palm springs 625 results

What: Palm Springs Boys HS Tournament
When: June 25-27
Where: Palm Springs High School
Who: 16 teams, including Cathedral City, Dos Pueblos, Buckley, Banning, Calvary Chapel, S.D. Lincoln, Palm Desert, South Torrance, La Sierra, Montebello, La Habra, Claremont and Righetti

We made it out late in the day and as a result, only saw about three games today, but we'll have a full report on tomorrow's (Saturday's) games either late tomorrow night or Sunday. We did manage to catch just the end of the Dos Pueblos v. Montebello game, and this was really no contest, as it was Dos Pueblos' varsity against what was essentially a jv team, and the score really showed it, as DP cruised 61 to 37. Steven Graybill (6'-0" So. PG) ran the offense well, scoring 8 points, but it was Brett Holbrook who really lit it up for DP, scoring 21 points. Dos Pueblos will get a better test tomorrow as they go up against La Habra at 10:00 a.m. tomorrow morning.

Cathedral City only had some of their starting varsity squad, and we understand that they've split the team and about half the guys are also at another tournament. Thomas Shewmake (6'-9" So. F) wasn't present, but he will reportedly be playing Saturday as Cathedral City takes on Banning, a very athletic and quick team, which beat La Habra (which filled in actually in an earlier game against La Sierra at 2:00 p.m.). Because La Habra both won and lost, we're not sure how this is going to work, but we'd expect to see them in the winner's side of the bracket at 10:00 a.m. as indicated so that DP doesn't just have a bye and go directly to the semifinal game of the championship bracket.

The Claremont v. Righetti game wasn't really all that close, and even though Claremont looked like a physically superior team, Righetti had some shooters, whose names we didn't manage to get, but we'll find out who they were tomorrow as Buckley will take on Rhigetti at 12:00 noon. Rhigetti lost to Claremont 66-48, but the score was a bit deceptive as Righetti played a lot better at times that the score would indicate. Claremont is a team which is not exactly scary (like Dominguez is scary) but nevertheless it's a very talented squad with a set of twin shooting guards who can really light it up, Tim and Tom Taylor, both 6'-2" seniors who managed to score and also defend very well. Claremont also had Micah Lombard (6'-7" Jr. SG/SF) who is very mobile and a good shotblocker, Sean Terrell (5'-1" Sr. PG) a strong, tough pass-first type of player who shows a good handle and excellent court vision. We were also impressed with Davar Wilburn (6'-5" Jr. SG/SF) who we're told is the brother of Dino Wilburn (6'-1" So. SG) from Pasadena Muir, and with several sophs, including shane O'Connor (6'-6" So.SF), an agile looking big man who runs the floor and has pretty good footwork, as well as Shadeen Aaron (6'-5" So.SG), and finally another senior, Jamal Simmons (6'-1" Sr. SG/PG) a slender athlete who is an excellent rebounder and slasher.

Buckley and Lincoln Prep had one of the most competitive games of the day, and the game essentially came down to the last three-point shot of the game, as Lincoln (which consists of mostly players from the San Diego Alleycats AAU team, essentially the same team which played at the EBO/EA Hoop Summit in Fresno last month. Lincoln won this one, 46-43, but it should never have been that close for either team, and both had several chances during the game to put the other away. Buckley broke out to a large lead midway through the first half, but then trailed at the half by one point. The teams traded leads several times, but Lincoln managed to chip away and steadily built a 10 point lead, taking advantage of the fact that there was no shot clock (despite the fact that the tournament had promised one). Nevertheless, Buckley managed to pull within three with about 20 seconds left to play on an Alex Clancy three-pointer (his only one of the night, out of about four attempts), but when it came down to the end of the game, Buckley got another shot off but it was just off. The Griffins were led by Colin Ward-Henninger (6'-3" Jr. SG/SF) with 18 (14 in the first half), David Gale with 8, 8 assists and 3 steals, and Adam Pastor (6'-0" Sr. SG/PG) with 11. We were especially impressed with Simon Leonov (6'-4" Jr. PF) who managed to pull down 12 rebounds, 6 offensive,and he also scored well down on the blocks.

The PS Tournament organizers have made this first boys' tournament of the six tournament series much more competitive than it was last year when it went head-to-head with the Desert City Classic, and this year instead of running at the same time, the organizers decided to do a girls' tournament the same weekend as the Desert City Classic (which was last weekend), and to run the boys' tournament a week later, and of course it makes a lot of sense, especially since the Desert City event is a much bigger tournament, and by rescheduling, Palm Springs now gets to draw a couple of teams who probably would be in the other tournament, including host Cathedral City.

Game 1	12:00 p.m.	Palm Desert 43, So. Torrance 45
Game 2	1:00 p.m.	Palm Springs 49, Calvary Chapel 35
Game 3	2:00 p.m.	La Sierra 32, La Habra 37
Game 4	3:00 p.m.	Cathedral City 61, Montebello No. 1 37
Game 5	4:00 p.m.	Dos Pueblos 61, Montebello No. 2 37
Game 6	5:00 p.m.	La Habra 38, Banning 50
Game 7	6:00 p.m.	Claremont 66, Righetti 48
Game 8	7:00 p.m.	Lincoln 46, Buckley 43

Here's the schedule for the first half of the second round games scheduled for tomorrow, Saturday, June 26, 1999. Note, we're only listing the first matchups, because depending upon who wins or loses, teams will drop out of brackets or switch and play other opponents. In any event, here's the schedule:

Game 9	9:00 a.m.	Palm Desert v. Calvary Chapel
Game 10	9:00 a.m.	So. Torrance v. Palm Springs
Game 11	10:00 a.m.	La Sierra v. Montebello No. 2
Game 12	10:00 a.m.	La Habra v. Dos Pueblos
Game 13	11:00 a.m.	Montebello No. 1 v. La Habra
Game 14	11:00 a.m.	Cathedral City v. Banning
Game 15	12:00 p.m.	Buckley v. Righetti
Game 16	12:00 p.m.	Claremont v. Lincoln

Games will continue all the way through the afternoon and into the evening, and then through Sunday with the Championship game scheduled for 1:00 p.m. and the consolation championship scheduled for 11:00 a.m. on Sunday.