LOS ANGELES – Nine games, spread over approximately 14 hours, provided a quasi-marathon of some of the best of high school basketball offered by Southern California this season during the seventh James Samson/State Preview Classic hosted by, and held Saturday at, Fairfax High.
And three teams demonstrated that they have legitimate CIF section and state championship aspirations.
*Coach Harvey Kitani’s host Lions pushed their record to 23-zip while handling Chatsworth Sierra Canyon (now 16-2) with surprisingly little fuss or muss, 64-47.
Barring a stunning upset by way of LACES or L.A. University this week, point guard Lindsey Drew & Co. will take a 25-0 record into Santa Ana Saturday night when they play the host Mater Dei Monarchs in the finale of the 20th Nike Extravaganza.
*The Torrance-based Bishop Montgomery Knights improved to 22-1 by way of a score that was every bit as eye-opening as was the Fairfax-Sierra Canyon final – they pounded L.A. Loyola, 94-34.
The final eight minutes were played with a running clock and the Knights’ floor leader and one of the best players in the country, 6-foot-3 senior guard Stephen Thompson Jr., didn’t play in the fourth quarter yet finished with 37 points.
And they didn’t beat up on a gloried junior varsity squad – the Cubs are still in the hunt for a Mission League championship and a spot in the Open Division of the Southern Section playoffs.
*And, in the final game, Chino Hills – led by the best junior in California in 6-5 point guard Lonzo Ball – burst to a 22-2 advantage after the first quarter and then eased its way past Pasadena Maranatha and its senior standout, Tyler Dorsey.
Ball hit just one shot beyond mid-range – a second-quarter 3-pointer – and was just seven of 18 from the field while finishing with 15 points.
But he made his presence felt in a lot of other ways, via 14 assists, 14 rebounds, six steals, four blocked shots and three turnovers.
His sophomore brother, Li’Angelo Ball, scored 36 points by way of his “he’ll launch from anywhere, at anytime”-shooting performance: 14 of 33 from the field (including three 3s) and five of nine from the free-throw line.
Dorsey struggled to get clean looks against the Chino Hills zone, missing all four first-quarter shot and not scoring until he dropped in a couple of free throws with 4:32 to go in the second quarter.
But he heated up after intermission, working his way from inside the zone for 13 third-quarter points.
According to my unofficial (of course) stats, he finished with 32 points — on nine of 19 from the field and perfect effort on 14 free throw attempts – to go with 13 rebounds, a couple of assists, two steals and nine turnovers, all but one of those before intermission.
In other games:
*Woodland Hills Taft 53, L.A. Brentwood 48: In a mild upset of sorts in a game that tipped at 8 a.m., senior point guard Darius Henderson scored 15 points while junior forward Travis Patrick added 10 for the winners.
*El Segundo 66, Palos Verdes Rollings Hills Prep 48: Guard Chase Ali Watkins scored 23 points as the Eagles improved to 7-14 while handing Rolling Hills Prep its first loss.
*Calabasas 83, Harvard-Westlake 81: In the game that provided the most down-to-the-wire thrills and chills, senior guard Ryan Ducar scored with two seconds to go to give the Wildcats the victory.
*Santa Monica 59, Las Vegas Durango 50: The underclassmen-laden Vikings trailed by 15 points in the first half but then – obviously – played a whole lot better, especially over the final five minutes or so, to improve to 8-13.
Juniors Jonah Mathews and Jayce Johnson scored 14 points apiece for Santa Monica while freshman point guard Spencer Freedman added 13 and did a sound job of getting the ball to their teammates, when and where they needed it, down the stretch.
*L.A. Price 68, Lawndale 62: In a game featuring a lot of “big” future NCAA Division I talent, seniors Roderick Williams and LaRond Williams scored 17 points apiece for the winners.
LaRond signed with Long Beach State in November and Roderick (no relation) figures to be a hot commodity during the spring recruiting period.
The Knights’ senior point guard, James Washington, signed with American University if November.
The 6-9 duo of Chimezie Metu (USC) and Buddah Jones (San Diego State) scored 21 and 18 points, respectively, for the Cardinals.
*L.A. Windard 76, Gardena Serra 54: The Wildcats were never really threatened as senior unsigned forward Roman Davis led the way with 14 points while junior Ian Carter scored the same number for Serra.
