SoCalHoops High School News

Chaminade Tournament: A Sorta,
Kinda Complete Recap-- (Jan 2, 1999)

This tournament, a 16 team affair expanded from last year's 8 team tournament, was won by host Chaminade on Wednesday night, as they beat visiting San Francisco Riordan. In between there was lots of great action. Here's a recap of some of the highlights. We haven't featured every game, just the best ones:

Monday Games:

Grant 79, Crespi 78-- We didn't get to see the game because we were up north in Santa Maria and Santa Barbara, but here's how Vince Bonsignore of the Daily News described it:

Gilbert Arenas described the shot as magical. His coach, Grant High's Howie Levine, called it an incredible play by an incredible player. As for Crespi coach Dick Dornan, well, he said it's the greatest shot he's ever seen by a high school basketball player. They were referring to Arenas' improbable one-handed, buzzer-beating, leaping-leaner, three-point shot off the glass with a defender draped all over him to force a second overtime Monday in Grant's 79-78 win over Crespi in a Chaminade tournament quarterfinal game. All Arenas did for an encore was hit the game-winning shot on an open layup with five seconds left in double overtime. All this after his follow up three-footer off his own miss with two seconds left in regulation forced the first overtime. "I like those kind of games," said Arenas, who will play next year at Arizona. "They're exciting."

Arenas finished with 33 points, but clearly he was at his best with the game on the line. He had 22 points at the end of regulation, then tore the Celts up with 11 overtime points, including the stunning three-pointer, then the game-winner. Arenas, usually quite the talker, searched long and hard for the right adjectives afterward. "I don't know, I guess it was just magical, or something," Arenas said.

Levine, who compared the shot to Ronald Patterson's 60-footer a few years ago to beat Locke in a playoff game, had no doubt that Arenas would convert. Seriously. On the play, Arenas grabbed a Crespi miss with five seconds left, snaked his way to the top of the three-point line at the other end of the court, leaned to his left, then jumped and tossed the shot up with his right hand with Celts' guard Blake Tibbetts in his face. After banking off the glass, the ball seemed to pause on the rim before falling through as the buzzer sounded. "Unbelievable shot," Dornan said. But not unexpected, according to Levine. "His eyes were riveted on the basket," Levine said. "And he knew exactly where he was on the court. It was incredible concentration by an incredible player at that point in the game." Dornan conceded he made a tactical error by not fouling Arenas. The Celts led 70-67 at the time. At worst, he hits two free throws and the Celts lead by one. Still, how do you account for a dramatic play like that? "There are only a few guys that can make a shot like that," Dornan said. "I've never seen anybody do something like that in high school. The great players find a way to do it, and he's a great player that's going to be a special one at the next level. I'm honored to say I coached against him for two hours."

Crespi (7-3) did an admirable job defending Arenas, playing straight up man-to-man defense with Tibbetts shadowing him throughout. "Blake is one of the best on-ball defenders around," Dornan said. "I'm not sure Glibert has seen a defense like that and he probably won't again until he gets to college." Arenas agreed. "(Tibbetts) stayed with me the whole way," Arenas said. "I even tried to talk him out of it, but he just wouldn't listen."  Tim McDonough had 21 points -- including seven three-pointers -- for the Celts. But 16 of 30 free throw shooting, including two big misses by Pat Casella with 15 seconds left in regulation, didn't help. "If we make our free throws we never even see overtime," Dornan said. Or Arenas' heroics."

Here's the way the LA Times described the game:

While a good portion of the nation's youth was ripping open gifts, Gilbert Arenas was ripping off jump shots on Christmas Eve. Short, medium, long range. All by his lonesome at the local elementary school.  The Grant High shooting guard put in almost two hours the night before Christmas.  Maybe it shouldn't have been a surprise when he scored 33 points, including an off-balance, one-handed three-pointer that sent his team into a second overtime Monday night against Crespi.   Arenas wasn't finished. He scored the game-winner on a layup with five seconds left to give Grant a 79-78 double-overtime victory in a quarterfinal game of the Chaminade tournament.

