SoCalHoops High School News

Reebok Las Vegas Prep Classic:
Games 1-17 Reports--(Dec. 20, 1998)

We saw a ton of basketball on Saturday, and it's taken us most of Sunday night to write about it and compile the scores and stats, but we're sure that some of you out there will think it was worth the trouble.  We've also got a ton of pictures to upload later in the day, so stay tuned for that.  In the meantime, here are the reports on the Saturday First round games, Nos. 1-17.  The rest (18-36) follow separately.  And the top teams were certainly Mt. Zion and Oak Hill, but we were also impressed by a few others, like Killeen,which beat Fresno Washington Union by one, but it should have been about 20;  Inglewood, which is still alive in the Championship bracket, and South Gate, which is the big surprise for us.  Here are the results and some highlights.

Game No. 1

Stratford 63, North Surrey 37

We didn't see this game (we were still in the airport on our way to Vegas) and by the end of Saturday, both of these teams made their way to the consolation bracket, Surrey by way of this game, and Stratford courtesy of Westchester in game 23 later in the evening at Cimarron-Memorial in an overtime game.  North Surrey will play next in game 38 which will take place tomorrow morning (Monday) at 9:30 a.m. when they'll matchup against Eldorado of Vegas which lost to Newbury Park in their first round matchup (see our report of game 2).  We may be able to get a look at North Surrey tomorrow morning, but we wouldn't hold our breath because the 9:30 a.m. game we're planning on seeing involves Montclair Prep (which also lost) and they'll be at Cim-Mem Aux.  Anyway, here are the stats:

Stratford (63)
Dillard 0-0 0-1 0, Urech 0-2 0-0 0, Whalen 1-1 0-0 2, Kafka 1-1 0-0 3, Curry 4-7 0-1 9, Williams 0-1 0-0 0, Ayers 0-0 0-0 0, Long 3-7 1-2 7, Leal 2-7 0-0 6, Wiegle 5-10 2-2 12, Rhoads 0-0 0-0 0, Dillard 4-5 0-1 8,
Ridgway 6-7 4-8 16, Guidry 0-1 0-2 0.

North Surrey (37)
Cho 0-0 0-0 0, Samson 0-2 0-1 0, Kim 1-3 2-2 4, Zanatta 0-0 0-0 0, Persuad 2-5 0-0 5, Gandhi 0-0 0-1 0, Alano 0-2 4-4 4, Ulmer 7-12 4-7 18, Denson 3-10 0-4 8.
Score by Halves: Stratford 33 30- 63. North Surrey 19 18- 37

Game No. 2

Newbury Park 66, Eldorado 56 -- Newbury Park was the only team from the Valley region of SoCal to win on the first day. The Panthers opened with a 66-56 win over Las Vegas Eldorado behind 19 points from Jesse Roche, 12 from Brian Bobik and 10 points each from Brian Polen and Nick Czernek. The Sundevils, playing at Durango, a gym they are familiar with,  fought back from a 48-40 deficit to tie the game at 40 on a basket by freshman Glenn Thomas, but Newbury Park scored the next nine points to pull away.  Jesse Roche had a great shooting day in the first game and  made 5 of 9 3-pointers.  James Bayless led Eldorado with 15 points, but was 7 of 22 from the floor. Kevin Fane added 14 points and a game-high 10 rebounds.

Newbury Park did lose in their second game of the day (see report of Game No.24), and as a result, they dropped to the consolation bracket, albeit a bit higher seeded there than Eldorado.  Newbury Park will play on Monday at 4:35 p.m. Monday at Cim-Mem Main in Game No. 59 against Stratford, which lost to Westchester in their game last night.  Here are the stats for this one.

Newbury Park (66)
Svitek 1-4 4-4 6, Roche 7-12 0-0 19, Bobik 5-17 1-2 12, Wire 0-0 0-0 0, Czernek 5-9 0-0 10, Martin 1-2 0-0 2, Harris 1-2 0-0 2, Wertheimer 2-4 0-0 4, Currie 0-0 1-2 1, Polen 3-4 4-9 10.

Eldorado (56)
Arnold 0-2 0-0 0, Igeleke 1-4 0-0 2, Hilliard 2-5 3-3 7, Bayless 7-22 1-2 15, Whalum 4-10 3-4 12, Niles 0-0 0-0 0, Fame 7-10 0-1 14, Williams 1-3 0-2 2.
Score by Halves Newbury Park 38 28- 66 Eldorado 33 23- 56

Game No 3

Hopkinsville 65, Montclair Prep 48

We also didn't get to see this one, but we did get some insight later in the day when we saw Durango play Hopkinsville. Montclair Prep came into this game with a record of 2-5 on the year, and they went out with a record of 2-6.    Bobby Webb, their new head coach believes it's a rebuilding year. We'll agree with that one.  A comparison of the rosters for both teams was revealing:

It wasn't that Hopkinsville was taller; they weren't. It wasn't because Hopkinsville was older or more experienced. They weren't, and featured mostly sophomores and only a handful of seniors. But they did have a team full of good shooters whereas Montclair prep had only four players scoring more than 7 points for the game.  Charlie Jackson of Hopkinsville was selected MVP and he had 16 points on 7 of 11 shooting from the field and he grabbed 12 rebounds. In contrast, Jason Anderson of Montclair only had 5 boards and 5 points.  Jason is not really a basketball player, but is a star soccer player from England who is only in his second year of basketball, and his lack of post skills really showed in this one.  And Montclair never really found an answer either for Louis Woodard who scored 20 points, a game high.

