High School

No. 1 junior Tyran Stokes bests Duke commit Nik Khamenia in California high school basketball playoff showdown

Harvard-Westlake's Nik Khamenia and Notre Dame's Tyran Stokes went head-to-head for a berth to the CIF Southern Section Open Division final.

Tarek Fattal

Harvard-Westlake's Nik Khamenia (left) and Notre Dame's Tyran Stokes went head-to-head for a berth to the CIF Southern Section Open Division final on Feb. 21, 2025.
Harvard-Westlake's Nik Khamenia (left) and Notre Dame's Tyran Stokes went head-to-head for a berth to the CIF Southern Section Open Division final on Feb. 21, 2025. / Heston Quan/Greg Fiore

STUDIO CITY, CALIFORNIA — When Harvard-Westlake's Nik Khamenia missed two free throws late in the fourth quarter in front of his home crowd, it was like seeing an immortal bleed.

The two-time CIF State Open Division champ. The McDonald's All-American. The Gold Medalist. The Duke commit showed he's human. Khamenia finished with 31 points, but it wasn't enough.

The night belonged to Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks, as Tyran Stokes and Zach White led the Knights to a 68-61 victory in Studio City Friday night to complete Open Division pool play unbeaten and advance to the program's first-ever Open Division final on March 1.

Notre Dame will play the winner of Tuesday night's game between St. John Bosco and Roosevelt in Pool B. The final will be played at the Toyota Center at 6:30 p.m.

"This was the season goal. To win the Open Division championship," Notre Dame coach Matt Sargeant said. "We have a chance to do that."

Stokes, the nation's top-ranked junior, led Notre Dame with 25 points and 10 rebounds, including 9 of 14 free throws. Notre Dame was 24 of 31 from the free throw line, including 16 of 19 in the final frame. White, who turned in a the 'game MVP' performance, tallied 23 points and six rebounds.

The game had six lead changes and five ties.

Harvard-Westlake's Isaiah Carroll hit a 3-pointer tie the game at 51-51 with five minutes to play, but free throw makes from Notre Dame down the stretch iced the game. The Knights scored 21 points in the fourth quarter.

Notre Dame went 4-0 in pool play, and a large part of that performance is due to the return of Rutgers commit Lino Mark, who's been nursing a hamstring injury since December. His participation though the postseason was in question. But he's played in all four Open Division games.

"A focused Lino Mark has won two consecutive championships," Sargeant said. "He won a state championship as a sophomore and a section title as a junior. He's been in big games. To have that influence showed tonight."

Mark was in foul trouble most of Friday night's game, but finished with nine points and four assists.

It was the third round of the proverbial heavyweight matchup between Khamenia and Stokes.

Despite Harvard-Westlake winning the first two games, Friday night’ game mattered most — and marked history for Notre Dame.

"Harvard-Westlake is a phenomenal program. They've won two CIF State titles in a row. We knew we'd have to go through them," Sargeant said.

OTHER OPEN DIVISION ACTION

Santa Margarita 68, La Mirada 61: Kaiden Bailey led the Eagles with 22 points.

St. John Bosco 69, Heritage Christian 39: Brandon McCoy had 23 points and 13 rebounds in the win.

Roosevelt 65, Sierra Canyon 64: Brayden Burries led the Mustangs with 18 points to stay unbeaten in pool play ahead of a showdown with St. John Bosco Tuesday.

BYES: JSerra and Redondo Union

OPEN DIVISION STANDINGS

POOL A

POOL B

Notre Dame 4-0

Sierra Canyon 2-2

Harvard-Westlake 2-1

Roosevelt 3-0

JSerra 1-2

Redondo Union 1-2

Santa Margarita 1-2

St. John Bosco 2-1

La Mirada 0-3

Heritage Christian 0-3

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Tarek Fattal, SBLive Sports
TAREK FATTAL

Tarek Fattal has been covering high school sports since 2015 in Southern California and primarily in Los Angeles, covering notable athletes such as Bronny James, Kayvon Thibodeaux and Alyssa Thompson. He was with the LA Daily News for eight years, which included being the beat reporter for the UCLA men's basketball team. Tarek can be seen on TV regularly on CBS/KCAL as a sports analyst with Jim Hill.

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