redondo v. South Torrance

SoCal High School & Prep Report

MLK Challenge--Game 1: Redondo
Union v. South Torrance--(January 19, 1998)

Welcome to our first report on the very first game this morning at the MLK Challenge. This is the 4th Annual event, sponsored by Nike, and when we arrive at 9:00 am, there are very few people here. The 9:30 game is supposed to feature Redondo Union v. South Torrance. Only problem is that the only folks out on the floor are (a) Redondo Union, and (b) a bunch of the Dominguez players who aren't scheduled to play until 6:30 tonight (actually the game didn't get off until about 7:30 due to TV timeouts and other such stuff, including at least one overtime game.)

Just so we save you any anxiety though, the Redondo Union game actually did get played, a bit late, but nevertheless, Redondo defeated South Torrance 78-44.

But the game, as we said, took a bit longer to get going than anticipated. South Torrance must have gotten lost, since we know there was no traffic on this holiday. But at 9:30 they're not even in the building yet, and no one has heard from their bus. So this gives us time to set up. The toughest problem is getting a phone line at the press table to enable us to upload this stuff during the day. Phil Gatton, looking resplendent in his nice grey blazer and black shirt manages to get the UCLA guys to set up the phone lines, but there really are no other "working" press there yet. Oh, there's me, Mike Miller, and Clarke Francis from Hoop Scoop, but the Times, Daily News, Press-Telegram and other papers don't show up in earnest until around noon. There's Lute Olsen, George Raveling, and more guys "involved" in the game than you can shake a stick at, even at this first game. We hear Michael Cooper is going to be here doing the announcing too for the televised games.

Finally at about 9:40 am, South Torrance shows up, is allowed to warm up for 2 minutes, and then boom, it's off to the races.

Redondo starts

Brian Morris (6'-0" Sr. G)
Tyler Hoffman (6'-3" Sr. G)
Marcus Moore (6'-4" Jr. SG/F)
Andrew Zan (6-9" So. C) and
Levi Stauffer (6'-3" Sr. F)

South Torrance starts

John Schwenke (6-2" So. F/C)
Kyle White (6-2" Sr. F)
Dane Suenaga (5-5" Sr. PG)
Ryan Aupiu (6'-2" So. F)
Matt Landers (6'-5" Jr. C)

Clearly this is going to have to be a track race for ST if they want to even stay close, because they just do not match up well size-wise. On the tip, Redondo gets it, and Brian Morris of Redondo goes on a first fast break,and gets the lay up. Levi Stauffer gets an easy steal and layin on the inbounds, followed by a steal from Brian Morris from Redondo, and very quickly Redondo leads 4-0 with 7:14 to play.

While it may be a foot race, it's also going to be fun if Zahn keeps hitting. Clearly even with their height, Redondo is a much taller and quicker team, and with Zahn there to put back the misses, Redondo is just killing the little guys from ST. At 6:39 of the first quarter, ST calls a timeout, as Tyson Chandler and Russell Otis look on. Following the timeout, Morris steals, and passes to Hoffman who hits a 3 and is fouled. Hoffman has one of the biggest tatoos we've seen, and it doesn't seem to help his free throw shooting: He makes one of two and Redondo leads 8-2. Following a Zahn rebound (he must have had about 20), Kyle White steals for ST and hits the 2 pointer to make it 8-4.

Morris, with a very pretty j in the lane scores, and it's 12-4 . Then Marcus Moore, who's very thin, tall, and athletic scores in the perimeter. Zahn makes a tremendous block on Schwenke, and then a foul on Brian Morris is called. We've seen Zahn a couple of times this year, but we're reminded looking at him this early in the morning that Zahn is just this huge presence in the lane. He's already got about 3 rebounds in the first two minutes, and just looks unstoppable. At 3:59 to play in first quarter, ST is managing a sort of comeback as Zahn, for all his rebounding prowess, is having a bit of trouble with the layups. Matt Landers scores for ST to bring it to 12-9 with 3:00 to play. Titus is rebounding just great for Redondo. Titus Hunt (6'-1" Jr. F), a huge space-eater who has got to weigh about 220 just comes crashing into the lane, lays it in and Redondo is off again on a run. Moore gets the ball back on the next possession, slams it home, then Zahn scores again from a Moore assist, and suddenly its 18-9 with 1:50 to play. Boom, boom, boom, just like that Redondo is overpowering the smaller greyhounds from ST.