Will Sheslow, a freshman who has played for two gold medal Maccabbi basketball teams, and also plays for Rockfish, got his first taste of Vegas tournament ball (he didn't travel this summer with Rockfish to Vegas, but did make the EBO Fall tourney trip) played reasonably well, getting 7 points in 18 minutes but his percentage wasn't especially high, only 3 for 8 from the field and 1-3 from three point range, and he did have 5 turnovers (Donnie Day had 8 for Hopkinsville), but he'll learn and if he stays at Montclair, he'll be a big time player there by the end of the season.    Montclair's scoring leader was Josaiah Johnson, Marques Johnson's youngest son.  The brother of UCLA's Kris Johnson is one of the better scorers, and he went into this game averaging about 25 ppg, and Henry Bibby asked us about him later in the evening when we saw him over at Durango during the Dominguez game,  saying that because of the UCLA connection (Marques and Bob Webb) he really wanted to get a chance to take a look at Josiah, but since we missed the game, there wasn't much we could tell him.  

Montclair Prep next plays Butler (which lost in Game No. 4), on Monday in Game No. 40 at 9:35 a.m. in the consolation bracket.  Hopkinsville later played Durango and lost big time. See the report of Game No. 26. for that one.  Here are the stats:

Hopkinsville (65)
Poston 0-0 3-3 3, Quarles 0-0 0-0 0, Burse 1-3 1-2 4, Jackson 7-11 2-5 16, Day 4-8 0-1 10, Woodard 6-10 8-11 20, Fort 1-7 0-0 3, West 1-1 0-1 3, Lewis 0-0 0-0 0, Harrison 0-0 0-0 0, Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Watts 2-6 0-0 6.

Montclair Prep (48)
Koljan 1-4 0-0 2, Sheslow 3-8 0-0 7, Freeman 3-5 2-2 9, Bronner 4-9 0-0 8, Kaufman 0-0 0-0 0, Prince 1-6 0-0 2, Anderson 0-0 1-2 1, Lucas 2-5 0-0 5, Johnson 6-16 2-2 14.
Score by Halves Hopkinsville 24 41- 65 Montclair Prep 19 29- 48

Game No 4

East Union 64, Butler 59

We also didn't see this game, but Derrick Kibler (6'-1" Sr. SG) was the MVP of the game with 18 points and he shot 6-13 from the field, 5-7 from three point range, and had 2 steals in 23 minutes.  East Union also was led by Matt Lopez (5'-10" Sr. G) who had 15 points and a steal.  East Union went on to play Horizon from Colorado in Game No. 26, so check the report of that game below. Butler, as we've said before, will play Montclair Prep tomorrow morning in the consolation bracket in Game No. 40.   Oh, and if it's any consolation, so to speak, for Montclair, Butler committed only 7 turnovers for the game, while collecting 50 rebounds for the game.

Here's the stats:

Butler (59)
Pride 6-21 1-1 16, Harris 3-9 1-1 7, Toney 0-6 0-0 0, Darby 1-1 0-1 2, Fitch 2-7 1-2 5, Wlliams 4-10 0-2 8, Veasley 0-1 1-1 1, Draper 5-11 0-0 15, Moore 1-3 0-1 2, Horton 1-1 1-2 3.

East Union (64)
Lopez 5-7 0-0 15, Moore 1-3 0-0 2, Stricker 4-8 4-6 8, Arroyo 2-5 0-1 4, Kibler 6-13 1-2 18, Vickers 1-7 0-2 2, Emery 4-8 2-3 10, Wallace 0-0 0-0 0.
Score by Halves: East Union 35 29- 64. Butler 25 34- 59

Game No. 5

Killeen 106, Palo Verde 75 -- We were really impressed when we saw Killeen later in the evening, and they could just be one of the best teams in the tournament.  Killeen is one really tough team, and while we didn't catch this early game, we saw them later in the evening as they beat Washington Union and Deshawn Stevenson & Co.  But in the first game at Durango, the Kangaroos opened the game with a 23-2 run and cruised past the Panthers. Philip Jones had eight points and Dojuan Covington seven during the run. Covington was later injured, seemingly severly during the Washington Union game, when he went up to the rim to make a basket and committed a charge, but literally came down on his face, and it was thought that he might have either broken his neck or his back.  We'll try to get an update on his condition, and we've got some additional details in the report of Game no. 27.   Palo Verde struggled against Killeen's press, which was just awesome, turning the ball over 25 times. Lamar Hunter and Matt Trepkowski led six Kangaroos in double figures with 16 points each.  Adidas Jackson led Palo Verde with 20 points and 10 rebounds, both game highs.

Killeen (106)
Smith 3-5 0-0 7, Otero 0-2 0-0 0, Hunter 6-11 3-5 16, Branch 3-7 0-0 6, Jones 5-9 0-0 14, Coplan 5-9 1-1 13, Brooks 4-9 1-2 10, Covington 5-10 2-2 13, Hobbs 3-6 0-0 6, Venus 1-2 0-2 2, Sharon 1-2 0-0 3, Trepowski
8-11 0-0 16.

Palo Verde (75)
Washington 3-5 0-0 6, Hill 0-0 0-0 0, Rolfe 2-3 0-0 5, Clarke 0-1 0-0 0, Rohret 1-4 0-0 2, Williams 1-2 0-0 2, P.Smith 0-0 0-0 0, W.Smith 0-0 0-0  0, Coleman 6-11 2-2 15, Jackson 10-17 0-2 20, Gray 3-10 0-1 6, Clark 2-6
0-0 4, Ferguson 5-9 1-4 11, Moore 2-5 0-0 4.
Score by Halves: Killeen 53 53- 106. Palo Verde 32 43- 75

Game No. 6

Fremont 51, Cody 39

Fremont looked like a different team than the one we saw at the Manual Arts "We Care Classic" during the Thanksgiving weekend.  We had heard that most of the Fremont frontline and several guards as well had been ruled academically ineligible, and from what we saw then, we would have believed it because you'll remember that Fremont lost by about 50 to Manual Arts in the final there.  It now looks like all of the potentially ineligible guys are actually on the team, but they are still not very tall and will rely mostly on guard play. Head Coach Sam Sullivan and his assistants, Maurice McKinzy and Keith Young will have their hands full.  The Pathfinders have a lot of seniors, but no one who really is used to playing tournament ball at this level.  For of th4e top five guards who return are from the team that last year finished 28-5 and 11-0 last year in Southeastern Conference play in City Section. And they have also added several new names since we last looked at them, including Leo Ceja (6'-8" Sr. C), Tim Taylor (6'-7" Sr. F/C), Jawan Carter (6'-3" Sr. F), Henry Aubry (6'-2" Sr. G), Ronnie Moore (6'-0"  Sr. G), Shelvain Williams (6'-1" Fr. G), Kenneth Eatman (5'-11" So. G), in addition to the others we had listed on the roster from our preseason profile, including: 

