Santa Clarita Playoff Basketball

Notre Dame (15-12): 49

Hart (21-7): 53

Notre Dame 6’7 sophomore Ziaire Williams (20 points) might’ve garnered all the headlines as a top class of 2020 recruit, but it was the Hart defense that stole the show and kept the Indians run rolling into the second round.

With Whitten Dominguez and Luca Robinson struggling to get in the flow of the game, the Indians turned to Tre Harrill (20 points) and Carson Weiss (12 points and five steals) to provide the spark both offensively and defensively.

Notre Dame started the game on an 11-0 run and looked like they would run the Indians out of their own gym. Insert Weiss off the bench and almost immediately the defensive intensity shifted for Hart.

“My [role] on this team is to play defense, get up in guys and get steals, so I felt great playing defense,” Weiss mentioned after his strong performance.

The Indians led by as many as nine in the second half before a late surge from Notre Dame caused some nervy moments in the fourth quarter.

However, momentum shifted again thanks to a Tre Harrill block on Williams that helped Hart settle in again and play smart basketball down the stretch. Harrill got everything he wanted inside, scoring 18 of his game-high 20 points in the paint. The other two were free throws.

Hart now visits Division 2AA No. 1 Los Altos on Friday night in a Second Round matchup.

–

Saugus (18-8): 61

Muir (24-8): 80

Saugus hung with Muir in the first half, down just 31-26 at the break, before the wheels fell off in the third quarter.

The Centurions turned the ball over on three consecutive possessions to open the third quarter, and were outscored 22-8.

Adrian McIntyre tried to lead the Centurions to a come-from-behind win, scoring 16 of his 24 points in the final frame, but ultimately the Muir Mustangs had too much firepower.

Seniors Luke Bodeau (9 points, 5 rebounds) and Dylan Spring (15 points, 5 rebounds) have their careers end after a solid 18-win season.

-Diego Marquez, KHTS Sports

Valencia (12-14): 68

Oxnard (19-7): 63

Senior Ben Grant continued his hot form Wednesday night with 17 points to lead the Vikings to the road upset victory. Seniors Dexter Akanno and CJ Finley chipped in with 12 points.

If Valencia plays to their potential, they have the ability to play with anyone in their division and can make a deep run. They are riding a four-game winning streak.

Next up is Mission Prep at home on Friday night.

–

West Ranch (17-10): 50

San Marcos (21-6): 61

The Wildcats struggled to find their shooting against an excellent defensive team in San Marcos, who has now won 12 in a row.

Andrew Austin and Austin Galuppo combined to shoot 5-for-25 from the field, and ultimately West Ranch goes as the Austins go. Deaken Stangl led the Cats with 15 points and seven rebounds in the loss.

–

Trinity (11-11): 44

Pasadena Poly (22-3): 77

Trinity struggled offensively, but every team Poly plays against seems to struggle against them. The Knights put up the most points on the Panthers in their last nine games. In seven of those games they held opponents under 40 points.

–

Thursday’s girls playoff schedule (tip-off is at 7:00):

St. Anthony (11-14) vs 4 Canyon (24-4)

Valencia (15-11) vs Orangewood Academy (18-9)

12 Hart (14-13) vs Duarte (16-11)

6 Saugus (19-7) vs Rialto

Golden Valley (13-13) vs Beverly Hills (19-5)

Trinity Classical Academy (10-7) vs 12 Workman (15-9)

Santa Clarita Playoff Soccer

Canyon (8-12-4): 3

Fillmore (9-9-3): 2

F/OT

Aroldo Mazareigos scored the golden goal in the second half of overtime to lift the Cowboys to their first playoff win in seven seasons.

Since a humbling 4-0 loss to Saugus at home on January 19th, Canyon has been in incredible form. The Cowboys are unbeaten (5-0-2) in their last seven matches, with a +6 goal differential. They are playing clutch in close games, with four of the five wins coming by one goal.

It won’t get any easier, as the ‘Boys will travel up to Lancaster to face Eastside (13-3-4) on Friday.

Thursday’s girls playoff schedule:

Westlake (6-3-7) vs Hart (17-5-1)

Valencia (10-6-6) vs 10 Flintridge Sacred Heart (10-4-5)

Canyon (10-7-2) vs 9 Sierra Canyon (16-2)

Mojave (7-7-4) vs 4 Santa Clarita Christian (12-4)

KHTS Sports is your place for Santa Clarita Sports Report and the winter sports season. Find all the latest news and updates on your hometown schools here as they compete in the Foothill League, Heritage League, Western State Conference and GSAC. If you have any news and notes about our teams and players to share please send them to jp@hometownstation.com, like us on facebook.com/khtssports and follow us @KHTSSports on Twitter.