SoCalHoops Tournament News

Reebok Holiday Prep Classic Recaps:
SoCal Teams--The Finals--(Dec. 24, 1999)

This is the final installment about the Reebok Holiday Prep Classic for 1999.  These are the results from the finals which were played at the 1999 Reebok Holiday Prep Classic, and this will close out our reporting on this year's Holiday Prep Classic (well, except for a few articles we may do on some individual standout players in the next few days and weeks. . . but there's a lot more happening in the next day or two, including all the Best in the West stuff we'll be putting up). . . .  Again, we're only going to focus principally on the SoCal-based teams (although we have included box scores for the other games).  We'll do this in reverse order (or actually the order that the games were played) so if you're only interested in the Championships in each division, just scroll right on down to the bottom of the page. 

Game No. 97 (Bronze Cup 7th Place Game)   Campbell Hall 77,  Canyon 65

Campbell Hall's Jesse Foster (6'-7" Sr. F) put on a show with his long, lanky and athletic frame, getting 33 points. Needless to say, he was selected as the game MVP, and he may have also had the best shooting percentage of anyone in the tournament, at least in a single game:  He made an amazing 14 of 15 from the field (93%), and also shot 5-6 from the free throw line, and he also had 10 rebounds two blocked shots and two steals, truly an all-star performance, and he was dominating inside and out in this game.  Jesse is the kind of kid who a lot of people look at and say, "Wow, what kind of diet is he on?" but all he really needs is a good college weight and strength program. He's thin and can definitely play the three at the next level, and is probably too thin (even with weight training) to play the four, but he's very effective slashing, tipping and can run the floor.  His buddy Hassan Bassiri (6'-0" Sr. PG/SG), had a good game as well, not as good as some of his previous games in the tournament, but he had 13 poinjts and 5 steals, an impressive defensive performance. Robert Locke the young freshman, had 9 points and 5 steals and is improving with each game, shooting 3-4 fromteh field and 3-5 from the line in this one.   But it was truly Foster's game and he's going to be one to watch this season in the Delphic League and when the D-VAA playoffs roll around.  For Canyon, well, they struggled a lot shooting, and Derron Putnam who had been the leading scorer only had 8 points in this game;  teammate Jamal Taylor led with 27 points in an impressive performance, making 7 three pointers (7-13), 8 rebounds and 2 steals, but overal Canyon's offensive just wasn' there, and the 18 steals Campbell Hall got (17 of which were credited as turnovers; now there's an interesting stat:  How can CH have 18 steals, but Canyon only committed 17 turnovers?  oh well, that's what the official stats said) didn't help Canyon at all in this one.   Campbell Hall finished strong in the tournament and looking forward to league, they should be tough at 10-3 on the season;   Canyon is a good team, which should get better as the season progresses.   They'll need to work on shot consistency, but they've got some fine players in Taylor, Putnam, Travis Klein, Matt Baranick, and Christian Amador.

Las Vegas Bronze Cup Seventh-Place
Campbell Hall (North Hollywood, CA) 77 Canyon (Anaheim, CA) 65
Campbell Hall (77) - Kerr 5, Klippsten 4, Locke 9, Bassiri 13, Nixon 3, Drobnick 4, Foster 33, Womack 6. Totals 30 14-18 77
Canyon (65) - Klein 12, Jamal Taylor 27, Amador 11, Baranick 3, Putnum 8, Jason Taylor 0, Osias 0, Mclain 0, Ruffin 0, Lattos 0, Parker 2,
Zimmerman 2. Totals 21 9-15 65
Campbell Hall (10-3) 43 34 - 77
Canyon (4-5) 21 44 - 65

Game 98:  (Bronze Cup 3rd Place Game)   North Hollywood 58, Phoenix South Mountain 45

