LAS VEGAS – The 16-team Platinum Bracket is the features the best of the best among the high school programs in the fourth Tarkanian Classic.
And Wednesday’s opening round of eight games set the stage for what could be some terrific quarterfinal matchups Thursday at Bishop Gorman High.
The championship bracket games begin at noon (PT) with St. Petersburg (FL) Dillard vs. Aurora (CO) Overland in the main (big) gymnasium with Corona (CA) Centennial and South Jordan (UT) Bingham following at 1:20.
The other two quarterfinals at 5:20, with Bishop Gorman taking on Redondo Beach (CA) Redondo Union, with Plano (TX) Prestonwood Christian Academy facing Weston (FL) Sagemont at 6:40.
Wednesday’s action was opened in impressive fashion by Overland which won its first-ever Colorado state title last March and, with the bulk of its roster having returned, looked every bit the part of one of the very best teams in the entire western region against the Long Beach (CA) Poly Jackrabbits during a 62-43 victory.
Indiana University-bound De’Ron Davis mostly dominated things in the post for the Trailblazers (4-0) and scored 10 points with 10 rebounds while fellow seniors Alijah Halliburton, Jervae Robinson and Reggie Gibson added 13, 10 and eight points, respectively.
Poly (3-2) – which is minus its best player, Hawaii-bound guard Drew Buggs as he recuperates from a fracture of his right knee patella – got 11 points from 6-foot-6 junior Zafir Williams.
Points were quite difficult to come by in the Dillard-Arlington (VA) Bishop O’Connell contest which the team finally came out on top in, 46-43.
O’Connell had plenty of opportunities to pull the game out down the stretch but was mired by turnovers and the inability to covert “makeable” close-in shot attempts.
Dillard got figurative and literal “strong” performances out of juniors Raiquan Gray (a “power” forward in the best of senses) and Jordan Webb (supposedly one of the best football prospects in the state in the Class of 2017), Gray scoring 15 points with 12 rebounds and Webb adding 10 points.
Six-four freshman guard Sherif Kenney led Bishop O’Connell with 13 points while 6-8 junior Nate Watson added 11.
In the third first-round Platinum contest played Wednesday, Redondo trailed by nine points at intermission before pulling away down the stretch – via its full-court defensive pressure and transition offense – for a 69-61 victory over Sacramento Sheldon.
The Seahawks (6-0) got their usual balanced scoring attack with seven guys scoring at least six points with seniors Morgan Means (16 points, nine rebounds and five assists) and Leland Green (11 points) hitting double figures.
Five-three guard Elijah Nesbit had five assists and three steals for Redondo while 6-5 senior Matt Manning (apparently an outstanding right-handed pitcher, as well) led Sheldon with 26 points, mostly via his superb jump shot.
The host Gaels, led by Gonzaga-bound post Zach Collins (12 points and eight rebounds) and junior wing Charles O’Bannon Jr. (20 points and four assists), cruised by Provo (UT) Timpview, 73-62, while mostly leading by 20-plus points through the second half.
Corona Centennial had to overcome the jump shooting of Las Vegas Desert Pines and a couple of technical foul calls against its players in order to hold on and advance with a 63-59 victory that certainly attracted the most in the way of crowd noise and reaction Wednesday.
Seniors Jordan Griffin (who signed with Long Beach State last month) and Ike Anigbogu (a future UCLA Bruin) scored 17 and 15 points, respectively, against the Las Vegas-based squad.
Junior guard Cap Uzan led Desert Pines (with just one senior on its roster) with 31 points.
Bingham seemed well on its way to an eased-up victory over L.A. Westchester with a 19-point advantage at intermission.
But the Comets had other designs and used their full-court defensive pressure to force numerous turnovers and get to within two points a couple of times in the final minutes.
But Bingham hit just enough free throws and made just enough solid passing and handling decisions to hold on, 67-61.
BYU-bound Yoeli Childs had 20 points and 12 rebounds for Bingham with Keith Fisher used a strong second-half effort in the lane to score 21 points for Westchester.
Sagemont and Prestonwood Christian Academy set the table for their quarterfinal Thursday night with strong performances against California squads Pasadena Maranatha (52-35) and L.A. Cathedral (78-62), respectively.
Prestonwood got one of the day’s best performances out of its freshman guard, Justin Webster (24 points).
Action in five divisions (including “prep teams” such as Henderson Findlay Prep, and an assortment of the most notably prospects in the country, including DeAndre Ayton of Hillcrest in Phoenix) resumes at noon Thursday and concludes Saturday night.
There will be a full day of action, including the Platinum semifinals, at the Orleans Arena on Friday.
