SoCalHoops High School News

Alameda St. Joe's Wins First Round In Kreul Classic--(Dec. 19, 1998)

We got this one from the Palm Beach Post, and thought our friends in NorCal would appreciate it. Here's what happened in the first round of the Kreul Classic, which featured the Alamead St. Joseph Notre Dame Pilots, coached by Gordie Johnson and featuring Justin Davis (6'-9" Sr. C), Blandon Ferguson (6'-4" Sr. SG), and a bunch of other great players.  Here's the report. 

Pilots upset Lake Worth

By Robert Francis
Special to the Palm Beach Post

FORT LAUDERDALE -- Lake Worth crumbled under pressure and lost 73-61 on  Friday night to St. Joseph of Notre Dame in the first round of the Kreul  Classic at Dillard High School.  The Trojans (6-1) led 19-12 after the first quarter, but the Pilots (4-3)   from Alameda, Calif., regained their composure and took the lead late in the first half. Last season the Pilots were California's  large-school runner-up. Lake Worth's Jeff Frederick led all scorers with 23 points. Kevin Butler,  who made 7 of 8 free throws in the fourth quarter, led St. Joseph with 22.  Jean Francois six of his 18 points during a 8-2 run in the final 2:45 of  the first quarter to help Lake Worth gain its early edge. But the Trojans,  facing added defensive pressure as the game went on, committed a litany of  turnovers.

"There was some simple things we didn't do well," fifth-year Trojans coach Dana Drummond said. "We didn't handle the press well because we didn't run  our pressure offense. We turned the ball over too much."

Drummond also lamented several missed layups.  "I'm sitting there thinking back -- how many times do we have a shot in the lane and we don't finish?"  As the game went on, the Trojans had trouble with the Pilots' superior  size. Trailing 28-27, 6-foot-9 center Justin Davis scored on a tip-in with  46 seconds remaining in the first half. Seconds later he stuffed home an  alley-oop pass from Butler, who had just made a steal. Then 6-4 forward Blandon Ferguson made a dunk off another steal with 8.5 seconds left to give St. Joseph a 33-28 halftime lead.

Lake Worth got as close as 48-43 with 2:56 left in the third quarter, but  didn't give St. Joseph a real scare. Butler scored 11 points in the fourth quarter, where the Pilots led by as many as 15 points.  Lake Worth moves to the consolation bracket, where it will play the loser  of the Taravella-Dr. Phillips game. The game will be played at 2 p.m. today at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School.

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