The Huskies managed to recover from their previous day's loss to Galena (which ended up losing in the Championship Game to Smoky Hill), and Kenny Hauser (6'-6' Jr. SF/SG) managed to recover his shooting touch just in time, getting 17 points on 7 for 15 shooting and 1-4 form three pooint range while also grabbing a team high 6 rebounds, 1 blocked shot and 1 steal.  Eric Roller was named the game MVP for North Hollywood, and he played effectively, but not as effectively we think as Hauser did in this one (but then Kenny had already been named the MVP once before, and it seemed to be the philosophy of the tournament organizers this year to spread around the awards so more than one guy would get the honor).  Roller's overall defensive performance though was what really got him the nod, and picking of three steals and a blocked shot for a big guy like him (he's 6'-3" but has to weight at least 240 or more) was impressive, and he clogged the middle effectively.  North Hollywood also demonstrated the benefits of having played together throughout the summer and fall as a team:  Their chemistry is good and the players are smart too, and they play that way.   Just about every one of them stepped up in this game:  Three players had 9 points (Gus Ruiz, Dominic Johnson, and Roller), and Kim had 2 while Nathan Stern managed 5 points and a steal.  They will be tough in the City Section, certainly one of the better teams from the Valley, but whether their smarts and team chemistry will get them past some of the more athletic City Section teams from "over the hill" like Fairfax, Westchester, Crenshaw and others remains to be seen.  Still they've got to be considered one of the top 16 teams this year in the Section, and we think if they stay healthy, you'll see them at least contending for the City Title.  This team isn't as deep or as talented as some of the other NH teams over the years, but they are smart and play together which counts for a lot.

Las Vegas Bronze Cup Third-Place
North Hollywood (CA) 58 South Mountain (Phoenix, AZ) 45
North Hollywood (58) - Kim 2, Molina 0, Herring 0, Hauser 17, Ruiz 9, Johnson 9, Stern 5, Danipour 0, Karim 7, Roller 9. Totals 23 9-13 58
South Mountain (45) - Walker 3, Moore 0, Coleman 0, J. Owens 2, A. Owens 0, M. Mason 5, A. Mason 11, Wade 0, Branham 2, Jones 8,
Russell 14. Totals 19 6-10 45
North Hollywood (8-2 season record) 32 26 - 58
South Mountain (5-9) 26 19 - 45

Game 99:  (Silver Cup 7th Place)   Green Valley 83, South Laurel 72

Green Valley (Henderson, NV) 83, South Laurel (London, KY) 72
Green Valley (83) - Bedich 22, Solis 2, Jordan 15, Lorenz 0, Reyes 6, Smith 8, Cohen 0, Mason 0, Miller 15, Goodsell 0, Nelson 0, Nelson 9, Dittler 6. Totals 29 24-37 83
South Laurel (72) - Warren 7, Sizemore 13, Green 0, Young 5, Dean 0, Riley 26, Vance 11, Davis 0, Lord 4, Smith 0, Coffey 1, Moore 3, Hensley 2. Totals 21 23-29 72
Green Valley (5-6) 37 46 - 83
South Laurel (6-3) 27 45 - 72

Game 100:  (Silver Cup 3rd Place Game)    Harvard Westlake 62, Bakersfield 59

Recovering from their somewhat startling one-point loss the day before to a less talented Dimond team from Alaska, coach Greg Hilliar went a little deeper into his bench and caled on some guys who had not played at all in previous games or who had only played sparingly and asked them to contribute and they did.  While Eric Geffner was selected as the game MVP, getting 13 points and 9 rebounds (6 for 12 from the field, 1 for 2 from three, 0-2 from the line, 1 steal), HW was able to comeback from a 7 point halftime deficit (36-29) by getting some solid play from Spencer Torgan (4 points on 2-3 from the field), 9 points from Chris Hooks (who started), 6 rebounds from Brian Coffey, 3 points from Austin Scott, and 6 points (3 for 7 from the field, 0-1 from three and two steals)  from starter Craig Weinstein.  John Karravas played ok, not as good as he has in previous games, but even if he never scored a single basket (he had 6 points here), he's got great defensive intensity and just adds something that Harvard really needs if they're going to be successful this year in their league.  Of course, the real offensive firepower in this game for the Wolverines again came from Russell Lakey who led all scorers in the game with 21, who hit 3 of 5 three point attempts (6-15 overall from the field) and made 6 of 8 free throws.   Russell also had one of the better, more impressive defensive games, getting 7 steals an donly comitting two turnovers the whole game.  Russell has really stepped up his defensive intensity and is now moving and playing more with his feet instead of counting on what had been his signature move of letting the offensive player slip by and trying to pop the ball out from behind, which can be effective when you've got a lot of other defensive help, but it's not especially effective in a pure man or even most zone situations, and it's nice to see him moving better.  In fact we had a couple of college coaches at the tournament comment to us that they thought Russell was playing better both defensively and offensively in this tournament than they could remember.   He's got a very effective pull up jumper in the lane from about 10'-12' and can hit the floater or the layup off transition.  He's still looking at four different Ivy League schools, and a couple of other east coast schools, like Boston College and BU, in addition to LMU and a couple of other west coast schools still in the mix, but it looks more and more like he'll be going east.  We were told by one of the HW coaches that he'll decide in the spring.