"Not totally unexpected," Grant Coach Howard Levine said.  Then again, Arenas could stand on his head, spin a basketball with his feet and recite the lyrics to the fight song for Arizona, where he has signed a letter of intent, and nobody would look twice.  Outstanding plays are nothing new for the 6-foot-4 Arenas, but the one he made at the end of the first overtime was especially memorable.  With the clock winding down and Grant trailing, 70-67, Arenas dribbled down the left sideline, pulled up at the three-point line and, with Crespi defender Blake Tibbetts draped over him, threw in an off-balance shot with his right hand.  "It was magic or something," Arenas said.

Levine saw it coming.  "The concentration he had all the way from 10 feet behind halfcourt, to halfcourt, to the three-point line, was supreme," Levine said. "His eyes became riveted to the rim. The great players have that kind of concentration."  For the most part, Arenas, who had broken the 40-point barrier the four previous games, was guarded well by Tibbetts as Grant (9-2), ranked No. 6 in the region by The Times, fell behind by as many as 10 in the third quarter.  Crespi (7-3) hurt itself with poor free-throw shooting, making only six of 13 in the fourth quarter.  Still, Crespi, ranked No. 10, took a 58-56 lead with 1:01 left in regulation on a free throw by Pat Dornan.  Arenas forced overtime when he rebounded his own shot and scored with six seconds left.  Then came his three-pointer in the extra session, foiling a strong effort by Crespi's Tim McDonough, who made three three-pointers in the first overtime.  "The most incredible shot I've seen in high school," Crespi Coach Dick Dornan said. "He had no room, he just shot it up."  He followed it up with an easy layup at the end of the second overtime, with help from point guard Rashad Winston, who scooped up a loose ball near the top of the key and whipped it
down low to an open Arenas.  McDonough and Marcin Jagoda each scored 21 points for Crespi."

As a result, of the win Grant improved to 9-2, and   faced Kennedy Tuesday in the semifinals.

Moorpark 66, Granada Hills 49-- Todd Tomlinson lit up the scoreboard once again Monday afternoon, scoring 30 points to lead the Moorpark High boys' basketball team to a 66-49 win over Granada Hills in the first round of the Chaminade tournament. Tomlinson, who made 3 of 6 3-pointers and shot 11 of 18 from the field, is currently averaging more than 26 points a game. After a fairly even first half, the Musketeers (7-4) pulled away, outscoring the Highlanders (1-8) 19-7 in the third quarter to go up 50-33. Shawn Corkery added five points, 10 assists, six rebounds and six steals for Moorpark, which played Monroe next in the second round on Tuesday. Ohad Pearl and Eric Duran each had 11 points for Granada Hills.

Chaminade 63, El Camino Real 37-- The Eagles routed ECR as Scott Borchart had 15 points and eight rebounds.  Chaminade outscored El Camino Real 33-15 in the second half en route to an easy 63-37 victory. Cayce Cook added 14 points for the Eagles (8-2). Justin Saad-Anthony had nine points and eight rebounds for the Conquistadores (7-4).

Tuesday Semifinal Games:

Chaminade 53, Bellflower 52--Cayce Cook made two free throws with 1.9 seconds to play and Chaminade High, after squandering a 12-point halftime lead, beat Bellflower, 53-52, Tuesday night in a semifinal of the Chaminade tournament.   Chaminade (9-2), which plays San Francisco Riordan in the final trailed, 52-51, with seven seconds to play after Eli Curtis of Bellflower made the second of two free throws.  Chaminade blew an earlier chance with the score tied but a bounce pass went between the legs of Ryan Arceo and out of bounds with 20 seconds left.  Cook, who scored 17 points for Chaminade, dribbled the length of the floor in the final seconds and was fouled on a layup.  Cook, who made nine of 10 free throws, made the first and, after a timeout, swished the second.  "I was a little nervous," Cook said. "The crowd was into it. But I was feeling pretty confident because I had been making my free throws most of the game."   Chaminade, which led most of the way, took an 11-10 lead in the first quarter and did not trail again until the final seconds.   In other Chaminade tournament games: 

