After nearly two years of frustration, the Trailblazers are headed to a state championship game for the first time in program history after an easy 70-44 Division V Southern California regional championship game victory against Price at Colony High in Ontario.
“I’m ecstatic,” junior point guard Devearl Ramsey said. “I’m really happy for my teammates. Happy for the seniors. We finally are going to state.”
The victory couldn’t have gone any smoother for Sierra Canyon, which atoned for two Southern Section Open Division losses the past two years and a Division IV regional semifinal setback.
The Trailblazers (25-4) jumped out to an 11-2 lead, increased the advantage to 23-6 and never looked back.
Remy Martin led four Sierra Canyon players in double figures with 19 points, including nine in the first quarter and a four-point play.
Martin had seven rebounds and two assists.
“This is how I play, with energy,” Martin said. “I try to bring the energy and scoring punch. Try to get my teammates going. It seemed to work today.”
Everything was working early for Sierra Canyon, which made its second regional final appearance a successful one after losing 61-59 to St. Bernard in 2011.
The Trailblazers made their first five shots from the field and 9 of 13 in the first six minutes.
“We brought it to another level,” Martin said.
Cody Riley scored 14 points and grabbed nine rebounds, Adam Seiko scored 16 points, including four 3-pointers, and Ramsey added 11 points with four assists for Sierra Canyon.
Price made a small dent in the fourth quarter, cutting the deficit to 50-37. Sierra Canyon promptly went on a 17-4 run to end any thoughts of a miraculous rally.
Donnell Murray scored 14 points to lead Price (23-8), which came in with an 8-3 record in regional championship games. No other Price player scored in double figures.
The Knights were 8 of 18 from the free-throw line adding to its woes.
Ramsey and Martin cautioned about getting too excited about this victory. The duo has plans for more.
“This is a big one but we can’t take the foot off the pedal. We have a big game next week,” said Ramsey.
Sierra Canyon will face University High of San Francisco, a 65-50 winner against Brookside Christian (Stockton), at noon Friday at Haas Pavilion on the campus of UC Berkeley.
“This was big, I just really love my school,” Martin said. “There is one more to go and then we can relax. We are going to do everything we can to win the state championship.