For Bakersfield, this tournament started off promising, but they wound up finishing 2-2 overall and in fourth place. Alfred Williams had a good, but not great game, scoring 10 points on 5-10 shooting, while Mark Bruley had 14 (6-13 and two threes out of 6).  Johnny Wiley was the only other Driller in double figures with 10.  Bakersfield rebounded better than HW, as was expected with better height and a bit more athleticism (45-39), but even Bruley's 12 and Wiley's 12 weren't enough to stop Lakey and Geffner from asserting themselves. This was a close game that could have gone either way really, and both of these teams will be contenders this year.   We had thought HW might be lucky to finish in third in the crowded Mission League but just given their style of play, the excellent coaching and good chemistry, we'd say that they're going to again contend for a league title.

Las Vegas Silver Cup Third-Place
Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, CA) 62 Bakersfield (CA) 59
Harvard-Westlake (62) - Scott 3, Lakey 21, Weinstein 6, Karavas 6, Krauss 0, Gurman 0, Geffner 13, Hooks 9, Hooks 0, Nicholoson 0, Coffey 0, Ogbunamiri 0, Torgan 4. Totals 24 7-13 62
Bakersfield (59) - Guerrero 7, West 0, Jennings 6, Bruley 14, Williams 10, Black 1, Huggins 8, Jackson 1, Wiley 10, Shipman 0, Bergman 2. Totals 26
2-8 59
Harvard-Westlake (7-2) 29 33 - 62
Bakersfield (10-5) 36 23 - 59

Game 101:  (Gold Cup 7th Place)   Mountain View 54, St. Bernard 47

Mountain View (Mesa, AZ) 54, St. Bernard (LA) 47
Mountain View (54) - Olich 7, Yetter 5, Pratt 10, Ernst 7, White 9, E. Cook 3, C. Cook 7, Benedict 0, Schmidt 6. Totals 20 9-13 54
St. Bernard (47) - Major 18, Richard 13, Tucker 3, Banks 1, Ceaser 4, Joseph 0, Foley 1, Boleware 0, Jackson 7. Totals 15 13-19 47
Mountain View (11-3) 28 26 - 54
St. Bernard (12-5) 17 30 - 47

Game 102:  (Gold Cup 3rd Place)   St. Mary's 74, Western 41 

Las Vegas Gold Cup Third-Place
St. Mary's (Manhasset, NY) 74, Western (Las Vegas) 41
St. Mary's (74) - Suarez 20, Mayo 4, Alarcon 0, Grant 6, Preston 5, Bolkovic 0, Boyle 7, Preston 15, Hannah 8, Byfield 9. Totals 29 9-15 74
Western (41) - Lightforde 0, Weaver 12, Jefferson 3, Watkins 6, Matthews 2, Robinson 3, Fowler 6, Vas 0, Levi 2, Day 7. Totals 14 10-6 41
St. Mary's (7-1) 39 35 - 74
Western (5-4) 29 12 - 41