Jeffrey Roberson (5'-9" Sr. PG)
Donte Limbrick (6'-1" Sr. SG)
Devin Houston (6'-1" Sr. SG/SF)
Moreley Covan (6'-3" Sr. SF/PF)
La Jay Godbolt (6'-5" Sr. PF/C)
Willie Dunn (6'-4" So. PG/SG/SF)
Marcus Carnules (6'-0" Sr. SG)
Ryan Fizenger (6'-1" Sr. SG/SF)

Cody, from Wyoming, is young, small (no one over 6'-3" and there are only two of those guys) finished 2-17 last year. They have a new first year coach, and we've frankly got to wonder what in the world this team is doing in this tournament. They are not off to a good start this year either, and after this game they were 0-4 on the season. Cody had only one player score more than 10 (Tony Piazza with 11), and they are likely to be the next victim for Palo Verde which will play them tomorrow (Monday) in Game No. 42 at 10:55 a.m. at Durango.

Fremont went on to play later against Overland, (see Game No. 28 report), and they generally dominated the entire game, even though no Fremont player scored more than 10. Fremont committed 13 turnovers to Cody's 16, and the biggest problem for Cody was that they just couldn't win the track meet against Fremont's generally faster and quicker athletes.  Ryan Frisinger, who came into the game averaging 19ppg and 4 assists per game, was the game MVP, even though he only had 5 points, which says more about this game than any other single stat.

Fremont (51)
Roberson 0-3 1-2 1, Limbrick 3-5 0-0 6, Houston 0-2 0-0 0, Williams 1-6 0-0 2, Ceja 0-1 0-0 0,, Frisinger 1-2 3-6 5, Carter 2-2 1-2 5, Dunn 1-2 0-0 2, Moore 0-0 0-0 0, Covan 4-9 0-1 8, Aubry 2-5 5-6 9, Godbolt 2-4 0-0 4, Taylor 1-3 0-0 3, Carnelus 3-4 0-0 6.

Cody (39)
Roberts 1-5 4-8 6, Hight 1-5 0-0 2, Webber 0-2 0-1 0, Oram 2-6 2-4 6, Friedly 1-2 0-0 2, Houlde 2-7 0-0 4, Ondler 3-5 0-0 8, Piazza 4-13 0-0 11, Manning 0-0 0-0 0.
Score by Halves: Fremont 24 27- 51. Cody 21 18- 39

Game No. 7

Fontana 64, Boyd County 42

We didn't get a chance to see Fontana until later in the evening when they lost to Oak Hill, the team ranked by USA Today as the No. 2 team in the country.  Nevertheless, Fontana played well, and Gary Holmes (6'-6" Sr. F) was named as the game MVP as he shot 8 for 12 from the field, 2 for 3 from three point range, and 3 for 6 from the line.  Gary had 6 rebounds, a team high (the team had a total 36 rebounds, a category in which they were bettered by Boyd by two boards) and Gary also scored 21 points, had 2 assists and one steal.  Joseth Dawson had almost as good a game, scoring 18 points on 7 for 10 shooting.  Point guard Baron Baker, who should be getting a lot of D-I attention scored 11 points. 

Boyd's big scoring threat, Tyler Zornez (6'-3" Jr. G) who was averaging 19 ppg, 6 assists and 4 rebounds) was the high scorer in the game, with 24 points, 5 boards and only 1 assist. He had 6 turnovers, which contributed to the loss. Boyd's other high scorer was Brian Biggs (6'-5" Sr. F) who had only 8 points, which wasn't far off his average coming into the game (12 ppg).  

Fontana advanced to play Oak Hill (see Game No. 29), and lost there, and thus will play Monday in Game No. 62, at 6:00 p.m. at Durango-Aux against Newport of Bellvue, Washington, which lost to Inglewood, and having seen both of these teams, our money is on Fontana, and we're not just being homers here, because Fontana is bigger, stronger and we think just a better overall team with greater athleticism and better skills.  But it will be fun to see whether John McNally's boys will have sufficiently recovered after the Oak Hill game. Here are the stats from this first game for Fontana.

Boyd County (42)
Zornes 6-22 10-11 24, Stewart 0-0 0-0 0, Frazier 0-3 0-0 0, Salyer 0-1 1-2 1, Young 1-1 0-02, Nein 0-6 0-2 0, Nunley 1-1 0-0 2, Hall 1-5 3-3 5, Moore 0-0 0-0 0, Nunley 1-3 0-1 2, Hall 1-5 3-3 5, Moore 0-0 0-0 0, Nein
0-6 0-2 0, Rose 0-0 0-0, Salyer 0-1 1-2 1, Stewart 0-0 0-0 0, Young 1-1 0-0 2, Zornes 6-22 10-11 24.

Fontana (64)
Holmes 8-12 3-6 21, Walker 1-4 1-2 3, Baker 5-10 1-4 11, Mcjimson 1-2 0-0 2, Gipson 0-0 0-3 0, Hopes 1-1 0-0 2, Stephonson 1-3 2-2 5, Machado 0-1 0-0 0, Dawson 7-10 2-4 18, Crull 1-2 0-0 2.
Score by Halves: Boyd County 19 23-42. Fontana 40 24- 64

Game No. 8

Inglewood 71, St. Mary's AZ 61

Inglewood brought not just the team, (we've already done a preview, so check here for the roster), but they also brought most of the City of Inglewood with them as well.   Well about half the school came, including all the cheerleaders, about 30 of them, and that made for some interesting scenes, especially against teams that didn't bring large contingents.  Skip Esene had 16 points in 30 minutes of play, grabbed 8 rebounds, and was named the MVP of the game.  Inglewood played almost flawless ball, turning the ball over only 6 times. Guard Brian Taylor (6'-0" Sr. SG/PG) had a good game, scoring 17 points in 24 minutes of play off the bench on 6-10 shooting from the field and he hit his only three attempt, and made 4 of 6 from the line, and had 4 steals. Point guard Sandy Fletcher (6'-2" Sr. PG) had 10 points and 3 assists while getting 3 steals.  Noel Felix only played 12 minutes, and while he started, he wasn't particularly effective, only scoring 2 points on 1 for 5 shooting from the field and getting only 3 boards.

