Bronny James, Zaire Wade, Sierra Canyon Advance with Win vs. Harvard-Westlake

Blake SchusterCorrespondent IIMarch 8, 2020

Sierra Canyon's Ziaire Williams #1 in action against Paul VI during a high school basketball game at the Hoophall Classic, Monday, January 20, 2020, in Springfield, MA. (AP Photo/Gregory Payan)

Gregory Payan/Associated Press

In front of a sold-out crowd at Pepperdine's Firestone Fieldhouse near Malibu, California, No. 1 seed Sierra Canyon continued its march to the CIF Open Division State Championship with a 75-65 victory over Harvard-Westlake on Saturday.

Amari Bailey led the way for the Blazers with 22 points, while Ziaire Williams added another 18 himself, including 11 points over a crucial stretch late in the fourth quarter. With Sierra Canyon down 53-50, Williams helped spark a 15-4 run that locked up the 10-point victory.

Neither James nor Zaire Wade factored much into this one, yet the full team effort on display by the Blazers was crucial to pulling off the victory. James, a freshman, made his playoff debut in the win.

Tarek Fattal @Tarek_Fattal
Sierra Canyon 39, Harvard-Westlake 30. Halftime Amari Bailey 15; Harold Yu 10 for SC. Brase Dottin 12 (all threes) for HW

Tarek Fattal @Tarek_Fattal
FINAL Sierra Canyon 75, Harvard-Westlake 65 Amari Bailey 22; Ziaire Williams 18; Harold Yu 18 for SC Brase Dottin 18 for HW Trailblazers will take on Etiwanda in CIF State Open Div. Regional final on Tuesday at CSUN. 7 p.m.

Tarek Fattal @Tarek_Fattal
Ziaire Williams pull-up jumper. Sierra Canyon on 9-0 run, leads Harvard-Westlake 61-50. 4 to go https://t.co/XPFxN34fkp

Tarek Fattal @Tarek_Fattal
BIG time sequence here for Sierra Canyon. Harold Yu block, pass from Ziaire Williams to Amari Bailey for one-handed jam. Sierra Canyon has largest lead of game 37-27, 1:53 left in second. https://t.co/bkFjyzM3eu

The 3,000-seat arena did its best impression of the Staples Center on Saturday as LeBron James and Drake both showed up courtside to take in the action.

SportsCenter @SportsCenter
Drake and LeBron pulled up to the Sierra Canyon game 🦉👑 (via @latsondheimer) https://t.co/XOIXkyxhCV

Up next for the Blazers is No. 3 seed Etiwanda, which will attempt to do what only four teams have done this season and knock off Sierra Canyon. A victory for the Blazers would give them the regional final title and send them on their way to the state championship game.

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Should they get that far, the Blazers' opponent is still unknown. On the other side of the bracket, Bishop O'Dowd is facing off against Archbishop Mitty for the right to face No. 4 Dublin in the second regional final. The winner of the Dublin game will advance to the title round.

The California state championship is set to take place on March 14 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.