Sherman Oaks Notre Dame holds off Crespi to improve to 24-0

Perhaps it was one of those “trap games.” Or maybe No. 1 Sherman Oaks Notre Dame just took Crespi lightly. Whatever the reason, the Knights were given a good scare before hanging on for a 64-61 victory over the Celts on Wednesday night before a packed home crowd.

A missed three-pointer at the buzzer denied the Celts the chance to send the game into overtime. Notre Dame (24-0, 6-0) rallied from a 10-point halftime deficit, scoring the first 15 points of the third quarter. Lino Mark led the second-half comeback, finishing with 21 points. Mercy Miller had 17 points and Zachary White 11. Caleb Ogbu made two free throws with 14 seconds left for the Knights and finished with 13 points.

Joe Sterling led Crespi (20-6) with 19 points, Peyton White had 16 points and freshman Isaiah Barnes 15. It was a terrific performance by a Celts team full of underclassmen.

Notre Dame now can focus on Friday’s showdown at Sierra Canyon to determine the No. 1 seed for next week’s Mission League tournament. Sierra Canyon defeated Bishop Alemany 67-55. Isaiah Elohim and Bryce Cofield each scored 18 points.

Harvard-Westlake 78, Chaminade 46: After consecutive defeats, the Wolverines came out showing no mercy. Nikolas Khamenia finished with 16 points.

St. Francis 54, Loyola 44: Mazi Mosley scored 17 points for the Golden Knights.

JSerra 68, Santa Ana Mater Dei 62: Aidan Fowler finished with 36 points for JSerra, which handed the Monarchs their first Trinity League defeat and set in motion some uncertainty for next weekend’s Southern Section Open Division playoff seedings. Brannon Martinsen scored 24 points for Mater Dei.

Santa Margarita 47, Orange Lutheran 37: Cameron McNamee finished with 15 points for the Eagles.

St. John Bosco 90, Servite 40: Elzie Harrington scored 25 points and Brandon McCoy 24 for the Braves.

Chatsworth 70, Birmingham 68: Alijah Arenas scored the game-winning basket to help the Chancellors hand Birmingham its first West Valley League defeat. Chatsworth trailed by 15 points at halftime. Alex Dupre had 29 points for Birmingham.

Cleveland 66, El Camino Real 49: The Cavaliers moved into a first-place tie with Birmingham in the West Valley League. Souljah Niles had 17 points and 10 rebounds.

Westchester 46, LACES 43: Khaeden Grady-Asher scored 13 points for the Comets in a big Western League win.

Palisades 52, Venice 51: The Dolphins moved into second place in the Western League, one game behind Westchester with their ninth win in the last 10 games. Jordan Farhadian scored 20 points.

Sun Valley Poly 59, Verdugo Hills 56: JD Wyatt scored 29 points for Poly.

San Pedro 56, Narbonne 49: Noah Simpson contributed 15 points for the Pirates.

Corona Centennial 90, Corona 35: Huskies coach Josh Giles earned his 500th coaching victory.

Rancho Cucamonga 60, Etiwanda 58: Aaron Glass scored 21 points to hand Etiwanda its first loss in the Baseline League.

Simi Valley 56, Moorpark 47: Ryder Mjoen led Simi Valley with 25 points.

Oak Park 63, Royal 39: Seshsha Henderson scored 25 points for Oak Park.

Westlake 76, Calabasas 47: Austin Maziasz had 22 points for Westlake.

South Pasadena 65, La Canada 61: Derek Peterson finished with 29 points for South Pasadena.

St. Pius X-St. Matthias 76, St. Paul 66: Tyrone Riley led the way with 17 points and Tariq Bridges had 14 points.

St. Anthony 66, St. Bernard 63: Josh Palmer had 19 points for St. Bernard.

Blair 91, Temple City 72: Timmy Anderson scored a career-high 52 points for Blair.

Girls’ basketball

San Pedro 53, Narbonne 27: The Pirates are 7-0 in the Marine League. Noelani Raigans scored 24 points.