Sports
With LeBron James looking on, Sierra Canyon captures Division I state title
SACRAMENTO — LeBron James’ entrance at Golden 1 Center on Friday night produced a crowd reaction similar to a rock star walking on stage for a concert. Fans began to rise from their seats and shout. Anyone with a camera tried to capture the scene of James, his wife and young daughter walking to their courtside seats to watch son Bryce play for Sierra Canyon against Stockton Lincoln in the state Division I championship game.
James, sidelined because of a groin injury, had another son, Bronny, with the Lakers in Denver, with both games going on simultaneously. It was a fitting ending to James’ six-year run as a Sierra Canyon parent trying to balance his responsibilities as one of the world’s most famous athletes with being the father of two teenage basketball players.
James’ presence helped bring out one of the largest crowds (8,396) for a Friday night state final in years, and Sierra Canyon rallied in the fourth quarter behind Maximo Adams to pull out a 58-53 victory.
Sierra Canyon (27-7) fell behind by four points at halftime after making just one of 13 shots from three-point range. The Trailblazers finally took charge in the fourth quarter when Adams made a three with 1:52 left for a 51-50 lead. The Trailblazers had been three for 23 on three-pointers until that clutch shot.
“My coaches tell me to keep shooting, so why not let it fly,” Adams said.
Then came a Bryce Cofield basket, a three-point play by Adams, plus two more free throws from Adams.
Gavin Hightower finished with 15 points, Adams 14 points, Cofield 11 and Stephen Kankole 10. Donez Lindsey and Anthony Moore each scored 18 points for Lincoln, which felt the officiating favored the Trailblazers, who made 20 of 30 free throws.
“It wasn’t a great flow tonight,” Sierra Canyon coach Andre Chevalier said. “There were a lot of whistles blown.”
Sierra Canyon has been prominent in the Open Division, but Chevalier will take the Division I title.
“This was hard as heck,” he said. “We’re going to hang this banner like it’s the world championship.”
Afterward, Lincoln’s Moore was helped up off the floor when LeBron James gave him a hand.
“That was crazy,” Moore said. “I’ll remember that.”
Chevalier said it was “the best coaching job of my career” after overcoming the loss of players who left, the disruption of the L.A. fires and an early loss to Santa Barbara.
Bryce James finished with three points and the first CIF state title in the family.
Division III
San Gabriel Academy 52, King’s Academy 51: Mahamadou Diop, San Gabriel Academy’s 6-foot-11 sophomore center from Mali, is someone fans in Southern California will need to watch in the coming years. He’s that good.
“My dream is to go to NBA,” the 17-year-old said.
He had 10 points, seven rebounds and four blocked shots in the first half of the state championship game. Three of his baskets came on dunks. He didn’t score in the third quarter when his team’s lead was cut from 13 points at halftime to four. That’s when he rose up to get his team rolling, and San Gabriel held on for its first state title.
Diop finished with 20 points, making 10 of 16 shots, 13 rebounds and seven blocks.
With San Gabriel leading by nine in the final minute, the Eagles started committing turnovers and fouling. King’s Academy closed to within 50-49 with 11.3 seconds left before Xavier Wang made two free throws for a three-point lead.
“I lost about five years in my life in the last 15 seconds,” San Gabriel coach Daniel Piepoli said.
After San Gabriel’s 25th turnover led to a layup just before the buzzer, the Eagles were able to to run out the clock and celebrate their first championship.
Diop, who doesn’t speak much English, said he likes blocking shots more than dunking.
“He gets better every single day. You can see he can tear the rim down,” Piepoli said.
As Diop improves his shooting touch from outside, his value will only increase.
Division V
San Francisco International 71, Diamond Ranch 52: Conor Maguire scored 32 points to help International come back from a six-point halftime deficit to win the title. Devin Turner scored 16 points and Michael Salazar had 14 points for Diamond Ranch (23-15), the Southern California champion.
The Panthers were outscored 16-0 during one drought. In the first half Salazar made seven of 10 shots and scored all 14 of his points as Diamond Ranch led 30-24. He got into foul trouble, then fouled out. It was a tough way to potentially end his basketball career.
“I’ve been hooping my whole life,” Salazar said. “It’s hard. I hope I don’t have to give up basketball yet.”
Diamond Ranch coach Kevin Ryan said, “These guys went into every morning practice trying to get better every day. Basketball is a game of runs and they swung at us and hit us hard.”
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An Olympic medalist and 13-time X Games winner suffered serious head injuries after a stunt went wrong.
Nyjah Huston, who won bronze in Paris in 2024, said he suffered a fractured skull and eye socket.
“A harsh reminder how death-defying skating massive rails can be…” Huston wrote in an Instagram post which included a photo of himself in a hospital bed. “Taking it one day at a time. I hope yall had a better new years then me. We live to fight another day.”
Nyjah Huston of the United States competes in the men’s street prelims during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at La Concorde 3. (Jack Gruber/USA TODAY Sports)
The post also featured Huston being treated by first responders and friends, along with another photo showing a large black-and-blue mark on Huston’s eye.
Numerous skating legends showed their support for Huston, who is considered one of the best skateboarders in the United States today.
Nyjah Huston of Team USA reacts at the Skateboarding Men’s Street Prelims on day two of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Ariake Urban Sports Park on July 25, 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. (Dan Mullan/Getty Images)
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“Been watching @nyjah grow up into one of the best skaters to ever do it and it amazes me the amount of grit this kid has,” Shaun White shared on his Instagram story, via Pro Football Network. “You got this brother. Heal quick!”
