 24 points and Tarron Williams scored 22 points to help Bishop Montgomery improve to 15-2. Freshman Phillip Reed scored 24 points for Palisades.

Crespi 60, Modesto Christian 49: The Celts improved to 13-6.

St. John Bosco 62, Chandler (Ariz.) Basha 54: Christian Collins scored 31 points and Max Ellis had 22 for the Braves in a win in Arizona.

Mayfair 69, Cypress 56: Josiah Johnson’s 27 points helped Mayfair improve to 8-5.

Inglewood 98, Pasadena 97: Jason Crowe Jr. made the game-winning shot in overtime and finished with 51 points for Inglewood.

Girls basketball

Harvard-Westlake 51, Phoenix Desert Vista 39: Freshman Lucia Khamenia finished with 24 points for Harvard-Westlake.

Brentwood 59, Cardinal Newman 53: The Eagles improved to 9-4. Kelsey Sugar scored 24 points.

Saugus 57, Birmingham 52: Kayla Tanijiri had 16 points for Birmingham (13-3).

Crespi’s basketball team is starting to gain notice just in time for the start of Mission League play next month.

The Celts (11-4) advanced to the semifinals of the toughest division of the Classic at Damien with a 70-67 victory over Northern California power Richmond Salesian on Saturday.

Carter Barnes finished with 16 points and five assists. Jasiah Williams had 15 points. And, in a big development for the Celts, 6-foot-10 transfer student Rodney Mukendi, who became eligible on Friday, had nine points and eight rebounds in 13 minutes as he continues to gain playing time and makes the transition to blending in.

Crespi will face the winner of St. John Bosco-Phoenix Sunnyslope in the Platinum division semifinals on Monday.

Crean Lutheran 61, Texas Sandra Day O’Connor 60: Nick Giarrusso had 17 points and 12 rebounds to help Crean Lutheran earn a spot in the Platinum division semifinals.

Rolling Hills Prep 61, Arizona Mesa 47: Nick Welch Jr. had 25 points and 14 rebounds to advance Rolling Hills Prep (12-2) to the Gold Division semifinals at Damien.

Eastvale Roosevelt 65, Utah American Fork 61: Sloane Harris had 26 points for Roosevelt.

Corona Centennial 70, Idaho Owyee 46: Stanford commit Isaiah Rogers scored 21 points for Centennial.

Mayfair 55, Palisades 49: Josiah Johnson finished with 27 points for Mayfair.

Campbell Hall 75, Washington Prep 69: Ean Britt finished with 23 points for Campbell Hall.

St. Pius X-St. Matthias 67, De La Salle 64: In double overtime, the Warriors prevailed. Kayleb Kearse scored 23 points and Dominic Gallardo had 16.

Crossroads 65, California 58: Shalen Sheppard, cleared by the Southern Section after transferring from Brentwood, scored 19 points for Crossroads.

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 85, St. Augustine 47: NaVorro Bowman had 17 points for 10-4 Notre Dame. Josiah Nance added 15 points.

St. Anthony 64, Tesoro 55: Jamil House had 24 points and seven rebounds for St. Anthony.

Calabasas 76, Menlo 53: JR Hughes had 24 points and 14 rebounds for Calabasas.

Viewpoint 62, Palo Verde 43: Solomon Clanton Jr. finished with 21 points for 10-2 Viewpoint.

Girls basketball

Windward 68, Bishop Montgomery 50: Angelina Habis scored 37 points, including eight threes, for a Windward team that got better after the sit-out transfer period ended Friday. Charis Rainey added 21 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists.

Sierra Canyon 72, San Juan Hills 22: Emilia Krstevski finished with 16 points and Payton Montgomery had 12 rebounds for 11-1 Sierra Canyon.