RANCHO MIRAGE, Ca. – Do you need one example of why comparing scores with common opponents is a deceiving way to project the outcome of a basketball game?
OK, here you go:
On Nov. 28 at, during the ninth Prep2Prep Tip-Off Classic at Newark (CA) Memorial High, Hayward (CA) Moreau Catholic rallied from 16 points down in the second half to stun highly touted Chatsworth (CA) Sierra Canyon, 60-59.
Two weeks later, Mission Hills (CA) Alemany played that same Sierra Canyon squad and was tumbled by the Trail Blazers, 76-55.
So, when Coach Frank Knight’s Mariners took on Tray Meeks’ Warriors during a first-round game in the Open Division of the MaxPreps Holiday Classic at Rancho Mirage High, the former should have been considered to have a stronger upper hand, right?
Well, so much for that analysis . . .
Juniors Brandon Davis and Earnie Sears III hit back-to-back field goals – the second of those with 1:51 to go in regulation – and to put Alemany up, 63-60, and that proved to be last of the scoring Saturday as the Warriors (8-2) prevailed to advance to a quarterfinal against two-time Georgia state champion Jonesboro at 3 o’clock Monday afternoon.
The 6-foot-4 Sears (whose father and Uncle Bobby Sears played at Cal and Long Beach State, respectively) also had a huge block of a 3-point attempt by junior guard Damari Milstead (a game-high 24 points) with 1:15 remaining.
After Sears missed three consecutive free throws, the Mariners (6-2) had one last possession in order to send the game into overtime but Davis picked off a pass by Mislead.
Sophomore guard D.J. McDonald led Alemany with 17 points while 5-8 senior Shacquille Dawkins added 16.
In the other seven opening-round contests:
*Chino Hills (CA) 97, Seattle Prep 58: The Huskies, fresh off a championship win over Elizabeth (NJ) Patrick School Wednesday night in Ft. Myers (FL) during the City of Palms Tournament, rolled to 10-0 as guard Lonzo Ball scored 25 points with 10 steals, 14 assists and seven rebounds.
But, on a night when Ball and brothers LiAngelo and LaMelo were a combined 22 of 67 shooting from the field, Coach Steve Baik’s squad demonstrated why its success to much more than just “The Ball Show”:
Junior forward Elizjah Scott hit eight of nine shots (he missed his only free throw and one of his field goals came behind the arc) for 17 points to go with three assists and five rebounds.
Six-nine Onyeka Okongwu continued to like the best freshman “big” in the west with nine blocked shots – six of those in the first quarter – eight points and four rebounds.
And 6-2 sophomore Cameron Shelton – who started at times a year ago – chipped with six points, four of those coming on nifty, off (right)-handed layups in traffic.
*Milwaukee Rufus King 52, Rancho Santa Margarita (CA) Santa Margarita 47: The Generals trailed 9-zip while going scoreless over the first six minutes but pulled away down the stretch to improve to 7-0 and earn a spot in a Monday night, 7:30 quarterfinal against Chino Hills.
Junior guards Virshon Cotton and Jordan Poole scored 23 and 10 points, respectively, for the winners while sophomore forward Jordan Guest had 17 for the Eagles.
*Jonesboro (GA) 67, L.A. Windward 49: Six-five M.J. Walker came into the game touted as one of the elite prospects from the Class of 2017 and he looked every bit the part as his team improved to 8-2 with its eighth consecutive victory.
Walker, who was a highly touted football prospect before quitting that sport after his sophomore season, scored 25 points with 16 of those coming before intermission.
*Las Vegas Bishop Gorman 72, Sacramento Capital Christian 58: The Gaels broke to an 11-2 advantage but fell behind early in the second quarter before overwhelming the Cougars over the final quarter and a half.
Coach Grant Rice’s team (8-2) got 29 and 18 points, respectively, from juniors Charles O’Bannon Jr. and Christina Popoola Jr. and will play De La Salle in a 4:30 quarterfinal Monday afternoon.
*Concord (CA) De La Salle 64, Plano (TX) Prestonwood Christian Academy 47: The coach has changed (A.J. Kuhl, an alumnus, replaced Frank Allocco who is now an assistant at the University of San Francisco) but the style – and, apparently, success – has remained the same.
Running an offense that features a lot of the “Princeton” offense-looks but played with a bit more of a transition lean, the Spartans (8-0) got a combined 34 points from seniors Jordan Ratinho and Nikhil Peters to earn a their spot in Monday quarterfinals.
