No. 1 and Rising: Chatsworth, Sierra Canyon Living Up to Top Billing in Hoops

Sierra Canyon and Chatsworth are both seeded No. 1 in their respective boys basketball playoff divisions, and they’re playing like it by winning by large margins in the first round.

Sierra Canyon defeated  visiting Animo Leadership 74-33 on Wednesday in a Southern Section Div. V opener, followed by Chatsworth’s 69-33 win Thursday over Monroe of North Hills in the first round of the City Section Division III tournament.

Sierra Canyon (21-5), hoping to return to a section final after finishing as a runner-up last season, plays at Bloomington Christian tonight, then Chatsworth (22-9) plays host to Manual Arts on Tuesday. Both tipoffs are at 7 p.m.

“We’re doing pretty well. We’re starting to play some tough man-to-man defense,” Sierra Canyon junior Jesse Howell said. “We’re mixing it up on defense, sometimes playing a 1-3-1 zone, and we’re making the other teams take shots that we want them to take.”

Bloomington Christian (19-7) defeated Vistamar of El Segundo 48-42 in the first round.

“My coaching style is defense, defense, defense,” Sierra Canyon coach Ryan Silver said. “Bloomington Christian is well-coached, they have a couple of guards who are good shooters, and they run a slow-down, Princeton-style offense. They’re very solid. We try to be more uptempo.”

Sierra Canyon has benefited from the return of Michael Cohen from a shoulder injury. He was the team’s leading scorer a year ago, and he has fit right in with Sierra Canyon’s influx of young talent in freshmen Marsalis Johnson and Bryan Alberts and sophomore transfer Jahmel Taylor from Notre Dame High.

“Michael has such a good feel for the game that’s he’s changed the whole dynamic of the team,” Silver said. “He understands the game of basketball so well. On the court, he knows what he’s doing at all times. He’s not scoring as much as last year, but he has a presence.”

Sierra Canyon has won five in a row since a surprising one-point loss at Campbell Hall of Studio City on Feb. 1.

IN THE CITY

Chatsworth took care of business in the win over Monroe, outscoring the visiting Vikings 21-6 in the first quarter and 47-18 at the half. Jason Monje scored 15 points, and Terrell Funches added 14, as 11 Chatsworth players scored at least one point and totaled seven 3-pointers.

The Chancellors face a Manual Arts team that is just 10-18 but has won three in a row, including a surprising upset at North Hollywood.

NOTES

After finishing as an East Valley Division football runner-up this past season, the Trailblazers have ironed out their nonleague schedule this coming year. They’ll open against visiting Horizon of San Diego, followed by a game at Village Christian of Sun Valley, then a contest at Tri-City Christian of San Diego. The first Alpha League opponent is Montclair Prep of Van Nuys.

“We return 18 starters, so I’m excited about this year’s team,” Sierra Canyon coach Jon Ellinghouse said. “We return the major core of our team, so we’re gearing back up and getting ready to get it going again.” ...

In girls basketball, Chatsworth, led by Jasmine Wooten, opens the City Section playoffs tonight against visiting Gardena. Tipoff is 7 p.m. ….

Chatsworth’s baseball team, seeking its 10^th City title, plays its first game March 4 at Santa Monica. First pitch is 3 p.m.