San Francisco Riordan 59, Grant 54--The Crusaders prevented Gilbert Arenas from piling up the points and from making a potential tying shot in the final seconds left to win the other semifinal.  Arenas, who was held to a season-low 28 points, was double-teamed near midcourt and forced to pass when the Lancers (9-3) trailed, 57-54.  The ball made its way to guard Sung Jeong in the corner with five seconds to play, but Jeong's three-point shot failed to draw iron.  Ed Washington of Riordan (9-2), who scored 20 points, made two free throws with two seconds to play.  Arenas, who signed a National Letter of Intent with Arizona, had been averaging more than 37 points per game, but he made only one of his first seven shots and had 10 points at halftime.  With Grant trailing, 20-9, in the second quarter, Arenas connected on the first of two 25-foot three-point baskets. Moments later, Jeong made a three-pointer to pull the Lancers to within 26-19.  Grant took its first lead, 43-42, on an alley-oop dunk by Arenas on a pass from Rashad Winston.
Krishna Evans had 11 points for Grant. Frank Black scored 19 for Riordan.

Wednesday Final Games:

First Place:

Chaminade 50, San Francisco Riordan 36--Like the first day games, we didn't get to see this game either, so we have to depend on the local media for the news. Here's what the LA Times had to say:

Needing a cure for its recent tournament ailment, Chaminade High found relief in its own medicine cabinet.
The Eagles defeated San Francisco Riordan, 50-36, and won the Chaminade boys' basketball tournament Wednesday night, capping a 4-0 run less than two weeks after struggling in the Valencia tournament, where they went 2-2 and finished seventh.  The difference: Defense.

Very generous during most of the Valencia tournament, the Eagles buckled down on their home floor, allowing only 40.3 points per game.   Chaminade gave up only two points in a pivotal third quarter against Riordan.   "We had been working on our offense during the preseason, but before this tournament, we worked on playing defense against players that can score," Coach Jeff Young of Chaminade said. "We challenged some of our kids and they responded."   Riordan standout Ed Washington, guarded by Chris Canoles for most of the night, scored only 11 points.  The Eagles (10-2), ranked No. 4 in the region by The Times, used both luck and skill to win their tournament, the fourth time they have won it in five years.  In a semifinal victory over Bellflower, Cayce Cook made two free throws with 1.9 seconds left to help the Eagles win, 53-52, after they nearly blew a 12-point halftime lead.

Skill played more of a factor Wednesday.  Chaminade center Scott Borchart, who sustained a concussion just a few days ago in a first-round victory over Monroe, seemed healthy as can be, scoring 18 points.  Borchart was selected the tournament most valuable player for the second year in a row.  Riordan (9-3) stayed close in the first half and trailed at halftime, 20-16, thanks primarily to reserve guard Isaac Muwaswes, who made three three-pointers and scored nine of the Crusaders' 10 second-quarter points.  Chaminade began to pound away, and pull away, in the third quarter. The Eagles converted on two three-point plays in the first three minutes, with Borchart and Chris Canoles each scoring down low and making a free throw.   Then the defense took over.  Chaminade forced eight third-quarter turnovers, outscored Riordan, 15-2, and held the Crusaders to one-of-10 shooting in the quarter.

Third Place:

Grant 76, Bellflower 72--Gilbert Arenas scored 36 points, including 15 in the fourth quarter, to help the Lancers win the third-place game.   Krishna Evans and Daniel Tarr each scored 14 points for Grant (10-3), ranked No. 6 in the region.  Marcus Harvey scored 22 points for Bellflower (8-5), which trailed by 19 in the second quarter before rallying. 

Fifth Place:

Crespi 37, Canyon 36--Marcin Jagoda made a layup as time expired to give the Celts the victory in the fifth-place game. Jagoda finished with 12 points for Crespi (9-3), ranked No. 10.

Consolation Games:

Crespi 51, Kennedy 40--Marcin Jagoda continued his solid all-around play, scoring 19 points, to help the Celts (8-3) win a consolation game.

Canyon 49, El Camino Real 39--Anthony Falasco hit three three-point shots and scored 15 points for the Cowboys in a consolation victory.   Everette Bryson added 11 points for Canyon (7-6).  Justin Saad-Anthony scored 14 points for El Camino Real (7-5).

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