*Redondo Beach (CA) Redondo 77, Folsom (CA) 58: The Seahawks jumped to a 9-0 advantage and then cruised behind their backcourt play – at both ends of the floor – to improve to 8-2 and advance to a Monday 6 o’clock quarterfinal with Bentonville of Arkansas.
Junior Ryse Williams hit four 3s en route to 25 points while seniors Leland Green and Morgan Means added 14 points apiece for Coach Reggie Morris Jr.’s squad.
*Bentonville (AR) 73, St. Petersburg (FL) 70: Bentonville built a 14-point advantage in the fourth quarter then barely held on to move on in the championship side of the 16-team bracket.
Kentucky-bound guard Malk Monk – who appeared to play almost too unselfishly at times Saturday – scored 16 points but 6-5, 220-pound Tyler Robinson led the way for the squad with 20 points and 12 rebounds.
Junior forward Darius Banks of St. Petersburg was one of the more impressive players of the day with 24 points and some high-rise scores and rebounds.
Day II
An Open Division championship semifinal of the 13thMaxPreps Holiday Classic will be the setting for a rematch between two of the better teams in the west.
On Dec. 17, in the championship quarterfinals of the Tarkanian Classic, the host Las Vegas Bishop Gorman Gaels trimmed defending champion Redondo Beach (CA) Redondo, 63-58, behind a combined 36 points from juniors Charles O’Bannon Jr. (22) and Christian Popoola Jr. (14).
The teams’ respective second-round MaxPreps victories over Concord (CA) De La Salle and Bentonville (AK) Monday night created the setting for a Tuesday night (8:30) “re-do” of that clash, 12 nights later, in the Rancho Mirage High main gymnasium.
In the first MaxPreps Open championship semifinal, scheduled to tip off at 7 p.m., Chino Hills (CA) will attempt to use its pressing, trapping and quick – very quick and very deep – shooting attack to improve to 12-0 when the Huskies face two-time Georgia state-champion and 9-2 Jonesboro.
In “Nike Division” championship semifinals at Rancho Mirage Tuesday, Southern California programs from Santa Monica and Etiwanda play at 4 o’clock while Desert Pines of Las Vegas and Mercer Island of Washington follow at 5:30, also in the main (big) gym.
Earlier on the same floor in the “Ford Dealers’ Division” championship semifinals, La Verne (CA) Damien takes on Tucson Catalina Foothill at 1 in the afternoon, followed by a 2:30 clash between teams based in Orange County (CA) in Huntington Beach Edison and Villa Park.
A rundown on what transpired during the Open Division quarterfinals on Monday:
*Chino Hills (CA) 125, Milwaukee Rufus King 99: The question of whether the Generals were going to suffer their first loss of the season in eight games didn’t last nearly as long as did the speculation on whether both teams would puncture the century mark in scoring in what was a figurative orgy of long jumpers and transition layups.
And that wasn’t settled until 7.3 seconds remained when a Rufus King reserve missed both ends of a two-shot free-throw opportunity. A one-game combined scoring record for the event had long been established, though.
There were some rumbling and murmuring, in the packed-to-the brim bleachers and on media row Saturday night when Chino Hills Coach Steve Baik kept brothers Lonzo and LiAngelo Ball on the floor until the final buzzer of an eventual 97-58 shellacking of Seattle Prep (the third Ball Brother, 14-year-old freshman LaMelo, had gone to the bench several minutes earlier).
But all of the Huskies’ starters were on the bench with 3:37 remaining Monday night. The Generals won that “mini-game”, 8-zip.
Some 28 minutes-plus was more than enough window of opportunity for the Huskies to surpass 100 points for the fifth time this season. They’ve clipped at least 91 points four other times.
The oldest Ball Brother (Lonzo) threatened a “quadruple double” – as he seemingly does every game – with 26 points (on 11 of 16 shooting from the field and 2-for-2 at the free-throw line), 15 assists, eight rebounds and seven steals. There were also six turnovers and three blocked shots – and a whistle signaling his third personal foul with about two minutes to go in the second quarter yet he never went to bench nor got foul No. 4 before being subbed at the 3:37 mark of the final quarter.
The youngest Ball Brother had 18 of his 30 points in the third quarter – nailing his first five attempts from well beyond the arc in the quarter and adding a sixth in the final minute.
And the “middle” Ball Brother muscled his way to 28 points and 12 rebounds.