Game 103:  (Millenium Cup 7th Place)   Fairfax 69, Westchester 66

These guys had to travel all the way here to play what essentially was a prelude to two more City Section Western League contests this year. And th e Lions continued to roll, but not in the overwhelming fashion that a lot of people thought they might be capable of, and in the games we saw (we didn't get to see this one), it seems like Fairfax is just missing some of the intensity that they'll need to draw down on in order to really prove that they are capable of taking the City title.   Craig Smith was the big story offensively here, getting 29 points (11-18 from the field, 1 for 1 from three, and 6 for 6 from the line) to go along with his 13 rebounds in the game (3 offensive, 10 defensive), two blocked shots and 1 steal in 25 minutes. . . very impressive.  And yet he was not chosen game MVP, an honor which was reserved for Evan Burns, who finished with 12 points, 8 rebounds 1 assist, 2 turnovers and 1 blocked shot. We haven't checked the prior game MVP's but we're guessing that Craig already received the honor once, because his performance from a purely numbers point of view is certainly more impressive. . . but then sometimes numbers don't tell the whole story.   Others who played well for Fairfax were Fernando Sampson, (6'-1"  So. SG) who finished with 14 points (4-5 from the field, 2-3 from three, 4-5 from the line).   Others who scored for Fairfax were Scottie Stren with 2 in 10 minutes of playing time, Fowzi Abdelsamad with 8 (4-7 from the field, 4 assists and 4 turnovers), and Aaron Mimms with 1 point.  Two other Fairfax players played, but they must have been sick or just having off days:  Jason Morrisette only played 18 mintues and had just 2 points (1-7 from the field and 2 turnovers) and Ishmael Torres who played for 20 minutes but only managed 1 point and 1 turnover in the game.  Just a general observation from what we've seen in the preseason from Fairfax:  They need a point guard, a true point guard to run the show, someone who will look for open men and insist on floor balance.   There are enough big guys on this team and more than enough wings and two men, but no real point guards, and that's not meant to be a knock on Fowzi, who is doing an admirable job under the circumstances, but he's really in our view more suited to being a combo guard, maybe even a pure two.  Who knows, maybe coach Kitani will find the right combination, but for now, even though Fairfax can manage to get the W's and come from behind when they have to, this is a team, from a talent point of view that shouldn't have to depend on late game surges.

Westchester is another team in need of a true point guard, a Brandon Granville type of player who will look for others instead of looking jsut to score;  maybe Ashanti Cook can be that player, maybe not.  Maybe it will ultimately be Jason McKinney, (if he ever gets to play and gets his game under control-he wasn't at the tournament, and we don't know why.  Grades?  Sick? We'll have to find out) if he wakes up and realizes that all the athletic moves, the spins and between the leg passes to himself are entertaining and showcase his pure athleticism, but they do little to help his team win.  Still, even though Cook wasn't credited with a single assist (the team only had 1 the whole game, credited to Chad Bell), he still managed to get 10 points and two steals.  Brandon Heath was impressive, shooting 7-15 from the field and getting 17 points in the game.  Jason Breland was the leading scorer for the Comets (8-4) with 22 points.  Others who scored for Westchester were Jon Clemmons (who was not on the roster in the program) had 2 points and only played sparingly;  Terrence Lawson, a solid defensive player had 5 points, Chad Bell had 4 and a blocked shot, Keith Everage, another sophomore on this team, had 4 points (2 for 9 from the field, 0-2 from the line) and Brice Buchannan (6'-5" Jr. F) had 2 and 1 rebound in only 2 minutes of time. Kevin Brown didn't play and neither did Charlie Colosimo or Brandon Bowman.

Las Vegas Millennium Cup Seventh-Place
Fairfax (Los Angeles) 69 Westchester (Los Angeles) 66
Fairfax (69) - Torres 1, Sampson 14, Jones 0, Bell 0, Mimis 1, Burns 12, Stern 2, Abdelsamad 8, Morrissette 2, Smith 29, Malwah 0, Bausley 0. Totals 27 12-19 69
Westchester (66) - Cook 10, Clemmons 2, Lawson 5, Heath 17, Thompkins 0, Breland 22, Bell 4, Buchanan 2, Everage 4. Totals 24 16-19 66
Fairfax (9-2) 37 32 - 69
Westchester (8-4) 35 31 - 66

Game 104:  (Millenium Cup 3rd Place) Greensboro Day 56, Pleasure Ridge 53

Las Vegas Millennium Cup Third-Place
Greensboro (NC) Day 56 Pleasure Ridge Park (Louisville, KY) 53
Greensboro Day (56) - Garland 0, Anderson 4, Strable 0, Wysocki 17, White 2, Rogers 6, Bradford 10, Halsch 17. Totals 19 16-24 56
Pleasure Ridge Park (53) - Morris 4, Gaines 11, Tutt 6, Kelly 2, Palmer 5, Brooks 5, Koger 9, Downing 10, Mcbroom 1. Totals 18 10-12 53
Greensboro Day (15-1) 33 23 - 56
Pleasure Ridge Park (7-3) 29 24 - 53