Inglewood also went on to beat Newport from Bellevue Washington later in the evening in Game No. 30. Check our report of that one for the results.  Inglewood will play Oak Hill tomorrow in Game 41, at 10:55 a.m. at Durango Main, and you can bet we'll be there for that one, since Oak Hill is one of the best teams in the country, and we'll see if coach Pat Roy can come up with an answer for Travis Watson and Ronald Slay.

Here are the stats for the game:

Inglewood (71)
Taylor 6-10 4-6 17, Fletcher 2-7 5-7 10, Brown 2-5 1-2 5, Owens 2-3 0-1 4, Isaac 6-8 0-2 12, Davis 2-5 1-2 5, Esene 6-14 4-5 16, Felix 1-5 0-0 2, Stewart 0-1 0-0 0.

St. Mary's (61)
Jason Fontenet 5-12 3-5 16, Howell 5-11 0-0 10, Stidham 6-10 0-0 13, Arvizu 3-7 0-0 9, Gavranovic 3-6 0-0 7, James Fontenet 1-9 0-0 2, Garrison 2-6 0-0 4, Abdala 0-0 0-0 0.
Score by Halves: Inglewood 24 47- 71. St. Mary's AZ 27 34- 61

Game No. 9

Archbishop Shaw (La.) 65, Rancho 38 -- At Durango, Jason Jackson scored 16 points to lead the Eagles over the Rams. Rancho pulled within three at 34-31 on a 3-pointer by Shon Atkinson with 11:29 to play, but the Rams scored seven points the rest of the way. Atkinson scored 12 to lead Rancho.

When Marian Catholic (Calif.) dropped out of the Reebok Holiday Prep Classic a week before the tournament began, tournament executive director Larry McKay made a phone call to an old associate -- first-year Rancho coach Mike Dye.   Dye's Rams, off to an 4-0 start in Sunrise Division play, agreed to play in the tournament to keep teams from getting an unexpected bye.  "He's doing us a big favor, really," McKay said. "It's tough to run the tournament with one less team because you can't redo the whole bracket."   Dye was an assistant at Rancho under tournament director Jim Allen when McKay was the athletics administrator at the school.  "About a week ago I called, and they were willing to do it," McKay said. "We've all worked together. He's doing a good job over there, and they're playing well. It was a great thing, really."   Unfortunately for Rancho, the favor cost the Rams their five game winning streak as they lost to Archbishop Shaw (La.) 65-38 in their opener.  McKay said this is an opportunity for Rancho's players to play in front of college recruiters.  "Perhaps they'll get a little recognition and be seen by somebody," McKay said. "That's always the positive side of it." 

Rancho (38)
Atkinson 4-11 0-0 12, Bailey 0-1 0-0 0, Alexander 0-1 0-0 0, Crockrom 3-14 0-0 8, Johnson 1-7 0-0 3, Stinnett 2-8 2-4 6, Schulze 0-1 0-0 0, Hart 0-1 0-0 0, Campbell 2-9 0-0 4, Boyd 0-4 0-0 0, McCormick 0-2 0-0 0,
Lukes 2-9 0-0 4, Vinson 0-0 0-0 0, Foreman 0-0 1-2 1.

Archbishop (65)
Joseph 0-0 0-0 0, Lasalle 1-1 0-0 3, Williams 4-6 0-0 10, Oliver 0-1 0-0 0, Gaudet 0-0 0-0 0, Bush 3-4 1-3 7, Calix 1-1 1-2 4, Barrios 1-3 0-0 2, Snowden 1-4 0-0 3, Bailey 2-5 0-0 4, Jackson 5-12 6-8 16, Alexander 2-4
2-2 6, Hartman 4-6 2-2 10.
Score by Halves: Rancho 18 20- 38. Archbishop Shaw 26 39- 65.

Game No. 10

Jordan 77, Ballou 54

We didn't get to see this one, but we heard and saw from the stats that Jordan was really ready for the game. In a first round game, the Panthers defeated Washington D.C. Ballou behind Calloway and Bryant who had 20 and 19 points apiece.  Calloway shot 9 for 11 from the field, and hit 2-3 from the line. He had 3 assists and two turnovers. Trayvon was named the game's MVP and he played great, shooting 8 for 10 from the field, 2-2 from the line, ajned he had 10 rebounds, 3 offensive and 7 defensive, while playing 21 minutes.  We saw him after the game, and he said "Yeah, we were really ready, and it's great to come here and win."  Darren Peterson also shot reasonably well,  but as usual, he didn't have any assists, and that's just because he doesn't usually pass the ball a lot. . .well, how about never.   The Jordan team could be not just a really good team, but a great team, in our humble opinion, if the guards shared the ball more and fed the big guy who could just be one of the best post players in the junior class.  Ok, we said he could be and that's because he rarely gets to post up because the guards usually will drive and penetrate and take the shot themselves.  Nevertheless, Jordan is still successful and will be against teams like Ballou.

