HS HOOPS: Sierra Canyon shuts down Montclair Prep in OT in D5 final

When you shoot 31 percent from the field, you better play some good defense if you want to win the game, so give Sierra Canyon High credit for doing so Friday in a 48-45 overtime victory over Montclair Prep in the Southern Section Div. V-A basketball championship at Mater Dei High.

In winning its first boys' title in school history, Sierra Canyon did just enough. The cold-shooting Trailblazers made 19 of 61 shots, including 4 of 21 3-pointers, but Montclair Prep struggled even more, hitting 16 of 56 (28.6 percent) without making a 3-pointer in 12 attempts.

Pretty it was not, but Sierra Canyon (25-5) celebrated like it was Game 7 of the NBA Finals.

"We made the shots at the end, and that's all that matters," Sierra Canyon's Jahmel Taylor said. "I had trust that we would pull it out. We worked hard, and our plan was to just play as a team and see what happened."

Taylor scored 16 points, but it took him 17 shots to do it, and he was the only Sierra Canyon player to score in the fourth quarter, as the Mounties led briefly 42-41 on Trey Dickerson's driving layup with 2 minutes, 53 seconds remaining. Taylor followed with a jumper, and Sierra Canyon never trailed again. In overtime, his two free throws gave the Trailblazers a four-point lead.