The other starters, junior Elizjah Scott (16 points on 7-of-7 from the field) and 6-9 freshman Onyeka Okongwu (13 points, eight rebounds and three blocks), also contributed their fair share of “wow” plays, while the only sub to play until the very end, sophomore Cameron Shelton, added eight points on high-degree-of-difficulty layups.
Junior guard Jordan Poole (who is committed to sign with the University of Michigan next November) led the Generals with 30 points while hitting seven 3s from pretty much “Ball Brothers” range.
*Jonesboro 59, Mission Hills (CA) Alemany 56: The Cardinals (9-2 after losing their first two games) trailed by as many as 18 points in the first half and were up 16 at intermission.
But the M.J. Walker-led squad had to withstand quite the sustained and furious comeback of the Warriors before hanging out to earn its shot at Chino Hills.
And the primary reason they will be playing at 7 o’clock Tuesday night was the play of the 6-5, 220-pound Walker, who seemingly answered every big bucket (including a lot of 3s) by Alemany with baskets of his own, including a spectacular drive and finish with 2:41 to go and a pull-up jumper from 18 feet with 1:21 remaining to get his team’s lead back to six points.
He added a couple of insurance free throws with 23 seconds (that his’ uniform number; kind of cool) remaining while finishing with 26 points and nine rebounds.
Senior guard Eric Lovett added 15 points (including a critical reverse layup with 1:39 remaining after Alemany had cut its deficit to two points) for the Cardinals.
Both of those players will have to come through in huge fashion if their team is going to knock off Chino Hills.
And, based upon what I saw of Coach Daniel Maehlman’s team over the first two days, the Cardinals seem likely to attack Chino Hills’ gambling defense with more patience – and, perhaps, execution – than did a Rufus King team Monday night that seemingly welcomed trading quick shots with a team that feasts in that tempo.
Senior guard Shacquille Dawkins (21 points, including five 3s) and junior wing Earnie Sears III (12 points and seemingly as many “spectacular plays” at both ends of the floor as points) played well again for the Warriors.
*Las Vegas Bishop Gorman 71, Concord (CA) De La Salle 59: The Spartans took a 7-0 record into the game as possibly the best team from Northern California.
And De La Salle looked every bit of that while building a five-point advantage in the third quarter behind the jump shooting of senior guards Jordan Ratinho and Nikhil Peters and the bruising post play off junior Emeka Udenyi, listed at 6-6 (seems about right) and 230 (seems about 20 pounds short).
But center Zach Collins (14 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and five blocked shots) did much to negate the Spartans’ back-cutting offensive action.
And three juniors – O’Bannon, Popoola and Ryan Kiley – all hit big buckets to spark the comeback and fourth-quarter that saw the Gaels outscore De La Salle, 23-10.
Popoola had a team-high 19 points and made solid ball-handling, shooting and passing decisions down the stretch.
Kiley’s role was expanded significantly due to the injuries of forwards Byron Frohnen and Chase Nomaaea and he made the most of it, hitting a couple of huge 3-pointers in the third quarter.
*Redondo Beach (CA) Redondo Union 83, Bentonville (AR) 56: The Tigers, led by Kentucky-bound Malik Monk, were the No. 2 seed going into the event behind Chino Hills.
But it didn’t take the Seahawks (9-2) long to make a mockery of that projection while immediately swamping Monk and his teammates with their all-court defensive pressure and ability to drive or jump shoot effectively from every position.
And while Monk came into the contest hyped as, perhaps, one of the five-best players in the national Class of 2016, it was a Redondo senior with as of yet no significant scholarship “offer” that dominated the first half.
Six-two Leland Green drew the primary defensive responsibility against Monk (although the Seahawks trapped him at every opportunity with doubles) and the soon-to-be McDonald’s All-American hit just two of six shots from the floor in the first half with three turnovers.
But Green slashed and jump-shot his way to 28 points (hitting 10 of 14 shots, including a couple of 3s) as Redondo was in front, 38-25, at intermission.
And, once the third quarter began, it was another unsigned and vastly underrated (regionally and nationally) senior guard, 6-3 Morgan Means, who took over for Coach Reggie Morris Jr.’s squad with 13 points as any and all doubt about the outcome had been decided as the fourth quarter began with Redondo up, 68-42.
Junior Ryse Williams (with five jumpers, two of those 3s) and senior Cameron Williams added 14 and 10 points, respectively, for the Seahawks with Green finishing with a career-high 32 points (and four steals) and Means with 15 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Monk scored 10 points in the third quarter and finished with 18 points on six of 16 shooting from the field and five of his team’s 23 turnovers.