Ballou was not a bad team, they were just overwhelmed, although on paper they look pretty good.  Here's the Ballou roster:

Marcelino Barrera (5'-8" Jr. G)
Paul Bailey (6'-5" So. F)
Maurice Barnes (6'-4" Jr. F)
Dewayne Norris (5'-10" Jr. G)
Maurice White (5'-8" Jr. G)
Howard Gilmore (6'-2" Jr. G)
Cha'son Holmes (6'-3" Jr. F)
Dion Walker (6'-4" Jr. F)
Demetrius Denson (6'-1" Jr. G)
Tajuan loney (6'-3" Sr. F)
Norman Morrow (5'-11" Jr. G)
Jacque Pate (6'-8" Jr. C)
Quentin Crutchfield (6'-1" Sr. G)
Keenan Stephans (5'-11" Jr. G)

Of course, we've already previewed Long Beach Jordan, and you can find their roster here.   Not a bad matchup, but Jordan's experience and depth really showed in the game.   Jordan advanced in the Championship bracket, while Ballou dropped into the consolation bracket and will play Rancho from Vegas in game 50 on Monday.  Jordan which improved to 7-1, went on to play Archbishop Shaw in game 31.

Jordan (77)
Tamaro 0-0 1-2 1, Gathrite 0-3 0-0 0, Glasco 0-0 0-0 0, Lundon 0-0 1-2 1, Peterson 3-5 7-11 13, Banks 0-1 1-2 1, Calloway 9-11 2-3 20,, Dale 2-6 0-0 4, Grant 1-2 4-4 6, Lucas 5-7 2-2 12, Bryant 8-10 2-2 19.

Ballou (54)
Bailey 5-10 4-6 14, Bames 3-4 0-1 8, Norris 3-4 0-1 8, White 0-3 2-2 2, Gilmore 3-7 0-0 8, Holmes 7-12 1-4 15, Walker 1-6 0-0 3, Denson 0-2 0-0 0, Loney 0-5 0-3 0, Morrow 0-4 0-0 0, Pate 1-1 0-0 2, Crutchfield 1-3 0-0
2.
Score by Halves: Jordan 37 40-77. Ballou 23 31-54

Game No. 11

Denver East 59, Green Valley 46 -- At Cimarron, the Gators kept it close early but were unable to recover from a 10-4 spurt by the Angels to start the second half.  Ben Lev scored 16 points, helping the Gators to take a 19-19 tie into the break. But Cleophus Morris and Arzelle Lewis hit back-to-back 3-pointers midway through the second half to put Denver East up for good. We didn't really get a good look at either of these teams, but maybe we'll be able to see them tomorrow.  Green Valley will play Sylmar in Game No. 51 Monday at 1:45 p.m. at Cim-Mem Main, while Denver East played Washington College Academy in Game No. 32 on Saturday night, losing (see our report), and they also drop to the consolation bracket and will play Archbishop Shaw (which lost to Jordan later in the evening) in Game No. 63 of the Consolation barcket, scheduled for 6:00 p.m. at Cim-Mem Main, a game we probably won't be watching because there are at least three others we will have to choose from.  But as a little scouting report for Sylmar, here's what Green Valley looked like yesterday:

Cornell Williams (6'-4" Sr. G)
Ben Leu (5'-11" Sr. G)
Jamar Jordan (5'-7" So. G)
Jamal Darbigny (6'-2" Jr. G)
Jared Bedich (6'-3" Jr. G)
Rui Fernando (5'-11" Sr. G)
Gabe Amling (6'-6" So. C)
Morgan Wiley (6'-5" Sr. F)
Jeff Gammett (6'-1" Sr. F)
Jeff Platt (6'-5" Sr. F)
Logan Mason (6'-5" So. F)
Alan Johnson (6'-5" Sr. C)
Paul Thompson (6'-5" Sr. F)
Jaare Bosket (6'-10" Sr. C)
Elvin Howard (6'-2" Sr. F)

And here are the stats:

Denver East (59)
Morris 5-8 1-3 14, Lewis 2-5 4-4 9, Krause 0-1 0-0 0, Walsh 0-0 0-0 0, Dadiotis 3-16 3-7 11, Martin 2-3 0-0 4, King 3-9 5-6 11, Nokes 2-3 2-6 7, Edgerly 0-0 1-2 1, Sedberry 0-0 2-4 2.

Green Valley (46)
Williams 1-3 2-3 4, Lev 5-7 5-6 16, Darbigny 2-2 0-0 4, Bedich 2-4 2-2 7, Amling 3-6 0-0 6, Gammet 0-0 0-0 0, Platt 1-7 1-3 3, Johnson 0-2 0-0 0, Thompson 1-2 0-0 2, Bosket 1-2 0-0 2, Howard 0-4 2-2 2.
Score by Halves: Denver East 19 40- 59. Green Valley 19 27- 46.

Game No. 12

Washington College 75, Sylmar 66

We bumped into Bort last night at Cimmaron-Memorial while watching Westchester squeak out a win against Stratford in overtime.  He actually gave us our all-time best quote of the day:

"Tell everyone back in LA that Sylmar didn't lose to a high school team.  We lost to the Russian National Team."

This was not Cleveland, it was not Grant.  It wasn't even Fairfax or Cresnshaw. it

Whether the team is made up of Russians or not is beside the point; most of the guys are European, and the team is loaded with D-I prospects and signees.  Filip Videnove (6'-4" Sr. G) and Todor Pandov (6'-8" Sr. F/C) have both already signed with Western Kentucky for next season.  Dusan Milicic (6'-6" Sr. F) and Terry Gray (6'-7" Sr. C)--how did he sneak in there--have both also committed to Furman.  Ten of the 14 players on the roster are from Europe and the countries, according to the information provided by Washington's head coach keith Allsep, include Spain, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Croatia, and the former Yugoslavia.  Ok, so they lost to the European National team. 

"That's the kind of team we'd look like next year if all my seniors came back," Escoto told Vince Bonsignore of the Daily News, who is also in town for the tournament.

Washington College is a "prep school" and thus takes 5th year "seniors" and post grads. Washington College jumped out to a 17-4 lead in the first half, then stayed in control despite a couple of  Spartans' runs. Milicic, Gray and Ricky Jackson scored 18 points each for Washington College. T.K. Reed had 13 points on 6 for 8 shooting from the field, and they were the only two Spartans in double figures. Jeremiah Turner had 6 rebounds, and Joey Youman had 5 boards.  Brandon Jacobs played 17 minutes and only scored two points and only had one assist.  Dallas Townsend played 24 minutes of the game and only had 9.  Jeremiah Turner had 6 points in 20 minutes and Youman had 7 points in 24 minutes.

