The West’s best get work done in Mesa, heads to the OC this weekend

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MESA, AZ – Sunday’s final day of Section 7 boys’ basketball action did a superb job of showcasing a big chunk of the west’s best teams and players for the 2025-26 season.

And seven of the event’s 10 bracket champions will be in Southern California’s south Orange County to try to win second titles this weekend.

Southern California’s Sherman Oaks Notre Dame; Encino Crespi and Irvine’s Crean Lutheran; the northern half of the state’s Richmond Salesian, Branson and San Francisco University; and Goodyear (AZ) Millennium are the seven programs trying to go 4-zip for the second week in a row during the Cali Live.

The event is set to be headquartered at the Ladera Ranch Sports Center in the same 10-bracket, 16-team format as the Section 7 was used at the Arizona Athletic Grounds.

Notre Dame (74-61 over another CIF Southern Section member, Santa Margarita/Arizona Office of Tourism), Millennium (68-63 against preeminent Idaho powerhouse Meridian Owyhee, 68-63/Cache AI) and Salesian (63-55, The Villages of Florida/AIA), IMO, collected bracket championships against the most arduous competition in impressive fashion.

*Coach Matt Sargeant’s Notre Dame squad joined Crespi (86-80, vs. Las Vegas Centennial/Crest Insurance Group) and Sierra Canyon (88-56, over Phoenix Central) as members of the mega-powerhouse, San Fernando Valley-based Mission League in winning titles here.

A fourth Mission squad – Harvard-Westlake – was 2-2 in the AIA Bracket, losing its semifinal (59-57, Salesian) and third-place games (53-52, Phoenix Sunnyslope) via buzzer-beating shots.

Six-foot-three NaVorro Bowman (the BurlisonOnBasketball SoCal top Sophomore for this past season) of Notre Dame was more dominant in his production and overall impact on the outcome of his team’s games than any other Class of 2027 player in the event, scoring 30 points in the semifinal vs. Corona Centennial and 31 Sunday.

Making the Knights’ four-game run even more eyebrow-raising was that Notre Dame was without the consensus No. 1 player in the national Class of 2026, forward Tyran Stokes (USA Basketball 19U duties) and lost returning starter and junior-to-be Josiah Nance five minutes into the second game (ankle sprain).

Also sizzling was forward Zachary White, the three-season starter  who scored 28 points in the final and 11 against Centennial.

*Six-five junior-to-be Jasiah Williams (a recent transfer from Hesperia) scored 17 of his game-high 27 points after intermission in Crespi’s title win, while Sierra Canyon got 29 points from Maximus Adams and 23 from fellow senior-to-be Stephen Kankole (all but two of those via 3s) as it wrapped up its dominant weekend against Central.

Crespi was without 2027 guard Carter Barnes (left ankle sprain at the NBPA Top 100 Camp the week before) from the get-go and then lost another returning starter, 2026 guard Malakai Perrantes, to a dislocated right knee cap Saturday.

*Millennium Coach Ty Amundsen got a collective mega effort from his “Big 3” – Cam Holmes, Adan Diggs (pictured) and D.J. Spencer – during the team’s stretch of wins against Pasadena (73-44), Sacramento Inderkum (78-55), Redondo Union (64-54) and Owyhee to win its second consecutive Section 7 bracket crown.

The 6-6 Holmes – making a lot of on-court deposits into his “2026 McDonald’s All-American candidate stock” – dropped 26 points against Owyhee, about 18 hours after going for 23 against Redondo.

The 6-5 Diggs (a transfer from near-by Williams Field High) – solidifying the already consensus perception that he’s one of the Top 10ish prospects in the Class of 2028 – hit up Redondo for 26 before going for 22 in the Sunday finale.

The 6-5, left-handed Spencer (another local transfer; via Desert Vista) scored nine vs. Redondo and 16 vs. Owyhee and rebounded firmly against both.

Owyhee has evolved into one of the best high school programs in the country – not just Idaho, the northwest or the west – in its first four years of existence under 32-year-old Coach Andy Harrington.

Harrington was only in Mesa for his team’s Friday opening win over Rancho Christian of SoCal before flying to Boise for a Saturday night wedding.

But the Storm – with assistant Marcus Graham navigating the ship – toppled San Francisco Riordan and St. John Bosco (minus its three best players) before staying within a couple of possessions of Millennium over the second half.

Owyhee was led by one of the sharpest point guards in the event, left-handed Logan Haustveit, who directed his team’s offense and defensively flawlessly over the weekend that was capped 27 points (including five 3s) in the finale.

*Coach Bill Mellis’ Salesian squad – with 11 lettermen from 2024-25’s 27-4 team – had its best player for just game during the weekend.

Elias Obenyah – sidelined following the June 2-4 Pangos All-American Camp with a sore upper right leg (groin) – didn’t play in the opener with O’Connor of Phoenix before getting in for about 20 or so minutes in the second round-game Saturday with Timpview.

With the leg still a bit sore, Mellis decided to call it a weekend for Obenyah.

“He should be fine (for Cali Live),” Mellis said Sunday as his team warmed up for the title game with The Villages.

Senior forward Carlton Perrilliat’s drive and flip from the right side gave his team the Saturday night, semifinal win over Harvard-Westlake.

And then Pride’s signature half-court, man-to-man defense, coupled with strong offensive execution over the final three quarters of the game, gave Mellis & Co. the title.

Guard Isaiah Davis scored 16 points (four 3s) while Perrilliat scored 10 of his 11 after intermission.

Other championship winners:

*ASEC: Irvine (CA) Crean Lutheran 73, North Hollywood (CA) Campbell Hall 69 (Class of 2027 guard Hunter Caplan, whose buzzer-beating 3 beat Highland of Utah in the Saturday night semifinal, had six 3s and 21 points for the winners).

*Ortho Arizona: Orange (CA) Lutheran 56, L.A. Windward 43 (sophomore-to-be Noah Zeola with 14 points).

*ABCA: Ross (CA) Branson 65, West Point (AZ) 42 (Juniors-to-be N.J. Gray and Heath French and senior-to-be Chase Robertson combined for 50 points).

*MI Camp Sports: San Francisco University 61, Anaheim Canyon 57 (senior-to-be Lucas Lau scored 24 points and sparked late-second half spurt).

*Dorsey & Whitney, LLP: Oakland Bishop O’Dowd 71, Northridge (CA) Heritage Christian 65 (six players scored from eight to 12 points for Coach Lou Richie’s Dragons).