High School

Look: Jared McCain, Corona Centennial escape Bronny James, Sierra Canyon in star-studded CIF Southern Section playoff opener

The four-star social media sensations went down to the wire in a much-anticipated playoff opener

Andy Buhler, SBLive Sports

Jared McCain and Bronny James — perhaps the two biggest names in high school basketball — gave a packed crowd a show in Friday's CIF Southern Section Open Division pool play opener.

McCain, a four-star Duke commit and social media sensation, netted a game-high 22 points to help seal a 68-63 win for the Huskies (25-3), the No. 7 ranked team nationally in the SBLive/Sports Illustrated Power 25.

A James 3 pulled the Trailblazers within one with 22 seconds left. McCain hit two pairs of free throws in the final 30 seconds and the Huskies' BJ Taylor added two more with 1.1 seconds left to seal the win. 

Sierra Canyon, losers of 3 of its last 5 entering Friday, took the lead early in the second half with a 13-2 run. The Huskies responded with its own 12-4 run and the game see-sawed into the final seconds. 

Scroll to the top of the page to watch highlights of the game. 

More CIF playoff coverage

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Lead photo by Nick Koza

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Andy Buhler, SBLive Sports
ANDY BUHLER, SBLIVE SPORTS

Andy Buhler is a Regional Editor of Texas and the national breaking news desk. He brings more than five years of experience covering high school sports across the state of Washington and beyond, where he covered the likes of Paolo Banchero and Tari Eason served on state tournament seeding committees. He works on the SBLive/Sports Illustrated Power 25 national boys basketball rankings. He has covered everything from the Final Four, MLS in Atlanta to local velodrome before diving into the world of preps. His bylines can be found in The News Tribune (Tacoma, Washington), The Associated Press, The Columbian (Vancouver, Washington), The Oregonian and more. He holds a degree from Gonzaga and is based out of Portland, Oregon.

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