Escoto credited the Spartans' (5-2) slow start to the impressive surroundings. "They've heard about all the great teams and the great players," Escoto said. "So we came out a little bit intimidated." That was especially true of the Spartans' older players. Jeremiah Turner had just a six-point outing and Brandon Jacobs scored only two points. Both are seniors. Surprisingly, the player least affected was sophomore John Valdez, who came off the bench to score 13 points. Valdez's outside shooting keyed a first-half run that brought Sylmar to within 38-37, and Valdez made three of five three-point shots. "I was really happy with the way he stepped up," Escoto said.

T.K. Reed made six of eight shots and finished with 13 points for Sylmar (5-2), which made only eight of 21 free throws. Washington College Academy improved to 12-0.

Bonsignore wrote today that "Sylmar came here with the intent of seeing as many good teams as possible. The Spartans are gearing up for the City Section 4-A playoffs, so they welcome the chance to play opponents as good or better than they are. That was the case Saturday, when the Eagles' speed, size and strength gave Sylmar trouble."

And the Daily News also featured this quote from Coach Escoto: "But that's what we're here for," Escoto told Bonsignore "It's only going to help us when we get to the playoffs."

We only wish we could print what Escoto told us, because other than the line about the "Russian National" team, much of what he said about his team's play wasn't really the kind of stuff we'd want young kids reading. Escoto knows that the team is better than the way they played yesterday, but they're going to have to really get their act together if they hope to win again, because the Green Valley team they'll be playing tomorrow at 1:45 p.m. at Cim-Mem Main gym won't be a pushover either.  Here are the stats: 

Sylmar (66)
Jacobs 1-6 0-0 2, Massey 2-2 0-0 5, Townsend 4-8 1-2 9, Slade 0-1 0-0 0, Derrico 1-1 0-0 2, Valdez 5-8 0-0 13, Reed 6-8 1-6 13, Wrighster 2-6 5-7 9, Turner 3-8 0-2 6, Youman 3-11 1-4 7. 

Washington College (75)
Perry 2-4 1-2 5, Pinendo 3-3 0-0 5, Milicic 6-9 0-0 18, Gutierrez 1-2 0-0 2,  Videnov 8-12 2-2 18, Francic 0-0 0-0 0, Kandic 1-7 2-3 4, Pandov 1-1 1-1 3, Gray 8-11 2-3 18.
Score by Halves: Sylmar 37 29- 66. Washington College 40 35- 75.

Game No. 13

Mater Dei 61, Rangeview 47

Mater Dei, the 1995 Holiday Prep Classic champion, found its 61-47 victory over Rangeview (Colo.) to be costly.  Forward Cedric Bozeman, a 6-foot-5 sophomore, injured his right shoulder when he was fouled with 3:37 to play and had to leave the game. Bozeman is considered one of the top 50 prospects in his class.   Mater Dei was already playing without 6-10 center Jamal Sampson, who has a sprained ankle and was there in street clothes.

Steve Scoggin was the MVP of the game, and he shot 8 for 16 from the fielde and 3 for 7 from three point range for22 total points, and he had 2 assists in 26 minutes, and he wass the game's high scorer.  Rangeview, played close throughout the first half, and Mater Dei only led by 5 at the half, 27-22.  But in the third quarter, Scoggin and Derric Mansell hit 4 three pointers, and Mater Dei scored 17 points off turnovers to spark a 34-25 scoring duel, which resulted in Mater Dei winning.

The Monarchs later played against Henderson County, Kentucky in Game No. 33 (see our report) and they won that one as well, so they will meet up with Fresno Edison tomorrow (Monday) in Game 53 at 3:10 p.m. in the Durango Main gym.   Rangeview dropped to the Consolation bracket, and will play Galena in Game No. 54 at 3:10 in the Durango Auxiliary gym.

Here are the stats:

Rangeview (47)
Hardin 1-2 0-0 3, Cunningham 2-5 0-0 4, Mayfield 2-12 0-0 4, Cooperwood 5-13 3-7 13, Barber 0-0 0-0 0, Sibert 0-0 0-0 0, Woodcock 0-2 0-0 0, Jenkins 8-19 1-2 17, Lee 0-0 0-0 0, McNish 3-4 0-0 6.

Mater Dei (61)
Henderson 1-3 1-2 3, Sufi 0-1 0-0 0, Mansell 4-7 1-2 10, Porter 0-0 0-0 0, Bozeman 3-7 1-2 7, Scoggin 8-16 3-5 22, Baker 0-0 0-0 0, Strawberry 0-2 0-0 0, Bayer 3-8 6-10 12, Mcguigan 1-1 1-2 3, Soderberg 1-3 2-4 4, Mello
0-0 0-0 0.
Score by Halves: Rangeview 22 25- 47. Mater Dei 27 34- 61.

Game No. 14

Henderson 68 v. Galena 44

We didn't see this one, but were pretty surprised, frankly, that Henderson was able to pull this one off, given what we saw in the Mater Dei v. Henderson game. Galena of course features Lance Buoncristiani (5'-9" Sr. PG) and Chad Sattiewhite (6'-4" Sr. C/F) two of our favorite players from the summer.  Lance is one of the hardest working young players, and we're glad that he finally signed with (we think) Idaho State during the fall signing period,  but yesterday, he had what we'd call a fairly non-productive game (counter-productive might be a better description). Lance shot an amazingly dismal 4 for 20 from the field and 3 for 15 from three point range, but stil finished with 16 points. Mike Atkinson had 17 points and led Galena.   Galena will play Monday in Game 54 at 3:10 p.m. in the Durango Auxiliary gym against Rangeview.