Day III
A couple of Southern California-based programs that could be on the path toward a meeting in late February or March will accelerate the process Wednesday night.
The Chino Hills Huskies and Redondo Union Seahawks have been in the California Interscholastic Federation Southern Section’s 16-team Open Division playoff field the past two years and will no doubt make it 3-for-3 in mid-February.
But they’ll get and up-close-and-personal look at one another Wednesday night, when they hook up at Rancho Mirage High for the championship game of the Open Division in the 13th MaxPreps Holiday Classic.
The Huskies, at No. 1 in MaxPreps National Top 25, improved to 12-0 Tuesday night with their 124-93 victory over a two-time Georgia state championship program from Jonesboro.
And, in Tuesday’s second semifinal, Redondo Union went to 10-2 after beating one of the teams that has knocked them off this season, Las Vegas Bishop Gorman, 77-69.
In the other two championship games played at Rancho Mirage (in its main gym; it also has an auxiliary gym) on Wednesday, La Verne (CA) Damien faces Villa Park (CA) at 4:10 for the Ford Dealers’ title while Santa Monica plays Mercer Island of Washington at 5:50.
Games in both gyms are scheduled from 9:30 on Wednesday morning and will be capped with the Redondo-Chino Hills clash.
Chino Hills figured to be facing its toughest test yet of the event Tuesday night after swamping Seattle Prep (97-58) on Saturday night and Milwaukee Rufus King (125-99) Monday.
And that was definitely the case early Tuesday night, as Jonesboro, with senior guard Eric Lovett hitting five 3s and 6-foot-5 M.J. Walker – one of very best juniors in the country – making spectacular finishes and passes, led by as many as five points in the first quarter.
But the Huskies, with junior LiAngelo Ball powering his way to 11 points and junior Elizjah Scott and freshman Onyeka Okongwu crashing the glass at both ends of the floor, was in front, 28-26, at the end of a quarter in front of the standing-room-only crowd.
It was in the second quarter – even with it ending with Chino Hills on top, 59-49 – in which things got more than a tad precarious for the Huskies of Coach Steve Baik.
Point guard Lonzo Ball was whistled for two offensive fouls in the first quarter – and didn’t go to the bench, as is usually the “traditional” strategy of basketball coaches everywhere.
But one thing that everyone familiar with the program and the Ball Brothers (including freshman LaMelo) is that there is nothing “traditional” about their approach to basketball.
So Lonzo was still on the floor in the second quarter, which he was he was able to be called for third (with about five minutes to go) and, yes, fourth offensive fouls (with about two minutes remaining) in the quarter.
Baik did bring Lonzo to the bench for those final two minutes of the half.
But he was back on the floor to start the third quarter – and didn’t go to the bench again until Baik pulled all of his starters for good with 1:48 remaining.
Lonzo – the Most Outstanding Player in the Corona “Battle Zone” and Ft. Myers (FL) City of Palms tournaments – finished with 23 points, 17 assists, 11 rebounds and three steals despite all of that time in “foul trouble” (or what passes for it in this program).
LiAngelo scored 41 points on a mixture of post-up layups or turn-around jumpers and oh-so-deep jumpers (four 3s).
LaMelo, the 14-year-old, added 13 points while Scott had 18 points and 10 rebounds with Okongwu (10) and the only reserve who plays when it counts – sophomore Cameron Shelton (13) also scoring in double figures.
Lovett cooled off in the second half to finish with 21 points while the always spectacular-and-efficient Walker had 30.
Redondo seemed well on the way to using its overall quickness advantage and some terrific jump shooting to run away from the Bishop Gorman Gaels in the second semifinal.
Junior Ryse Williams (who finished with 25 points, including six 3s) and senior Morgan Means (24) split six 3-pointers for the Seahawks in a first half that ended with them in front, 43-30.
And, with its defensive pressure leading to multiple Bishop Gorman turnovers (it finished with 19), Redondo built its advantage to 22 points late in the third quarter.
But junior Christian Popoola Jr. hit consecutive 3s and the Gaels closed the quarter on an 8-zip run.
And that’s when another junior, Charles O’Bannon Jr., went from “hot” to “sizzling” with his jump shot and the Seahawks missed multiple ill-advised jumpers and started turning it over against the Gaels, who extended their defensive pressure to full court.
O’Bannon, who finished with 34 points, hit his third 3-pointer of the quarter with two minutes to go to get the Gaels to within 70-67.