Game 105:  (Bronze Cup 5th Place)   Venice 62, Rancho Bernardo 57

But for a single loss, Venice (7-4 overall, 3-1 in the tournament) had a pretty good tournament overall, capturing 5th place in the Bronze Cup, as Kevin Eleby had another impressive defensive performance, finishing with 12 points (6 for 13 from the field, 0-4 from three) but he managed 3 rebounds and 4 steals, not bad for a little speedster who can also dish and drive.  Montell Duhon only played about half the game, but he scored almost flawlessly, shooting 6 for 5 from the field, 2 for 2 from three and he also had 5 rebounds and 1 steal to go along with his 12 points.   Lyman Edwards didn't get a ton of assists this time, just three, but he had 11 points.  Anthony Alexander led Venice with 16 points on 6 for 11 shooting, 1-1 from three, and 2-3 from the line.  Marlon Connerly, a kid we haven't seen and who wasn't on the roster in the program, had 3 ponts, 2 assists and 1 turnover.  Venice actually trailed at the half in this one,31-28, but then came back in the second half to outscore RB by 8, 34-26.  Neither team had very good percentages (Venice actually shot worse from the field than did RB, 48% to 56%, but the Gondoliers also took 12 more shots in the game, took more 3's (13-9), and committed far fewer turnovers in the game, only 9 to Rancho Bernardo's 21 total turnovers.   Rancho Bernardo was led by Jeff Speights again, this time with 23 points on 10-12 shooting from the field, and he also grabbed 12 boards and had 2 steals, a pretty good day's work.  Eric Williams also had 16 points for Broncos (5-3 overall, 2-2 in the tournament). Paul Victor also had 10, shooting 5 for 13 from the field.

Las Vegas Bronze Cup Fifth-Place
Venice (CA) 62 Rancho Bernardo (San Diego, CA) 57
Venice (62) - Eleby 12, Duhon 12, Edwards 11, Brown 0, Morrison 6, Gibson 0, Connerly 3, Delossantos 2, Alexander 15, Jones 1. Totals 27 4-11 62
Rancho Bernardo (57) - Artiano 0, Victor 10, Basehore 6, Newmann 2, Williams 16, Sutherland 0, Speights 23. Totals 23 9-12 57
Venice (7-4) 28 34 - 62
Rancho Bernardo (5-3) 31 26 - 57

Game 106:  (Bronze Cup Championship) Smoky Hill 56, Galena 44

Las Vegas Bronze Cup Championship
Smoky Hill (Aurora, CO) 56 Galena (Reno, NV) 44
Smoky Hill (56) - Hill 0, De Thomas 0, Jones 9, Nolen 10, Sees 0, Katz 15, Chiri 5, Dougherty 0, Carroll 13, Babineau 2, Jegede 2, Adams 0. Totals 20 12-23 56
Galena (44) - Sikes 9, Altom 0, Gardner 0, Heaton 3, Atkinson 15, Robinson 0, Hickman 7, Williams 2, Cofer 4, Fike 0, Thetford 4. Totals 15 13-21 44
Smoky Hill (5-1) 30 26 - 56
Galena (10-3) 24 20 - 44

Game 107:  (Silver Cup 5th Place Game)   Cajon 69, Palo Verde 56

Cajon is not an overly tall team, and their biggest player is 6'-6" and there's only one of him, bt they've got speed and good shooting, which helped them to a 9-1 overall record thus far in the season, and a 3-1 record in the tournament, with their lone loss coming to Harvard-Westlake on the second day of the tournament, a three point game which was tied until John Karravas hit a last second shot to give HW the win. No doubt about it Cajon is a good team and they've got some excellent athletes including Paul Roby (6'-1" Jr. G), who has excellent speed and can put the ball in the basket. In this game he shot nearly flawlessly, 10-12 from the field, 3 for 3 from three point range, and 2 for 2 from the line, grabbed 5 rebounds, 1 steal, committed just 1 foul and 1 turnover in 26:20 of playing time, an dled all scorers in the game with 25 points.  And he wasn't even selected as the MVP (probably because he had been chosen in the game prior to this one);  so the folks at the table game the MVP to Aaron Griffin (6'-3" Sr. SG/SF) who had 17 points and shot nearly as well, hitting 4 of 5 three pointers, 6-8 overall from the field, and he also had 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal.  Donovan Morris (6'-3" So. SF/SG) also had a great game, getting 16 points on 5-10 shooting from the field and grabbing 6 rebounds for Cajon. The Cowboys play in the very tough San Adreas League with teams like Colton, San Bernardino Pacific, San Gorgonio, and Yucaipa, and they've got to be considered one of the league favorites from what we saw of them.  They'll be in Division I-A this year for the playoffs, and while we don't see them knocking off any of the favorites, especially not Mater Dei because the Cowboys really lack the inside presence needed to do that, they are a well coached and smart team with some real standout players, especially Roby who should get some looks from some D-I schools before the year is out.  

