A Scout’s Take: Harvard-Westlake vs Sierra Canyon (Part 1)

Joel Francisco

February 21, 2022 @ 09:21 PM

A Scout’s Take: Harvard-Westlake vs Sierra Canyon (Part 1) CHATSWORTH, Ca—Sierra Canyon has been on the radar of elite teams for quite some time and was one of the favorites—along with defending champion Corona Centennial—to bag the CIFSS Championship this season. However, Harvard-Westlake had other ideas and put together a masterful performance to come away with a 63-60 victory and advance to their first Open Division Championship. Sophomore Trent Perry nailed two clutch free throws to complement [player_tooltip player_id="748779" first="Cameron" last="Thrower"] (pictured) and junior [player_tooltip player_id="992481" first="Brady" last="Dunlap"]’s outstanding performances as the Wolverines will take on the No. 1 seed Corona Centennial on Friday. MVP [player_tooltip player_id="748779" first="Cameron" last="Thrower"] (Harvard-Westlake) 2022, CG, 6-foot-3, 180 pounds Joel’s Take: In a critical match-up with perennial power Sierra Canyon, Thrower was simply scintillating. He tossed in 18-points and it was a mix of clutchness and efficiency. He, along with fellow senior [player_tooltip player_id="970273" first="Dahnte" last="Russell"], did an outstanding job of handling Sierra Canyon’s suffocating defense as they dissected it with precision passing and efficient ball-handling. Thrower’s jump shot was smooth all night and he mixed some strong drives as well. Blue-Collar 5-man [player_tooltip player_id="748680" first="Kijani" last="Wright"] (Sierra Canyon) 2022, F, 6-foot-9, 250 pounds Joel’s take: The Huskies are blessed with an absurd amount of talent and they possess a gifted front court of burly 5-man Wright as well as bouncy 4-man [player_tooltip player_id="748764" first="Jeremiah" last="Nyarko"]. Wright is built like a medieval fortress and he does an excellent job of carving out space in the paint. He shows a tremendous nose for the ball as a rebounder and finisher in the paint area. Despite his strength, he needs to do a better job of securing rebounds as he lost control of the ball far too often for a player of his caliber. Lefty 4-man [player_tooltip player_id="970272" first="Landon" last="Lewis"] (Harvard-Westlake) 2022, F, 6-foot-7, 215 pounds Joel’s Take: Lewis, who is committed to Brown, is a left-handed post who always plays on balance and never forces the issue. He put together a nice mix of post moves and face-up drives. His free throw shooting was a mixed bag at the beginning, but he converted down the stretch. The ultimate highlight for him was a drop-step move where he flushed over USC signee [player_tooltip player_id="748680" first="Kijani" last="Wright"]. Two-way stalwart Isaiah Elohim (Sierra Canyon) 2024, 6-foot-5, 200 pounds Joel’s take: The Huskies have a plethora of offensive weapons and Elohim is one of their brightest young stars. He didn’t get his usual amount of touches, but when he did he converted them. His mid-range game is phenomenal and he is explosive off the bounce. Defensively, he exhibited one of the best defensive plays as his chase-down block displayed his mindset on that side of the floor. Impact transfer [player_tooltip player_id="1129814" first="Trentyn" last="Flowers"] (Sierra Canyon) 2024, G/F, 6-foot-8, 220 pounds Joel’s take: Flowers, who recently transferred in the past month from Huntington Prep, made a significant impact in this game. The elite sophomore has all the physical tools to be a high-level D1 recruit down the road. He has the length and bounce to impact the game at both ends. While on the break he showed solid ball skills and vision. His lob-catch in transition was a thing of beauty and he made a number of plays in the paint area due to his nimble feet, soft hands, and knack for always being around the ball.