Henderson was led by Brian Bivens and Brent Gibson, with 13 and 15 points respectively.  Henderson, as we noted lost to Mater Dei in one of the most boring games we've ever seen, and as a result of that loss later, dropped to the consolation bracket, and will now play on Monday in Game 64 against Cim-Memorial at 6:00 p.m. at, of all places, Cimarron-Memorial's own Auxiliary gym.

Henderson County (68)
Begley 0-0 2-2 2, Bivens 6-9 0-0 13, Barnes 3-5 2-2 9, Duncan 1-2 0-0 2, Fisher 1-5 4-4 7, Gibson 6-13 2-3 15, Cosby 0-2 0-0 0, Bannwart 2-2 3-4 7, Miller 3-5 1-2 7, Long 2-2 0-0 4, Hooper 0-0 0-0 0, Eferakeya 1-2 0-0 2.

Galena (44)
Sikes 0-2 0-0 0, Altom 0-0 0-0 0, Oliden 1-5 2-2 4, Satterwhite 2-3 0-0 4, Heaton 0-0 0-0 0, Krug 0-1 0-2 0, Atkinson 6-12 5-6 17, Weathers 1-2 0-0 2, Buonchristiani 4-20 5-7 16. Welmerink 0-1 1-4 1, Cofer 0-1 0-0 0.
Score by Halves: Henderson County 35 33- 68. Galena 18 26- 44.

Game No. 15

Cimarron-Memorial 67, Harvard-Westlake 63

Thanks to Brian Lang's 23-point performance and a disputed foul call, Cimarron-Memorial defeated Harvard-Westlake (Calif.) 67-63 in the first round of the Reebok Holiday Prep Classic on Saturday. Lang scored 14 second-half points and hit 4 of 4 free throws down the stretch for the Spartans. But Russel Lakey kept Harvard-Westlake within striking distance, forcing turnovers and scoring seven straight points to put the Wolverines ahead, 63-61.  Marcus Banks scored the next four points to put Cimarron up by two. But Lakey, who scored all 17 of his points in the second half, appeared to tie the game at 65 with six seconds remaining, driving through the middle for a layup.  After a conference, the officials called Lakey for a charge, negating the basket and giving the ball to the Spartans.  Cimarron put the game away with four seconds remaining when Banks hit two free throws. The Spartans trailed 30-25 at the break, but Banks rallied Cimarron by scoring 14 of his 16 points in the second half. Russell Lakey had 17 points for the Wolverines (3-4) and Alex Holmes added 14 and 11 rebounds.

In fairness to Harvard-Westlake, they are still playing short-handed. Alex Minn didn't play, and is still nursing a sore ankle.  And several of the Wolverines "had their worst games, ever" according to coach Greg Hilliard. While he told us who they were, discretion being the better part of valor, we'll just leave it at that. Take a look at the stats and you'll pretty much be able to figure it out.

Harvard-Westlake (63)
Lakey 5-10 5-6 17, Weinstein 1-4 0-0 3, Kurihara 3-5 0-0 6, Geffner 3-6 1-3 7, Garson 1-5 1-2 3, Hooks 0-0 0-0 0, Gillig 2-3 0-0 4, Coffey 0-0 0-0 0, Ogbunamiri 1-5 2-2 4, Kinzer 1-3 3-4 5, Torgan 0-0 0-0 0, Holmes 5-10
2-2 14, Kowell 0-0 0-0 0. 

Cimarron (67)
Banks 6-10 4-7 16, Houston 3-8 0-1 6, Dalton 2-2 0-1 4, Ashton 2-5 1-2 7, Crump 2-4 1-2 5, Lang 8-21 7-10 23, Englehart 3-9 0-0 6, Gregory 0-0 0-0 0.
Score by Halves: Harvard-Westlake 30 33- 63. Cimarron 25 42- 67

Game No. 16

Edison 75, Marine Military 41

In their first ever game in their first ever appearance at the Reebok Holiday Prep Classic, Fresno Edison scored a convincing win over Marine Military.  Game  MVP Donald Hollingsworth scored 16 points on 7 of 9 shooting to lead the Tigers (6-4), while Willie Johnson also scored 16. "We came out ready to play and played hard," Edison coach Pat Riddlesprigger said after the game. And he meant it  This game was never in doubt and a look at the rosters of each team will give you a clue why that was the case.

As you can see, this wasn't a very even matchup. While Edison stormed to a 36-13 lead at the end of the first half, there was never any doubt who was going to win this one.   Edison also played Cimmarron Memorial of Las Vegas in a late Saturday in game 36, and while Edison also won again, the actual details weren't available, and we didn't see it because we were watching the Mater Dei v. Henderson and Mt. Zion v. St. Mary's games going on at Durango.

Willie shot 7-12 from the field and 1-2 from three point range and made his only free throw.  Edison only committed two turnovers in the whole game.  Marine committed 8.  Marine's high scorer was Savaughn Bailey who had 20 points, shooting 8 for 19 from the field, and 3-4 from the line.

Edison (75)
Johnson 7-12 1-1 16, Walton 1-3 0-0 2, Mckinney 3-4 1-2 7, Tucker 1-2 0-0 2, Phillips 1-1 0-1 3, Lopez 2-5 4-6 8, Ervin 0-1 0-0 0, Jackson 0-2 0-0 0, Hollingsworth 7-9 0-0 16, Gilliam 5-11 0-0 10, Bertran 2-6 0-0 4,
Manning 2-6 3-6 7. 

Marine Military (41)
Hariston 1-4 3-4 5, Carter 4-8 3-4 11, Mahoney 1-3 0-0 2, Masterpool 0-0 0-0 0, Akin-Yemi 0-1 0-2 0, Bailey 8-19 3-4 20, White 0-0 0-0 0, Shockley 0-0 0-0 0, Agnimel 1-8 1-3 3.
Score by Halves: Edison 36 39- 75. Marine Military 13 28- 41.

Game No. 17

Mt. Zion 79, Golden Valley 31

There's no doubt in our mind who the best two teams are in this tournament.  Mt. Zion is one of them, and we're not exactly sure who the other one is.  It might be Oak Hill, or it might be any number of other teams, but it's certainly Mt. Zion.  This is really a completely different team from last year's championship team, which was also a virtually new team from the 1996 championship team.  