Las Vegas Silver Cup Fifth-Place
Cajon (San Bernardino, CA) 69 Palo Verde (Las Vegas) 56
Cajon (69) - Griffin 17, Morris 16, Norman 2, Dew 0, Roby 25, Breeden 0, Walker 6, Payne 1, Harris 2. Totals 26 10-16 69
Palo Verde (56) - Washington 0, Hill 0, Rolfe 3, Clarke 0, Rohret 3, Coleman 6, LaMasters 3, Gray 14, Clark 8, Ferguson 15, Moore 4. Totals 25 4-12 56
Cajon (9-1) 36 33 - 69
Palo Verde (7-6) 33 23 - 56

Game 108:  (Silver Cup Championship)   St. Mary's 83, Dimond 73

Las Vegas Silver Cup Championship
St. Mary's (Phoenix, AZ) 83, Dimond (Anchorage, AK) 73
St. Mary's (83) - Jason Fontenet 19, Lopez 0, Trujillo 5, Velasquez 0, Ballestero 6, James Fontenet 19, Martinez 4, Kostyun 0, Abdala 8, Frye
18, White 4, Mayberry 0. Totals 31 14-18 83 
Dimond (73) - Richard 5, Walker 2, Chirhart 7, Glover 25, Lockard 17, Montablo 7, Carson 2, S. Brady 6, T. Brady 2. Totals 27 13-17 73
St. Mary's (10-2) 36 47 - 83
Dimond (5-1) 21 52 - 73

Game 109:  (Gold Cup 5th Place)   Long Beach Jordan 41, Ozen 38

Travon Bryant didn't have an overwhelming tournament, but here he was easily one of the most skilled if not the single most skilled big man, and certainly he was just about the only really top high profile big man in the senior class at the Reebok.  In this final game he had 16 points, 11 rebounds (5 offensive, 6 defensive) and went 6 for 8 from the field, 1 for 1 from three had 1 assist and 1 steal (and 3 turnovers too) and showed that he really needs to work on his free throw shooting if nothing else, making only 3 of 9 from the line. The game MVP was Ron Banks, who had 11 points, 1 assist, and 5 rebounds.  No other Jordan player broke double figures. Rashawn Childs had 9 on 4 for 8 shooting (1 for 3 from three), and Josh Estrada had 2, Nick Tamarao had 2, and that was it for the Panthers (5-4) who have had an up and down preseason thus far.  They went 3-1 in the tournament, but because they were over at Durango and in the consolation games for much of the time, they didn't get the same kind of attention that they might have had they been winning every game.  Oh well, there's still the Best in the West starting this Monday.

Las Vegas Gold Cup Fifth-Place
Jordan (Long Beach, CA) 41 Ozen (Beaumont, TX) 38
Jordan (41) - Tumaro 3, Childs 9, Estrada 2, Banks 11, Salima 0, Cottrell 0, Bryant 16. Totals 15 7-13 41
Ozen (38) - Tyrell 11, Marshall 10, Dejean 0, Chappell , Rideau 2, Dabney 2, West 0, Perkins 9. Totals 16 2-5 38
Jordan (5-4) 22 19 - 41
Ozen (10-4) 23 15 - 38

