Riley Powers Trailblazers to LSI Final
Sierra Canyon 85, Gonzaga 81
By Brandon Tatera
Cody Riley had 32 points and 14 rebounds to lead Sierra Canyon to a 85-81 win over Gonzaga of Washington, D.C. in the semifinals of the Les Schwab Invitational at Liberty High School in Hillsboro, Oregon.
The Trailblazers advance to face Nathan Hale of Seattle and Michael Porter Jr. in the finals of the prestigious tournament that is among the best winter events each year.
While many of Southern California's top teams are playing throughout the state, USA Today's second ranked team in the country Sierra Canyon (10-0) is in Oregon.
A packed gym that included Washington head coach Lorenzo Romar and staff with assistants from Oregon, Oregon State, USC, Cal, UC Davis, and Washington star freshman Markelle Fultz were treated to a competitive game from start to finish.
Gonzaga trailed by 11 points in the second quarter and by 8 points at the end of the third quarter. But they rallied to tie the game in the final 3 minutes.
Sierra Canyon's Adam Seiko drained a three pointer to give the Trailblazers a 79-76 lead with just over 2 minutes left, and Gonzaga never caught up again.
Eddie Scott missed a game tying three point attempt with 10 seconds left, then a free throw from Marvin Bagley III iced the game and the win.
Sierra Canyon controlled the paint, scoring 56 of their 85 points inside. The 6'11 Bagley and 6'9 Riley had major success against a Gonzaga front line that didn't play anyone over 6'6.
Riley was a man inside leading the team in points, rebounds, and blocks (4) and he also threw down four dunks. The forward, who is signed with UCLA, was active on both ends of the floor and finished with both drives and post moves in the paint.
Bagley's evening was just as big in the stat sheets. He shot 14-16 from the field for 30 points and had 7 rebounds. The nation's top junior is a fluid athlete and can score inside in a multitude of ways. His length defensively also altered shots.
Remy Martin was also in double figures for Sierra Canyon. The Arizona State signee at the point guard position had 11 points,11 assists, and 5 rebounds. He did an exceptional job in transition creating for others and getting to the paint and to the foul line.
Gonzaga was led by Chris Lykes and Prentiss Hubb.
Lykes, who has signed with Miami, had a team high 24 points and showed the ability to get by defenders. Hubb, a 4 star junior shooting guard, finished with 22 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists. He is a talented outside shooter that drained a game high 3 three pointers.
Riley started the game on a terror. He had 20 points in the first half as Bagley had 14 points and battled foul trouble. Sierra Canyon led 40-32 at the half after a 21-21 tie at the end of the first quarter.
They maintained their lead in the third quarter with a 67-59 lead.
The fourth quarter was back and fourth. Gonzaga methodically cut down its deficit. A Hubb three pointer tied the game with 2:39 left.
Seiko responded with a 3 and the team defense along with timely converted free throws and buckets won the game down the stretch.
Scoring by Quarters:
Sierra Canyon---21-19-27-18 = 85
Gonzaga-------21-13-25-22 = 81
Sierra Canyon (85): Cody Riley 32, Marvin Bagley 30, Remy Martin 11, Adam Seiko 6, Terrence McBride 6.
Gonzaga (81): Chris Lykes 24, Prentiss Hubb 22, Eddie Scott 18, Myles Dread 8, Terrence Williams 5, Josh Watts 2, Anwar Gill 2.
