Notre Dame gets back a key player in time to win Division 1 boys’ basketball title

Back home in New Zealand for two weeks dealing with his ill father, Bronson Schmidt-Uili of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame missed all of the Knights’ playoff games until returning to the court in Saturday night’s Southern Section Division 1 championship game at Toyota Arena in Ontario.

With 10.4 seconds left and Notre Dame clinging to a three-point lead over Windward, Schmidt-Uili was fouled and sent to the line. He missed the first free throw then made the second, clinching a 69-65 victory. The 6-foot-11 senior finished with eight points, eight rebounds, several dunks and a feeling of relief.

“I’ve had so much support,” he said. “Everyone has been looking out for me. I was a little bit rusty.”

Notre Dame (29-3) thought it belonged in the Open Division playoffs but as the No. 1 seed in Division 1, the Knights took care of business and will now prepare for a second straight year of trying to wina Division 1 state title. Mercy Miller finished with 22 points, Angelino Mark had 16 and Caleb Ogbu added 14.

Windward (28-4) received 21 points from Gavin Hightower, 15 from Louis Bond and 13 from Jeremiah Hampton. The Wildcats held a 34-32 halftime lead, but Notre Dame came out with better energy and led throughout the second half.

Three-point shooting for Windward was going to be important, and the Wildcats were six for 19 from three-point range. The Knights used their size advantage to outrebound Windward 31-23.

Notre Dame coach Matt Sargeant expressed support for Schmidt-Uili

“To go through the kind of adversity he went through and have a game like that, I’m so happy for him,” Sargeant said.

La Habra 66, St. Bonaventure 45: Jaedon Anderson scored 22 points and sophomore Acen Jimenez had 21 points as La Habra won the Division 3AA championship, its first in school history, in Ontario. The two combined to make 23 of 29 free throws. La Habra made eight threes.

Marina 53, Long Beach Poly 49: Marina won the 2A championship at Edison, its first in school history. Barak Simon, the son of former City Section player of the year Jerry Simon (Marshall), finished with 19 points. For Poly, Jovani Ruff scored 19.

Bishop Alemany 86, Bosco Tech 80: In the wildest game of the day, the Warriors needed three overtimes to capture the 3A championship at Colony. Jaden Erami of Bosco Tech made a three at the end of the second overtime to tie the game. He finished with 37 points. Jared Mims scored 25 points and Logan Dorsey 22 for Bishop Alemany.

Temecula Valley 53, Covina Northview 40: A young Temecula Valley team won the Division 4A championship in Ontario. Freshman Jeremiah Profit had 18 points in the win.

Lynwood Firebaugh 76, Big Bear 31: Kentrayl Roberson scored 22 points for Firebaugh in the Division 5A championship game at Colony.

Girls

Brentwood 70, Corona Santiago 53: Making 13 three-pointers, the Eagles dominated from start to finish to win the Division 1 championship in Ontario. Lev Feiman scored 21 points and Jocelyn Pascual added 15.

The Eagles went to Galen Center in the morning for a shootaround. “It definitely helped us get used to the arena setting,” Pascual said.

The Eagles (24-8) made seven threes in the first half to open a 34-21 halftime lead. Six players made threes.

“Thank you to USC,’’ coach Charles Solomon said.

Anaheim Canyon 52, Rancho Cucamonga 43: A 12-2 run to start the fourth quarter helped Canyon win the Division 4AA championship in Ontario. Jasmine Prajitino scored 20 points and sister Justine Prajitno added 16.

Palos Verdes 57, Eastside 46: Sophomore Maddie Farnsworth, who also stars in cross-country and track, made 14 of 26 shots and finished with 35 points in the Division 4A championship game in Ontario.

Louisville 64, Lakewood 45: The Royals won the Division 2A championship. Miye Kodama, who helped Louisville win a Division 4 soccer title Friday, had eight points. Taylor Westbrook led Louisville with 18 points and Khali Sowell-Mitchell had 17 and Eva Van Lokeren 16.

Oak Park 71, Cerritos 41: Delaney White had 25 points and 12 rebounds in the Division 3AA final.

JSerra 43, St. Margaret’s 30: The Lions won their first title in school history. Freshman Rosie Santos scored 15 points. The Lions went 0-8 in the Trinity League but got relief and thrived in the Division 3A playoffs.

Adelanto 64, Colton 35: Nina Lacy had 23 points and 23 rebounds in the Division 5AA final.