And Titus Hunt proves that he can also shoot from outside too, with a nice 19' J from the elblow. Moore then hits from the other corner and the score is 24-11 in a matter of a few seconds. Dane Suenaga of ST, just this little power ball, manages to get through the lane unfouled on the other end to make it 24-13 with 14 seconds left in the first quarter, but then Suenaga sends Tyler Hoffman of Redondo to the line and Hoffman makes three on the three-point foul attempt and it's 27-13 still in the first quarter. This game has all the makings of a blowout, and Dylan Mathis (6'-4" So. F) comes off the bench to makes a montster block, bringing the spark that Redondo needs to sustain the fast break and overpowering defense. At the end of the quarter it's 27-13, Redondo.

Second quarter: Redondo's huge Walter White (6'-4" So. 200+ lbs) hits in the lane. But then Schwenke hits a three for ST and it's back to being a sort of, kinda game with ST just on the verge of threatening. Dylan Mathis scores again though to make it 33-18 Redondo, and the gap is growing ever wider. After getting a minute rest, Zahn and Co. are back in for the few bench guys who gave them a rest. Zahn goes to the line after being fouled by 6'-5" Matt Landers, and he hits both to make it 35-18. Zahn's blocking ability is being demonstrated in this game, where he just towers over the opposition, and he makes two blocks consecutively and then forces the turnover on the shot clock violation by ST. With 4:40 to play its still 37-18, and ST decides to go even smaller, with Kyle White (6'-2", Suenaga (5'-5), Ryan Yamaka (5'-10") Aupiu (6'-2") and one of the JV players they've brought along (who was not in the program evidently). In contrast Redondo has Moore (6'-4"), Zahn (6'-9") and Tyler Hoffman (6'-3") and Levi Stauffer (6'-3") in the game, and ST is going to have to try to make it even more of a track meet. Stuaffer is missing badly on his layups, but then Zahn again hits the drive in the lane and is fouled, and he takes the score to 42 to 20 following a score by ST's Kyle White.

On the very next play again down court, Zahn has another huge block, and this game is getting out of control and out of reach for South Torrance. Moore takes it to the hoop on a driving layin, makes it and is fouled. On the foul shot, he hits, and with more than 3:00 to play in the second quarter the score is 44-20. Marcus misses the foul shot, and on the next possession down, Walter White has a huge block, but ST manages to score to bring it to 44-22. Dane Suenaga hits a three to bring it to 44-25 with 1:06 to play, and if he's proving anything it's that he can shoot from the perimeter and can pass well. Suenaga is very small, only 5'-5" but is showing tremendous presence against the tall trees from Redondo. Titus Hunt scores the next time down for Redondo, and Ryan Kittel hits for one from the line to bring the score to 47-25. ST's Ryan Yamaka (5'-10" Jr. G) comes into the game, and he's a sort of three point specialist. He does his job well, hitting a three just before the clock expires, and at the half it's Redondo 47, South Torrance 28.

In the second half, Redondo starts Morris, Moore, Zahn, Hoffman and Stauffer (the starting five), while South Torrance starts White, Schwenke, Aupiu, Yamaka, and Landers. Almost all the starters.

