LAS VEGAS – There are some, no doubt, who might beg to differ.
But I would suggest that high school basketball doesn’t come any better – or, at least, more entertaining and/or suspenseful – than what was on display in the Bishop Gorman High gymnasium Saturday evening.
I doubt very seriously that anyone in attendance for the Montrose Christian-Findlay Prep and Mater Dei-Bishop O’Dowd games that closed out the second annual Tarkanian Classic would disagree with me.
In the last of the Prep School Division contests, Findlay Prep (based not far away in Henderson) led by double-figure margins most of its game against Montrose Christian (located in Montrose, MD).
But, with the combination of the stunning jump shooting performance of 6-foot-3 junior Allonzo Trier, who scored 26 of his event’s final-day high 33 points after intermission, along with the poor shot selection and icy performance (missing seven of eight attempts) down the stretch, the Mustangs – stunningly – were in position to eke out a victory.
And that’s what happened, via a scramble situation in which – after two misses at the line from sophomore Renathan Ona Embo of the Pilots – Patrick McCaw was able to secure a loose ball near mid-court and flip a lob pass toward the rim, which Raymond Doby was able to snag and then finish with a dunk at the buzzer and the 63-61 victory.
The surreal conclusion and unworldly performance of Trier (the transfer from Oklahoma City) might have served to render anti-climatic the Platinum Division championship game that followed.
That proved to be far from the case, however.
Oh, did it ever . . .
In a game that could prove to have been played by the best northern (via Oakland’s Bishop O’Dowd) and southern (Santa Ana’s Mater Dei) California have to offer this season, Coach Gary McKnight’s Mater Dei Monarchs were able to win their second Tarkanian Classic title by win of the 63-59 decision over Coach Lou Richie’s Dragons.
But it took a four-minute overtime, another terrific performance by two-time event Most Valuable Player Stanley Johnson (25 points and eight rebounds), a no-call on what appeared to be a foul by Johnson on the Dragons’ Paris Austin as he tried to score on a drive near the end of regulation, and a big defensive effort by the Monarchs’ Rex Pflueger for the team from Orange County to improve to 10-0.
The biggest – literally and figuratively – obstacle to the Monarchs continuing the season unblemished was the presence of the 6-9 Ivan Rabb.
Rabb, roughly 24 hours after a oh-so-impressive effort in his team’s win over a Las Vegas Bishop Gorman squad led two other elite posts in the Class of 2015 (Stephen Zimmerman and Chase Jeter), scored 12 consecutive points for his squad in one second-half stretch and finished with 24 points and 21 rebounds.
Juwan Anderson gave his team what proved to be an 18-second lead with two free throws with 2:25 to go in overtime.
But Johnson tied the score at 58 with two free throws and then put the Monarchs ahead to stay with a layup with 1:45 remaining.
After Anderson hit one of two free throw attempts to get the Dragons to within a point, Mater Dei sophomore Michael Cage Jr. was fouled but hit just one of two attempts from the line with 1:15 to go.
At the other end 6-5 Pflueger – who turned in his best performance of the tournament – pressured Austin into a 5-second with 34 seconds to go.
After a timeout junior La’Vette Parker – whose deep and accurate shooting was a big part of the team’s success – was fouled and swished both free throws with 21 seconds remaining, Jake Crudo’s miss from behind the arc was rebounded by Johnson 15 seconds later and that, ladies and gentlemen and boys and girls, was that.
We can only hope that the final game played in California this season – the State Open Division title game in Sacramento on March 29 – proves to be as well-played and equal parts entertaining and suspenseful.
Heaven knows that game could prove to be a rematch of what went on Saturday night in the last game of what proved to be a delightful second Tarkanian Classic.
