Notre Dame High School, from Sherman Oaks, Calif., won the prestigious National Division at the 35th Annual Torrey Pines Holiday Classic, knocking off defending champion Jserra Catholic High School from Orange County in front of a packed Torrey Pines High School gym.
Notre Dame got off to a quick start, with a transition dunk from sophomore guard Zion Lanier, and an alley-oop from junior guard Navorro Bowman Jr. to senior forward Zachary White, who is committed to play at San Diego State. Notre Dame’s suffocating defense limited open looks for JSerra’s offense. Notre Dame went into halftime with a commanding 45-21 lead.
JSerra did their best to slow the game down in the second half, but the lead was too much to overcome. Notre Dame won 74-55.
Navorro Bowman Jr., the son of the former San Francisco 49ers all pro linebacker, led the Notre Dame with 15 points and recorded a triple double. He won the Torrey Pines Holiday Classic MVP for his outstanding performance throughout the tournament.
“It’s a big accomplishment coming into the season as the underdogs,” he told Times of San Diego. “I’m just happy for the team, we dominated the championship. It felt good to win”.
He credited his teammates for his MVP award.
“This game I had a triple-double with 12 assists, I feel like them finishing and hitting shots was a big part on why I got it (MVP),” he said.
Notre Dame Head Coach Matt Sargeant said the team improved every game in the tournament.
“We finally got everybody healthy, got into a little bit of a rhythm and the boys played as hard as they could which is all you can ask for”.
He praised Bowman Jr. for his work ethic.
“He’s up at 5:00 a.m. everyday working on his game and it shows in tournaments like this and games like this, when he’s able to excel and play an all-around game,” he said.
Despite being an undersized team, Notre Dame took control of the game on the defensive side of the ball.
“We don’t have a lot of size, so we have to rely on our speed and we have to rely on our effort and our aggression,” Sargeant said.
Sargeant said the team is now shifting its attention to winning a state championship.
“Every game for us in January is a war,” he said. “I think we are in the best league in the state, if not the country. Keeping everyone focused and healthy… is what we are aiming for.”
