A high-profile high school basketball matchup in late January will now get the college treatment.
The CIF Mission League matchup Sierra Canyon and Notre Dame High School Jan. 27 has been moved from Notre Dame’s campus in Sherman Oaks, California to UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion.
The Harvard-Westlake (California) and Notre Dame girls programs open the double-header at 6 p.m. Tickets are already available on UCLA’s website.
On Saturday, Sierra Canyon faces No. 20 Wheeler (Georgia) at USC’s Galen Center at 4:30 p.m. on the NFHS Network (subscription required).
The Trailblazers (13-3), No. 22 in the SBLive/Sports Illustrated Power 25 national rankings, are led by four-star point guard Bronny James, Memphis pledge Ashton Hardaway, senior point guard Dylan Metoyer and five-star junior guard Isaiah Elohim.
Notre Dame (10-6) been up-and-down through a tough schedule after opening the season ranked No. 20 in the Power 25, dropping close games to West Ranch (California), Mikey Williams San Ysidro (California), Liberty (Nevada), American Fork (Utah) and a lopsided loss to Duncanville, the top-ranked public school in the country.
Sierra Canyon is coming off of a third place finish at the Les Schwab Invitational in Portland, where it lost to now-nationally ranked West Linn in the semifinals and rebounded with a win over nationally-ranked Bishop Gorman.
Sierra Canyon has been no stranger to national television. It played on ESPN in London and Paris last summer and faced Kiyan Anthony and Christ the King (New York) in a matchup celebrating the 20-year anniversary of a historic matchup between LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony in high school.
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Lead photo by Naji Saker