BOYS’ BASKETBALL / LA CANADA TOURNAMENT Notre Dame : Steals Way to Victory

It was only a quarterfinal game in the La Canada basketball tournament. It’s only December.

And the playoffs? They’re a whole season away.

Yet the smile that Notre Dame High basketball Coach Chris Perez wore symbolized the importance of his team’s 62-53 victory over previously undefeated Bishop Montgomery Saturday night.

“Our program needed this win,” said Perez, whose Knights (6-1) used a 16-2 run in the third quarter to erase a 32-25 deficit.

“For us, this was such a great challenge. Bishop is known for its great defense, but we played some defense of our own tonight.”

And then some.

Four consecutive times during Notre Dame’s third-quarter spree, Bishop Montgomery (5-1) tried to get the ball down low to a post player.

Four times, Notre Dame stole the ball. That, coupled with eight third-quarter points by Tyler Murphy, who had 14 overall, shifted the balance of the game.

Tim Anderson added 11 points and David Sobel chipped in with 10 for Notre Dame, which will face Harvard-Westlake in the tournament semifinals Monday night at 6:30.

Brandon Price had 12 points and nine rebounds for Bishop Montgomery.

In other tournament quarterfinals:

*

Harvard-Westlake 74, Moorpark 43--Jason Collins had 11 points, 12 rebounds and six blocked shots as the Wolverines (7-0) breezed past the outmanned Musketeers (9-3).

Ari Isaacson scored 11 points and Ben Robbins added nine for Harvard-Westlake, which led, 53-9, before emptying its bench. Stephen Jennings and Brian Fortman scored eight points each for Moorpark.

The 6-foot-10 Collins, who had six points, nine rebounds and five blocked shots at the end of the first quarter, played sparingly the rest of the game.

“They were a little bit intimidated and their shots were a little flat,” said Harvard-Westlake Coach Greg Hilliard said.

“We’re a pretty big team, and if you haven’t practiced against people with our size, it could be tough.”

Collins’ twin brother Jarron, who is 6-foot-9, was also a factor in the victory with eight points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots.

*

Alemany 60, Campbell Hall 49--Adrian Pantoja scored 17 points and Mario Thompson had 16 to for the Indians (4-4).

Aaron Lee scored 11 points for Campbell Hall (4-4). The Indians will face St. Francis in another semifinal at 8 p.m. Monday.

Campbell Hall will meet La Canada on Monday in a fifth-place semifinal game at 4:45 p.m.

*

St. Francis 60, La Canada 56--Mihail Papadopulous scored 18 points as St. Francis became the third Mission League team to reach the semifinals, knocking the Spartans out of championship contention. James Alvarez added 15 points for St. Francis (4-2).

Charlie Petit had 16 points for La Canada (4-4).