In the second half, Landers hits for two, to give ST it's first points of the third quarter, Zahn hits a layup, and Marcus Moore hits for three, and its now 52-30 with less than a minute and a half gone in the quarter. Again, ST has really no options against Redondo except to make it a track race. Brian Morris isn't about to let that happen though, and he forces a turnover on the steal, and goes to the line shooting two. But first there's a South Torrance timeout, maybe to let him think about it. Morris hits them both anyway, and then there's another foul away from the play; Moore steals, and then passes to Zahn, who misses the layup, and ST recovers. Next time down Stauffer steals, and Redondo calls time out. Tyler Hoffman then hits a three, which is followed by Kyle Whites' three for ST, and the score is now 55-33, Redondo with about 4:30 to play. White then hits for another two and its 55-35. White is single-handedly keeping ST in it (if you can call a 20 point blowout "in it", but then why is Redondo still in it's press if they're up 20?? Maybe they need practice). Zahn hits another very nice turnaround baseline layup, and it's clear that he's developing some very nice footwork. With Moore and Zahn passing, driving and laying the ball in, it's not much of a game. Mind you, it's the first game of the day, and it's what we've got and we're not complaining. And neither is the rest of the crowd, including the band from Canyon High in Anaheim which is just getting set up and not really paying attention to the game anyway.

And neither evidently is ST, whose Schwenke just jacks it up for an airball, and when Moore scores again its now 62-37 with 2:18 to play in the third quarter. Moore then hits again from the mid range jumper, steals the ball, and then slams another one home, and it's clear that he's intent on putting on a one man show. Next time down on the steal, Moore has the ball, but passes to Zahn, who misses his layup (again), and then White hits for two. South T scores on a three by Schwenke, and its a 28 point game, 68-40, with less than a minute to play in the third as ST calls a timeout.

At the end of the third, its 71-40, and this game is just about over. Except that there's another quarter to be played. So Jim Nielsen, Redondo's head coach, puts in a much smaller lineup, including Ryan Kittel (6'-1" Sr. G), Mathis at 6'-4", Morris at 6'-0" and Mike Nazarian at 6'-1". Really, it's about as small as Redondo gets. Nazarian hits both of his free throws, and its now 74-40, following a score somewhere that we must have missed. Of the group of players in the game currently, Brian Morris is the cream of the crop, and it's evident that others are having some trouble catching his lightening quick passes. This smaller Redondo lineup has served to do one thing though, in the last 4 minutes: Redondo has only scored three points, and ST has only managed a single basket. So it's managed to slow the scoring, a good thing if you're Redondo and you just want to end it, a bad thing if you're ST and you want to catch up.

Morris is showing that he has the ability to continue to push the ball, even though there's no longer any tall trees to get it inside to, so without either Zahn or Moore, or Walter White, Redondo just can't seem to penetrate the zone that ST is playing. So with 2:52 to play, the score is now 73-42, and at least the footrace is off, but so too is the game, which is just about done. But that doesn't stop the ST coaches from calling timeout, and it's a good thing too, because it demonstrates that they're still doing their job, teaching, and not giving up. Mike Nazarian airballs a shot from the top of the key, and Titus Hunt comes in to give a little spark, along with Walter White, but ST just scores again on a basket by Ben Lee with the easy lay in, and now it's 73-44. Next time down, White blows the pass, and ST recovers, and Lee is fouled again on a non-shooting foul. ST tries for the three, but misses, Redondo recovers and Schwenke quickly fouls White, who hits one of his free throws to bring it to 74-44, with about a minute to play. Dylan Mathis was another Redondo player who impressed with his leaping ability, and he took just a huge rebound, and then stole the ball, fed to White who scored, and then. . .

Thankfully, and mercifully, it ended.

Final score Redondo 78, South Torrance 44

Zahn was the high scorer with 24 points, and 8 rebounds and 6 blocked shots. Tyler Hoffman had 14, Moore had 10, and 4 rebounds, while Mathis scored 5, Morris scored 5, Hunt had 6, White had 8, Saauffer had 4, Webster had 2, and Kittle and Nazarian had 2. We're not sure that adds up, but it wasn't the only funny math that was being played at the scoring table during the day (see the Dominguez v. Westchester game). Seems that the MLK folks had trouble finding a computer to do the stats on, so we didn't get the "official" hand done stats until later in the day. And they were far from complete or accurate. Maybe next year stats will figure prominently. But for now, if you want "official" stats, we'll just give you what we've got from the MLK people.

Anyway, it was a good start to the day. And the fun's just beginning. Stick around.