One of the ill-advised jumpers by Redondo gave O’Bannon the ball again with the opportunity to tie the score.
But when O’Bannon attempted a spin dribble to launch a 3 from the right wing, Means ripped the ball from his hands and was almost immediately fouled.
Means – along with teammate Leland Green, one of the two best unsigned 2016 guards in the west – hit just one of two free throws with 1:28 to pad the advantage to four points.
The 6-3 Means then knocked a pass off O’Bannon’s hands in front of the Gorman bench and reserve center Wesley Gilbert, after being fouled, hit one of two free throws.
Gilbert then had a spectacular block on Popoola and later hit three of four more free-throw attempts and Means clicked on both of his.
And with that, the Open Division championship matchup was officially set.
Final Day
It got a significantly tougher test than was presented it during its first three games of the event.
Ultimately, though, the Chino Hills High basketball team had too much transition offense, forced too many turnovers and had too many Ball Brothers for its Redondo Union counterpart to cope with – as was the case for the first 12 opponents the Huskies had knocked off prior to Wednesday night’s championship game of the Open Division in the 13th MaxPreps Holiday Classic at Rancho Mirage High.
And it was Lonzo Ball, the oldest of those siblings, who, certainly not surprisingly, was the catalyst at both ends of the floor as his team pulled away in the fourth quarter for a 96-80 victory in front of a SRO gathering.
Ball’s younger brothers (junior LiAngelo and freshman LaMelo) were a combined 3 of 23 shooting from the field yet, despite the offensive patience and excellence jump shooting from the likes of Ryse Williams, Leland Green, Cameron Williams, Leland Green and Jailen Moore, the Seahawks still trailed at intermission, 42-36.
And that was in large part because the 6-foot-5 Lonzo Ball scored 19 points – nine of those on deep, deep 3s – to go with five blocked shots, five assists, four steals and four rebounds over the first 16 minutes.
The 10-3 Seahawks – which conceivably could face the Huskies again in the CIF Southern Section Open Division playoffs in the spring – hit 11 of 15 shots from the field in the third quarter, with 3s by Ryse Williams, Morgan Means and Elijah Nesbit.
But the Huskies still managed to pad their lead by another point (at 70-63) going into the fourth quarter because Lonzo’s brothers finally started heating up from deep, with LiAngelo and LaMelo a combined five of six behind the arc while Lonzo was assisting on seven field goals over the first three and a half minutes of the quarter.
Melo – who missed his final 12 shots of the first half – closed out a 16-point effort with seven points in the fourth quarter while LiAngelo missed all three of his shots attempts.
And Lonzo wrapped up his team’s run to 13-zip in the “15” portion of the 2015-16 season with 13 points in the quarter to finish with 35 points, 13 assists, 10 rebounds, seven blocked shots and seven steals and three turnovers.
The Huskies, whose next game will come against San Diego’s best team – El Cajon Foothills Christian – during the Jan. 9 Sierra Canyon Showcase in Chatsworth (CA), also got the usual impressive efforts from junior Elizjah Scott (16 points and 10 rebounds), sophomore Cameron Shelton (eight points as the team’s only sub before the final 16 seconds) and 6-9 freshman Onyeka Okongwu (three blocked shots).
The Seahawks knocked off eventual consolation champion Folsom (from Northern California) in the first round, Malik Monk-led Bentonville (AR) in the quarterfinals and Las Vegas power Bishop Gorman in the semifinals.
They got 16 points apiece from seniors Leland Green and Cameron Williams and 13 and 11, respectively, from juniors Ryse Williams and Jailen Moore.
They don’t have nearly as long to wait before their next game as does Chino Hills – they play host to Santa Margarita Saturday night at 7 o’clock during one of the eight games of the third Take Flight Challenge.
In the third-place Open Division game played Wednesday night prior to the Chino Hills-Redondo clash, Jonesboro (GA) edged Bishop Gorman, 65-64.
The Gaels seemed to have pulled out a nifty comeback victory after trailing by six to 10 points much of the away against a team led by perhaps the most impressive player in the event – other than Lonzo Ball – in 6-5 M.J. Walker, who finished with 39 points, six 3s and two blood-curdling and rim-ripping dunks.
Center Zach Collins (29 points) took a nifty post feed from junior Christian Popoola Jr. and appeared to score the game-winning layup from the left block with two-tenths of a second on the clock – but the bucket was waved off by an official who claimed Collins had lowered his shoulder and toppled a defender before scoring.
Yeah – quite the stunning ending.
