Harmon, Yuhico drop 40-point performances as five teams advance, Foothill League 4-1 in CIF first round
With the Centurions’ season being eight minutes away from ending as Culver City led Saugus 50-35 going into the fourth quarter, Braydon Harmon and the Saugus boys’ basketball team mounted a come-from-behind 65-64 win to advance into the second round.
After the game, Saugus head coach Alfredo Manzano said that despite being down double digits, the belief around the team was that if the Centurions stuck to their game plan, a win was guaranteed.
“We just showed character. It’s easy to fold and even us coaches we’re like, ‘What do we do?’” Manzano said in response to falling behind by double digits. “We had a good game plan, we got killed on the offensive glass and [Culver City] is a very athletic team. But we just kept telling them, ‘Hey, we got to keep fighting one possession at a time.’”
Prior to securing the lead in the game’s final moments, the Centurions led only once, in the beginning of the second quarter when Saugus held a narrow 17-15 lead over Culver City.
In the second quarter, the Centaurs opened the frame with a 9-0 scoring run and never looked back. And by the end of the third quarter, the Centaurs led 50-35, a lead that seemed impossible to overcome as the Centurions’ shots on offense just weren’t landing.
But the senior forward, Harmon, wasn’t ready to have the season end in the first round, especially in front of the home crowd.
“Honestly, when I saw that we were down 15 going into the fourth quarter, I knew it was my time to take over,” he said. “With the coaches’ game plan, I just let everything come to me.”
The Centurions opened the fourth quarter with a 17-6 scoring run to cut the Centaurs’ lead to 56-52 with Harmon leading the way.
The senior forward scored 22 points in the final frame and ended the night having recorded 44 points total.
“I told him that this could be a huge game for him if he crashes the rebounds,” Manzano said in response to Harmon’s performance. “With the scouting report, we saw there’s a great opportunity for him to get rebound after rebound. So, if he does that, the points will come.”
Harmon tallied 14 rebounds and was constantly crashing the paint, overpowering the Culver City forwards.
The Centurions finally took the lead with 28 seconds remaining in the game after Harmon successfully converted two free throws after being fouled.
The Centurions’ defense held on for the win as they prevented the Centaurs from scoring in the final seconds — and the Saugus student section stormed the court in celebration.
After the game, Harmon described what he was thinking when the crowd rushed to the court as he knew the Centurions punched their ticket to the next round.
“For me, I was just flooded with excitement, and I knew that we hung on to advance to the next round,” he said.
With the win, the Centurions are set to host the Trabuco Hills Mustangs of Mission Viejo in the second round Friday, with tip-off scheduled for 7 p.m.
After Wednesday night’s games, here are scores from the first round of the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section playoffs:
Valencia 65, Beverly Hills 63: Following a narrow road win over Beverly Hills, the Vikings have advanced into the second round of the Division 2 playoffs for a matchup against the Edison Chargers of Huntington Beach.
The Vikings were led by Romel McCoy, who scored 17 points. Steve Irons was second as he tallied 13 points.
The second-round game between the Vikings and Chargers is set to tip off at 7 p.m. Friday at Edison High School.
Golden Valley 66, Oak Hills 49: The Grizzlies secured the road win over Oak Hills and advanced into the second round of the Division 3 playoffs for a matchup against the Los Altos Conquerors of Hacienda Heights.
Junior guard Donovan Webb led all Grizzlies in scoring with 20 points and had an all-around performance as he tallied eight rebounds and four assists.
The game between the Grizzlies and Conquerors is set to tip off at 7 p.m. Friday at Los Altos High School.
Walnut 73, Hart 63: The Hart Hawks were the lone Santa Clarita Valley team to have lost in the first round, being defeated by the Walnut Mustangs.
With the loss, the Hawks were eliminated from the Division 4 playoffs.
Canyon 98, Bell Gardens 58: The Cowboys pulled off a big win at home over the Bell Gardens Lancers and advanced onto the second round of the Division 7 playoffs against the AnaheimColonists.
Senior guard Isaac Yuhico led all Cowboys in scoring with 43 points and ended the night with a double-double as he recorded 14 rebounds.
The game between the Cowboys and Colonists is set to tip off at 7 p.m. Friday at Anaheim High School.
Trinity 68, Sequoyah 54: The Knights had Noah Phillips lead Trinity to the first-round home win as the team advanced to the second round of the Division 8 playoffs for a matchup against the Victor Valley Jackrabbits of Victorville.
Phillips recorded a double-double as he ended the night with 26 points and 10 rebounds.
The game between the Knights and Jackrabbits is set to tip off at 7 p.m. Friday at Victor Valley High School.