Game 110:  (Gold Cup Championship):   Simi Valley 71, Champagnat 48

The Simi Pioneers are off to one of their best starts ever at 9-0 overall and they finished 4-0 at the Reebok Prep Classic, one of only four teams to go undefeated at the tournament (which was why they were all champions. . . ).  Dustin Villepigue was named as the game MVP and he finished with 11 ponits, 10 rebounds (7 defensive) 2 assists and 1 steal, shooting 5 for 11 from trhe field and only 1 of 6 from the line (practice, practice, practice. . . that's why you practice Dustin).   Villepigue had struggled in the games prior to this one, at least from a stats point of view, and he just has so much potential to get really, really good, that it was hard for us to figure out why he was having difficulty scoring and rebounding in the first couple of games.  But by the end of the tournament he seemed to have put it all together.   Branduinn Fullove was named the MVP of the Gold Cup Division, and it's easy to see why: He was just dominating, not so much because he was bigger and stronger than most of the guys he was playing against (we actually disagree with some other observers who say that he looks too old to be competing against mere high school players. . . if he looks out of place, it's no more so than his teammate Brett Michel.   It's really not that he's dominating, just quicker, smarter and is shooting so much better than the rest of the competition that it plainly stands out from the crowd.   In any event, Branduinn had another huge game scoring 20 points, grabbing 10 boards (9 defensive) and shooting 6 for 9, 1 for 3 from three pont range and 7 for 10 from the line.  He had 2 assists and 1 steal and no turnovers. Fellow Pioneer Brett Michel had 19 points shooting 5 for 9, 3 for 7 from three and 6-6 from the line while grabbing 5 boards an d1 assist (but he also committed 4 turnovers), and stole the ball twice.   Brett is just a touch slower and not really as good a shot lately as he used to be last spring, but if he can get himself completely back into the condition he was in last season, he should really impress a lot more schools than just the US service academies (Navy and AirF Force principally) which are currently about the only schools expressing serious interest. Brother Shuan Michel seems to have calmed down a bit and is now just playing basketball, and he had 9 points on pretty good shooting (4 for 5) and he had 2 assists and 2 steals, and 2 turnovers. Anish Sharda was hot in the first half and started off the game with one of his three three-pointers (3 for 4 overall and from three--all his attempts were threes).  Simi is going to be tough, very tough, and there's little doubt that they'll win the Marmonte League and could go deep into the D-IA playoffs again.   But like last year, if they matchup with Mater Dei again, or any other team with a real inside game or any kind of size, Simi will be challenged because they don't go much deeper than the first 6 or so players.  Still they're very good and to be 9-0 against good competition, especially a team like Champagnat in the finals, is quite an achievement.

Las Vegas Gold Cup Championship
Simi Valley (CA) 71, Champagnat Catholic (Hialeah, FL) 48
Simi Valley (71) - S. Michel 9, Boon 1, Sharda 9, Bradshaw 0, Winchester 2, Weaver 0, Villepigue 11, B. Michel 19, Fullove 20. Totals 24 16-25 71
Champagnat Catholic (48) - Rose 0, Guzman 2, Osimani 3, Roberts 6, Garcia-Morales 16, Gomez, 1, Soriano 0, Evangelista 6, Rasio 4, Garcia 0,
Mercedes 10. Totals 19 7-14 48
Simi Valley (9-0) 38 33 - 71
Champagnat (10-1) 30 18 - 48

Game 111:  (Millenium Cup 5th Place Game):  Woodlawn 62, Roswell 47

Las Vegas Millennium Cup Fifth-Place
Woodlawn (Birmingham, AL) 62,  Roswell (GA) 47
Woodlawn (62) - Russell 0, Daniels 0, Coleman 2, Nash 2, Long 0, Jackson 6, Bailey 7, Dukes 14, Gray 1, Dansby 6, Ikner 0, Franklin 2, Fletcher 13, Vasser 9. Totals 26 9-16 62
Roswell (47) - Sheats 0, Watts 6, Brooks 4, Pond 0, Lowe 23, Pattman 2, Reis 10, Paxten 0, Gardner 0, Ridley 2. Totals 12 22-30 47
Woodlawn (15-1) 30 32 - 62
Roswell (9-5) 19 28 - 47

Game 112:  (Millenium Cup Championship Game):  Long Beach Poly 56
MVP Adrian Martin

Since we didn't get to see this game due to other commitments, we're going to borrow from the account of the game in the Las Vegas Review Journal, an article written by Damon Seiters, a staff writer for the paper.   We'll also give you the full box for the game.  Of course Seiters' article is written with a distinctly hometown view, but it's a good, solid account of the game:

For Gorman, performance hardly Classic

Long Beach (Calif.) Poly outclasses the Gaels 56-36 to capture the Millennium Cup title in the Reebok Holiday Prep Classic.

By Damon Seiters
Review-Journal

Long Beach (Calif.) Poly came to the Reebok Holiday Prep Classic this week thinking it was the tournament's top team. And the Jackrabbits left little doubt about that on Wednesday night, beating Bishop Gorman 56-36 in the championship game of the Las Vegas Millennium Cup at Green Valley.  "We expected to run through all these teams up here," said Poly guard Wesley Stokes. "We just come to play hard. No team out here can match up with us." 

Bishop Gorman certainly couldn't. The Gaels (9-2) turned the ball over 21 times, 14 in the first half as the Jackrabbits (7-1) took a 23-16 lead at the break. Gorman coach Jeff Wagonseller said Poly was just physically stronger than his team.  "We lost to a better team tonight. We've got to get stronger and learn our lesson and get on with life," Wagonseller said. 