Here's the roster:

Jimmy Johnson (6'-0" Jr. G)
Marquis Daniels (6'-6" Sr. G)
timothy Lyles (5'-11" Sr. G)
Kenny Booker (6'-8" Sr. F)
Antoine Hargrove (6'-4" Jr. F)
John deBerry (6'-2" Sr. G)
Yaku Spruill (6'-0" Jr. G)
Chris Garnett (6'-10" Sr. F)
Marques Williams (6'-3" Sr. F)
Marcus Campbell (6'-7" So. C)

This really wasn't much of a game, and Golden Valley's biggest player is only 6'-5".  At least these guys will be able to say they got dunked on by at least two and maybe more future NBA stars. Mt. Zion improved to 8-0 for the year with the win, and Marquis Daniels was named MVP with 27 total points on 11 of 17 shooting and 4 for 7 from behind the 3 point arc, and he had 11 rebounds.  Hargrove also had 22 points, while Kenny Booker had 12 rebounds

The Las Vegas Review-Journal had a feature story about both Mt. Zion and Oak Hill, and why life is so "tough" for them.  Geez, we wish it was half as tough for most high schools, because then we wouldn't even need to think about ever having the NBA back.  Mt. Zion is so clearly superior to most of the teams in this tournament it's not even funny. Here's what the Vegas paper had to say about them:

Putting together a championship basketball team is like putting together a puzzle -- you have to have all the right pieces, and you have to make them fit.  Most high school coaches have at least two or three years to put those pieces together, smoothing the rough edges on some, even adjusting the overall team picture so they fit together better.

But Mount Zion (N.C.) coach Joel Hopkins doesn't have that luxury. Players often come to the religious private school for only one year.   "It's not like you have the same guys from the last six or seven years," Hopkins said. "You've got to bring them together in a couple of months and put it all together. That's the hardest part of it. That's what makes these guys so special."

After Mount Zion won the 1996 Reebok Holiday Prep Classic championship, Hopkins returned just three players, Travis Robinson, Corey Hightower and J.R. Raymond. Only Robinson had been a double-figure scorer the previous season, but those three and a group of talented newcomers managed to win a second consecutive Holiday Prep Classic title in 1997.  "It's a very tough job," Hopkins said. "Most people look at the finished product. It just takes time, a lot of patience and hard work."

Now with just three returning players this season, the Warriors are trying to make it three in a row, and they got off on the right foot, beating Golden Valley (Calif.) 79-31 in Saturday's opening round in the Holiday Prep Classic, presented by the Review-Journal.  Newcomer Marquis Daniels led the way with a game-high 27 points and pulled down 11 rebounds. Daniels hit everything from pull-up 3-pointers to driving slams. "These guys are playing very well together, and they have a very strong chemistry," Hopkins said.

Three-time Holiday Prep Classic champion Oak Hill (Va.) is in a similar situation, often rebuilding completely every year. Like Hopkins, Oak Hill coach Steve Smith is a master at putting the pieces together. In six previous Holiday Prep Classic appearances, Oak Hill has placed five times and compiled a 25-4 record.   Nothing looks to have changed this season, as the Warriors, ranked second in the nation by USA Today, beat Fontana (Calif.) 75-45 in their first game Saturday. Returnee Travis Watson and newcomer Ronald Slay led the Warriors with 18 points each. Thirteen of Oak Hill's 30 field goals were dunks. Watson, Slay and another newcomer, Steven Blake, have all signed to play for Division I schools -- Watson with Virginia, Blake with Maryland and Slay with Tennessee.

At Mount Zion, the players do little but play basketball, study and go to church.  "That's all we try to do," said Hopkins.   Beyond the basketball part, that's not particularly attractive package for most teen-agers. But the Warriors consistently bring in talented transfers.  "They want a change in their life, a change in their environment and just have an opportunity to be the best they can be," Hopkins said. "Mount Zion's been a big opportunity for a lot of these guys, an opportunity to play basketball."

Sometimes those transfers have to give up being a star at their old school to play a role at Mount Zion or Oak Hill. A good example at Mount Zion is senior Antoine Hargrove. A 6-4 skywalker with a solid shot, Hargrove could be a star at most schools. But he comes off the bench for the Warriors. He showed some of what he could do against Golden Valley, scoring 22 points on 10-of-15 shooting, including 2-for-2 from 3-point range. "It says a lot about these kids' character," Hopkins said. "They've got to learn what team is. It's not an individual thing."

So Mt. Zion advanced with the win to play St. Mary's from New York, and that wasn't much of a game either.  See our report of game 34.    Mt. Zion will next play in Game No. 57 against surprising South Gate.   That game is scheduled for 4:35 p.m. in the Durango Main gym, and we'll be there to see it and will report on just how good Mt. Zion really is.

Golden Valley will meet Bishop Gorman in Game 55 in the consolation bracket at 3:10 p.m. in the Cim-Mem Aux gym.

Mount Zion (79)
Daniels 11-17 1-1 27, Johnson 3-10 0-3 7, Deberry 0-0 0-0 0, Lyles 3-8 3-4 9, Booker 3-9 0-0 6, Hargrove 10-15 0-0 22, Campbell 0-2 2-2 2, Williams 0-1 0-0 0, Spruhill 1-1 0-3 2, Garnett 1-2 2-4 4.

Golden Valley (31)
Saelee 0-3 0-0 0, Quiralte 1-2 0-0 2, Crane 4-17 8-10 18, Hawkins 0-0 0-0 0, Henderson 1-7 0-4 2, Davis 0-1 0-0 0, Acebo 2-7 0-0 4, Glasgow 0-1 2-4 2, Warcup 0-0 0-1 0, Spielman 0-2 0-0 0, Jacobs 1-2 1-2 3, Ehrlich 0-5 0-0 0.
Score by Halves: Mount Zion 46 33- 79. Golen Valley 16 15-31.

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