Ziaire Williams is back, and Sherman Oaks Notre Dame rallies from 22-point deficit to win

Things looked pretty bleak for Sherman Oaks Notre Dame early in the third quarter in the Nike Extravaganza at Mater Dei on Saturday. The Knights trailed St. John Bosco by 22 points.

“I wasn’t paying attention to the score,” coach Matt Sargeant said. “I was trying to get one stop at a time.”

With Ziaire Williams and Julian Rishwain leading the way, Notre Dame surged past St. John Bosco 72-64.

“That’s why you don’t stop coaching,” Sargeant said.

Williams scored 25 points and had 10 rebounds, and Rishwain scored 24 points with nine rebounds.

“We just got hot,” Williams said.

Anything can happen when Williams is playing. He missed two games in Mission League play because of a sprained ankle and Notre Dame lost both. The Knights are 16-10 and will be a tough team in the Division 2-AA playoffs. They also could be a surprise as a No. 4 seed in the Mission League tournament that begins Thursday at Alemany.

“It was killing me,” Williams said of not playing.

“He’s able to make so many offensive plays and on defense he covers so much ground,” Sargeant said of the 6-foot-8 Williams, a junior.

Williams is fine now. “Motrin and Advil, I’m good to go,” he said.

Joshua Adoh led St. John Bosco (20-6) with 26 points. The Braves were without an injured Chris James.

In other games, Jarod Lucas of Los Altos scored 41 points in his team’s 87-53 win over Los Alamitos. He was 16 of 19 on free throws and had 16 rebounds.

Streaking Rancho Verde continued its pursuit of an Open Division playoff berth with a 73-45 win over Villa Park. Tory San Antonio scored 26 points and Jaxen Turner 24.

JSerra defeated one of the top teams from San Diego, St. Augustine, 59-57. Ian Martinez scored 18 points.

Fairfax (20-1) won its third game in as many days, knocking off Long Beach Poly 59-53. Ethan Anderson finished with 17 points. Malik Salahuddin had 27 points for Poly.

Mater Dei defeated Harvard-Westlake 87-72. Devin Askew finished with 19 points and Wilhelm Breidenbach 18. Johnny Juzang scored 23 points and Mason Hooks 20 for Harvard-Westlake.

Foothills Christian defeated Orange Lutheran 68-57. Makur Maker had 22 points and 15 rebounds.

Fairmont defeated Crean Lutheran 62-44. Atin Wright scored 32 points.

In a nonleague game, Beverly Hills defeated Brentwood 65-60. Marcel Stevens scored 19 points. Brentwood played without Braelee Albert and Brett Polson, both of whom were ejected on Friday night against Sierra Canyon. Cam Woods scored 14 points for Brentwood.

In Florida, Rancho Christian was beaten in the championship game of the Montverde tournament, losing to the host school 79-56. Montverde should be crowned California state champion since it also owns two wins over Chatsworth Sierra Canyon. Evan Mobley scored 13 points.

Rolling Hills Prep defeated Venice 64-41. Vaughn Flowers finished with 19 points. Reese Komesu had 22 points for Venice.

In a Coliseum League game, Fremont defeated Dorsey 77-73 to remain one game behind Crenshaw in the battle for first place. Fremont hosts Crenshaw on Tuesday.

Taft defeated Sylmar 76-36. Demetrius Calip scored 15 points. Narbonne rallied to defeat King-Drew 45-44.

In the Gold Coast League, Sierra Canyon defeated Campbell Hall 93-50. Cassius Stanley scored 19 points and KJ Martin 18. Sierra Canyon is 23-2. Kyle Beedon scored 19 points for Campbell Hall.

Heritage Christian defeated Village Christian 90-52. Noah Fernando finished with 21 points and eight rebounds.