Poly took advantage of its quickness to keep Gorman from getting comfortable offensively. The Jackrabbits rotate four guards in a three-guard lineup led by the ultra-quick Stokes, who was named the Millennium Cup's Most Valuable Player.  "The key to our defense is really to make the other team's guards win the game," Stokes said. "We have great team defense and on-the-ball defense, so therefore the guards are going to have to win the ballgame for them."  

Poly's defense kept Gorman from going inside effectively. The Jackrabbits often forced the Gaels to settle for 3-pointers, especially after Poly built its lead.
Gorman was 1-for-17 from 3-point range.  "They were so strong, they made everything run sideways, and you can't run an offense sideways, especially ours," Wagonseller said. "Our whole thing predicates on going inside first, breaking down and kicking it out. We ran sideways all day long. I don't think it's a negative to our guards as much as it is a positive to them." 

Gorman didn't have back-to-back baskets all night. The Gaels' biggest run was 4-0 in the game's first four minutes to make the score 4-2.  "It was an ugly game today," Wagonseller said. "I just don't think we could get a run going. We're such an emotional team right now, I felt if we could go on a 6-0 or 7-0 run we'd get going, but we just never did that today. But again, you've got to give them credit. They didn't allow us to do it." 

Once Poly built the lead, the Jackrabbits kept the ball in the hands of their guards, who often found open cutters, especially when Gorman tried to trap.  The backcourt also led Poly in scoring, with Stokes, who has signed with Missouri, leading the way with 12 points. Ramaan Shotwell and Adrian Martin added 10 each. 

"They start three guards and they do a great job, and they're interchangeable," Wagonseller said. "Stokes is a big-time player. He's a (Division I) player, and he looked like it today."  Stokes said the tournament victory should help give the team an edge as it returns home for the rest of the season.  "This pretty much gives us that extra boost of confidence," he said. "We came out here and pretty much ran through every team we played. Therefore, when we go back to California, we should feel real confident." 

Said Poly coach Ron Palmer: "To win it is really special. And we're looking forward to coming back and defending the championship."

Las Vegas Millennium Cup Championship
Long Beach (CA) Poly 56 Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) 36

Total FG    1st half     8/26    308    2nd half     11/26    423    GAME     19/52    365
3PT FG     1st half    3/  5    600     2nd half      2/ 8    250      GAME     5/13     385
FT's           1st half     4/ 6    667    2nd half       9/15    600     GAME     13/21    619

Total FG    1st half     7/19    368    2nd half      7/27    259      GAME     14/46    304
3PT FG     1st half    1/8       125    2nd half       0/9     000       GAME     1/17      059
FT's           1st half     1/ 3     333    2nd half       6/8     750       GAME     7/11      636

DEADBALL REBOUNDS    LBP     0    BG    0    PTS OFF TRNOVER    LBP    10    BG     2

Finally, there was another game, Game No. 113 which was just an add on game to give two teams another game and to fill time.  It didn't count for anything (except maybe pride) and the results were not figured into the tournament standings.  The game was played early on in the day, so it also didn't conflict with anyone else's games which counted, and by the time of the Championship at about 7:30 p.m., these teams had long since left town.  Anyway here's the box from that game

Bellevue (WA) 63,  Lexington (SC) 61
Bellevue (63) - Whitehead 14, Englund 2, Erler 23, Razore 0, Stantus 4, Oliver 4, Drifmier 4, Matson 2, Dicks 10, Lyle 0. Totals 24 8-9 63
Lexington (61) - Spotts 4, Everett 12, Ryan 16, Clarke 10, Burr 2, Gibson 5, Summers 0, Smith 0, Screen 12. Totals 22 12-18 61
Bellevue (4-4) 26 37 - 63
Lexington (6-5) 32 29 - 61

All in all, a very successful tournament for most, an interesting format which made for some good matchups, and a good time for those fortunate enough to be able to take the time to attend the whole event (unlike us, who had to sprinkle in a bit of work between the start and the finish of the tournament). Steve, Don, Sax, you guys know who you are:  Keep on showing up, because without you guys, there would just be Bob Gibbons and Frank Burlison. . . not that there's anything wrong with that, but it just wouldn't be the same. . .

Happy Holidays. See you next year in Vegas.  

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