Harvard-Westlake vs. Santa Margarita: Superlatives

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA — Seventh-seeded Harvard-Westlake pulled off a statement win over second-seeded Santa Margarita in Tuesday night's CIF Southern Section Open Division playoffs. The 83-62 result was a decisive one as the Wolverines had four players in double figures, knocked down 13 three-point shots as a team and used a team defensive approach to nullify any size advantage that the Eagles had. Below we break down some of the top performers from the game.   <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Best Scorer(s): [player_tooltip player_id='1956504' first='Joe' last='Sterling'], Harvard-Westlake | [player_tooltip player_id='1956542' first='Kaiden' last='Bailey'], Santa Margarita</h4>   On Sterling: The 6-foot-3 combo guard had his patented off-dribble creativity and scoring ability on full display as he tied for game-high honors with 22 points on an efficient shooting night. Sterling, who is signed with Texas, used his deceptive ball-handling ability to create space from defenders where he connected on balanced mid-range jumpers and deep three-point shots. The senior showed why he is one of the best perimeter scorers out west.   On Bailey: The Harvard-Westlake defense was locked-in to stopping Bailey at all costs. Wolverines players were physical with him off the ball, gave him no space to operate when coming off of screens and loaded the defense to him when he had the ball in transition. Despite all of the defensive attention, Bailey still managed to lead his team in scoring with 19 points - a lot of those coming on tough, contested mid-range and three-point shots. The Georgia Tech-signee is one of the best tough shot-makers in the state.   <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Best Shooter(s): [player_tooltip player_id='2136707' first='Amir' last='Jones'], Harvard-Westlake | [player_tooltip player_id='2435370' first='Pierce' last='Thompson'], Harvard-Westlake</h4>   On Jones: The 6-foot-2 point guard had his three-point shot dialed in from the wings and corners and took advantage of the open looks given to him by the Santa Margarita defense. Jones stepped into and knocked down five three-pointers on the night - all off the catch - and flashed his high elevation and high release on his jumper. The Georgia State-bound senior finished with 21 points on the night.   On Thompson: The 6-foot-3 junior shooting guard/wing came out hyper aggressive and set the tone for the game in the first quarter as he scored 11 of his 22 points in the opening eight minutes. Thompson found himself with a handful of wide open looks from behind the arc which was due in large part to how well Harvard-Westlake moved the ball and how willing they were to make plays for each other. The junior knocked down four three-pointers on the night.   <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Best Big Men: [player_tooltip player_id='1956502' first='Dominique' last='Bentho'], Harvard-Westlake | [player_tooltip player_id='2425665' first='Drew' last='Anderson'], Santa Margarita</h4>   On Bentho: The 6-foot-8 UC Irvine-signee was as active last night as I've seen over the course of his four-year career at Harvard-Westlake. Bentho was all over the offensive and defensive boards and created second chance opportunities for his team while limiting them on the other end with his control of the glass. Bentho got it going offensively in the second half where he scored nine of his 11 points in the final 16 minutes which were key for the Wolverines to distance themselves from Santa Margarita and added 11 rebounds to his stat-line.   On Anderson: Anderson did all he could to establish and exploit Santa Margarita's size advantage at the four-spot by simply planting himself at the rim for duck-ins and post-ups which led to high percentage shots in the paint. The 6-foot-9 Oregon State-signee also flashed his combination of ball skills and athleticism with driving, soft-touched finishes and offensive rebound put-backs. Anderson scored 18 points in the loss.   <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Best Off The Bench: [player_tooltip player_id='2916727' first='Alex' last='Floyd'], Harvard-Westlake</h4>   On Floyd: Harvard-Westlake doesn't go deep into its bench so it's noticeable when there's a jolt of production off of it. Floyd checked in with a confident scoring mindset that allowed him to pitch in eight points in his reserve role, many on strong drives to the rim in half-court and transition offense. Floyd used that downhill driving ability to draw contact, whistles and get to the free throw line, as well.

RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA — Seventh-seeded Harvard-Westlake pulled off a statement win over second-seeded Santa Margarita in Tuesday night's CIF Southern Section Open Division playoffs. The 83-62 result was a decisive one as the Wolverines had four players in double figures, knocked down 13 three-point shots as a team and used a team defensive approach to nullify any size advantage that the Eagles had. Below we break down some of the top performers from the game.