Even Tony Hawk shared well-wishes on Huston’s Instagram post.
“Heavy. Stay strong; we know you’ll be back,” the skateboarding legend wrote.
“Man.. prayers for healing brother!” added Ryan Sheckler.
It is unknown whether Huston was wearing a helmet at the time of the incident.
Nyjah Huston, of the United States, celebrates during the men’s skateboard street final at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Monday, July 29, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Huston has seven gold medals and five silvers in world championships. He has not competed since the 2024 Olympics, but the California native has his eyes set on the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.
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JuJu Watkins is returning to Sierra Canyon High on Friday, the place where she was a high school basketball All-American.
The school will hold a ceremony retiring her jersey at halftime of the boys’ basketball game between Sierra Canyon and Sherman Oaks Notre Dame.
She will be presented with a framed jersey.
Watkins is sitting out this season at USC while recovering from a knee injury.
Sierra Canyon girls’ basketball coach Alicia Komaki said, “She raised our standards, which was hard to do because we had won four state championships. She was an incredibly talented player.”
Watkins was also making a huge impact in the college game until her injury last season during the NCAA playoffs.
This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
Sports
Miami beats Ole Miss behind Carson Beck’s game-winning touchdown to reach CFP National Championship Game
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The Miami Hurricanes are heading to the College Football Playoff National Championship Game, coming away with a narrow victory over Ole Miss, 31-27, in an all-time postseason contest.
The Hurricanes will now await the winner of the other semifinal between the Indiana Hoosiers and Oregon Ducks to see who they will play on Jan. 19. But Miami will do so on their home turf, with the National Championship Game being played at Hard Rock Stadium – the site of their home games.
The game began slowly for both teams, with only Miami getting on the scoreboard in the first quarter with a field goal on their 13-play opening drive. But the fireworks came out from there for the Rebels thanks to the speed of running back Kewan Lacy.
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Charmar Brown of the Miami (FL) Hurricanes celebrates a run in the first quarter of the 2025 College Football Playoff Semifinal at State Farm Stadium on Jan. 8, 2026 in Glendale, Arizona. (Steve Limentani/ISI Photos)
On just the second play of the second quarter, Lacy was off to the race, finding a seam and busting out a 73-yard touchdown run to go up 7-3 after the extra point.
But this game was back and forth for quite some time, including the ensuing Hurricanes drive as quarterback Carson Beck led the way on a 15-play touchdown series with a CharMar Brown rushing score from four yards out.
The game was deadlocked at 10 apiece when Beck decided to air it out to Keelan Marion, and it was worth the risk. Marion made the grab for a 52-yard touchdown to help Miami go up 17-13 at halftime.
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The third quarter was an odd one for both squads, as their opening drives resulted in a missed field goal apiece. Then, after Beck threw an interception, the Rebels were able to cut the lead to 17-16 in favor of the Hurricanes heading into the fourth quarter for the ages.
There was no absence of electric plays when it mattered most in the final 15 minutes, as Rebels quarterback Trinidad Chambliss got his team downfield enough to take a 19-17 lead with a field goal.
But the speed of Malachi Toney changed the scoreboard for Miami in the best way possible, as he took a screen 36 yards to the house, capping a four-play, 75-yard answer drive for the Hurricanes right after Ole Miss took the lead.
Trinidad Chambliss of the Ole Miss Rebels celebrates a touchdown against the Miami Hurricanes in the second quarter during the 2025 College Football Playoff Semifinal at the VRBO Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium on Jan. 8, 2026 in Glendale, Arizona. (Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
With a 24-19 lead and five minutes left to play in the game, Chambliss and the Rebels’ offense had quite enough time to retake the lead. He did just that, finding trusty tight end Dae’Quan Wright for 24 yards to send the Rebels faithful ballistic.
Ole Miss wanted to go for two in hopes of making it a three-point lead, and Chambliss came through again, finding a wide open Caleb Odom for the key score.
It was up to Beck and the Miami offense to keep the game alive with at least tying the game at 27 apiece. On a crucial third-and-10 just inside field goal range, Beck was confident with his pass to Marion to get well within range. Another pass to Marion made it first-and-goal, and it was clear Miami wasn’t trying to force overtime. They wanted to win it all.
How fitting was it that Beck, scanning the field, found a seam to his left and just sprinted for the colored paint to score the game-winner with 18 seconds left.
But things got fascinating at the end, with Ole Miss going 40 yards in just a few seconds to set up a Hail Mary for the win. Chambliss had the space to loft a pass to the end zone, and though it hit off the hand of a teammate, it landed incomplete for the Miami victory.
Carson Beck of the Miami Hurricanes passes the ball against the Ole Miss Rebels in the first quarter during the 2025 College Football Playoff Semifinal at the VRBO Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium on Jan. 8, 2026 in Glendale, Arizona. (Chris Coduto/Getty Images)
In the box score, Beck was 23-of-37 for 268 yards with his two passing touchdowns and an interception. Marion was a key player in the victory with seven catches for 114 yards, while Mark Fletcher Jr. set the tone in the ground game with 133 yards rushing on 22 carries. Toney also tallied 81 receiving yards for Miami.
For Ole Miss, Chambliss also went 23-of-37 for 277 yards with his touchdown to Wright, who finished with 64 yards on three grabs. De’Zhaun Stribling was five for 77 through the air, while Lacy rushed for 103 yards on 11 carries.
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