It was a Tuesday nonleague game at 4 p.m. By all measures, Canyon Hills High School and Kearny High School should have come out flat.
The opposite was true.
The Rattlers and Komets played an energetic, sometimes sloppy game, with Canyon Hills withstanding a late Kearny charge and hanging on for a 60-51 on Kearny’s home floor.
“It was high energy,” said Canyon Hills coach Brady Sirota, “but we made it interesting.”
Leading 54-42 with 3:03 to play after James Oldenburg’s 3-pointer, the Rattlers (13-7) were outscored 9-0 in less than a minute as Kearny cut the deficit to 54-51 with 2:26 to play.
But Cameron Ackerman’s bucket was the last Kearny (13-8) basket as Canyon Hills finished on a 6-0 run with baskets by Slade Stevens, a 3-pointer by Gabe Orila and a bucket by Nehemiah Miller.
“Close games are good, as long as you survive,” Sirota said. “This was a playoff-type game with good intensity. It’s the type of game we’ll see in the playoffs.”
Canyon Hills is a Division 3 team for the playoffs and came into the week No. 4 in the 16-team field. The Rattlers hope to jump No. 3 Del Lago Academy, No. 2 Calexico and No. 1 Army-Navy.
Kearny is a Division 4 team and entered play No. 5 in the 16-team draw. The Komets would like to move past Central League foe No. 4 Clairemont, league opponent No. 3 Morse, No. 2 West Hills and No. 1 Pacific Ridge.
“Kearny’s a division below us, so honestly I expected a blowout,” said Canyon Hills’ Stevens, who led all scorers with 21 points, had nine rebounds and blocked a pair of shots.
“This was an afternoon game, right after school, and I was a little tired. Plus, I had a test today. But Kearny was tough, didn’t give up.”
Kearny’s Cameron Ackerman #2 and Canyon Hills’ Slade Stevens #22 reach for the rebound during their game at Kearny High School on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
The 21 points are a season high for Stevens, who scored eight straight points late in the second quarter.
“Usually, I’m a rebounder and shot-blocker,” Stevens said. “But the ball came my way today.”
Stevens had a late fourth-quarter free throw that pushed the Ratters lead to four, stopping Kearny’s scoring run.
“They came back on us,” Stevens said. “Give them credit. They sped us up and when we speed up, we make mistakes, sometimes stupid mistakes. Then we get frustrated and speed things up even more.
“Fortunately, we were able to get through a tough stretch and hang on.”
The Rattlers turned the ball over 15 times, seven in the fourth quarter. But the Canyon Hills defense caused 26 Kearny turnovers, seven in the second quarter, eight in the third and seven again in the fourth.
“Defense is our game,” Sirota said. “Our defense causes turnovers, turnovers lead to offense. Honestly, forcing 26 turnovers is a good number for us.”
Canyon Hills’ Slade Stevens #22 goes up for a shot against Kearny’s Kailoa Yamamura #12 during their game at Kearny High School on Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026 in San Diego, California. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Orila backed Stevens with 12 points, while Miller added 11. Chris Everett had seven rebounds. Ackerman, a career 1,000-point scorer, and Arthur Minton led Kearny with 12 points each. But Ackerman averages 18 points a game and Minton 14.
Jace Anderson, who averages 12.7 points a game, scored 10 as did Carmelo Pulido. Minton led all rebounders with 12.
“We were looking forward to this game,” said Kearny coach James Cevallos. “You want to play up, play teams above you late in the season. It should help us as we head into the playoffs.”