Saugus boys’ basketball junior Braydon Harmon was instrumental in ending West Ranch’s four-game winning streak in the Foothill League.
Seemingly impossible to guard all night Friday at West Ranch High, Harmon scored 43 points with nine rebounds to lead the Centurions to a 79-65 victory over the Wildcats.
It’s the most points for a Saugus (16-9, 6-3) boy since Adrian McIntyre — now a senior at Division II Westmont College in Santa Barbara — poured in 48 points with 13 rebounds in a 77-56 win over Sante Fe on Jan. 3, 2020.
“I just trusted my teammates, and they trusted me,” Harmon said. “I just let the game come to me, and I found the open shots and took them.”
The win gets Saugus back into winning ways in the league after falling to Valencia earlier in the week, ending Saugus’ five-game league winning streak. The Centurions sit in third place, a game behind Valencia and a half game behind Golden Valley. Canyon has a game in hand and is a half-game behind Saugus.
“We wanted a revenge game off of Valencia, and we knew we had those two games in our hands, but we fumbled,” Harmon said. “But for the rest of league, we know we’re capable of winning league and we’re gonna show everybody.”
Inserted into the starting lineup by Saugus head coach Alfredo Manzano midway through the season for his defense, Harmon, team MVP last year at the junior varsity level, has been averaging nearly 20 points per game since the start of January.
“He’s just been gaining confidence the last two, three weeks,” Manzano said. “You know, he’s playing to his strengths. Originally, we told him, ‘Hey, go get those rebounds, you’re gonna get your points off of that.’ And he started doing that, but he’s actually seeing those lanes open up and we’re telling him to attack.”
Sophomore Aiden Pisarnwongs added 16 points and five rebounds for Saugus, while senior Max Guardado had 12 points and seven assists.
West Ranch (10-12, 5-4) was led by senior Prince Okonkwo with 18 points. Senior Luca Marcil added 11 and senior Brayden Showman had nine.
Freshman Ricardo Young had 10 points for West Ranch.
The Centurions started off an 8-0 run before West Ranch took a one-point lead late in the first quarter. A late basket put the Centurions out in front to the end the frame, and the lead never changed hands again.
Harmon hit a buzzer-beater three to end the first half to give him 20 points at the break and put his team up by nine.
That lead swelled to as high as 16 in the third quarter.
“With our game plan, we just wanted to keep our foot on the gas pedal,” Harmon said.
West Ranch is now on the outside looking in at one of the four automatic playoff spots in the league. And with an overall record under .500, West Ranch would be ineligible for the postseason unless it can jump one of the four teams ahead.
“I think we were holding, you know, we had control of our destiny, and we lost control of that,” said West Ranch head coach Bryan Bartley. “That doesn’t mean that it’s over, but the simple fact is that I just got to do a better job, and I didn’t do it tonight.”
Saugus backed up Friday’s win with a 60-43 victory Saturday over Yeshiva University of Los Angeles. The Centurions are set to return to league play Tuesday at home against Hart.
West Ranch returned to form Saturday with a 64-63 over Grant. The Wildcats are slated to host Valencia on Tuesday.
Here’s what else happened in Foothill League basketball action on Friday:
Boys’ basketball
Valencia 78, Castaic 42: The Valencia Vikings (9-15, 7-2) kept their grip atop the league with a 78-42 road victory at Castaic (10-12, 0-9).
Golden Valley 57, Hart 39: The Golden Valley Grizzlies (16-8, 6-2) won their third straight game with a 57-39 road victory at Hart.
Donovan Webb had 19 points, five rebounds and five assists for Golden Valley. Wyatt Printz added nine points, six assists and six rebounds, while Alex Villejo had 12 points, 12 rebounds and five steals.
Girls’ basketball
Valencia 75, Castaic 12: The Valencia Vikings (20-4, 8-1) won for the eighth straight game in the league, 75-12 at Castaic (5-15, 1-8).
Kamilla Basyrova had 14 points and three steals and Alexis Epie had 14 points. Keira McLaughlin had 12 points and Cara McKell had 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
Hart 51, Golden Valley 19: The Hart Hawks (16-7, 7-1) kept pace with Valencia by beating Golden Valley on the road, 51-19.
Andrea Aina led the way with 19 points while Morgan Mack had 18 and Emery Eav had nine.
Hart is in second place but has a game in hand on Valencia, and the teams would share the league title should they each win out.
Saugus 48, West Ranch 19: The Saugus Centurions (15-9, 5-4) won their fifth straight league game with a 48-19 road win at West Ranch (9-13, 2-7).
EvaMarie Rios led Saugus with 10 points and six assists. Rachael Correa had eight points, seven rebounds and four blocks, while Samantha Cortez had eight points.