Things didn’t end quite the way anyone had anticipated Sunday afternoon – with the Shabazz Muhammad-led Las Vegas Bishop Gorman team playing on Court 2 in the third-place game.
That’s because the California Supreme squad had its own designs on winning the Fullcourt Press Fall Hoops Classic at the HAX (in the Los Angeles community of Harbor City, just down Western Avenue from Narbonne High).
And that’s what happened, as the Gary Franklin Sr.-coached squad knocked off Gorman (referred to as “The Las Vegas Orangemen” in the event), 80-76, in the semifinals and then Long Beach Poly (“The Jackrabbits”), 53-46, in the final a couple of hours later.
Daddy Ugbede, a 6-foot-6 forward from Serra High in Gardena (he is originally from Nigeria), was a dominant presence for Cal Supreme in both games, scoring 26 in the first game Sunday and 20 in the final. Cal Supreme’s tenacious full-court pressure defense was a significant factor in both contests.
Cal Supreme led by as many as 20 points in the semifinal before holding off a rally led by Muhammad (who finished with 28 points despite hitting just nine of 24 usually heavily contested shots) and 6-8 forward Rosco Allen (20 points).
In the final, Cal Supreme led throughout before the Jackrabbits got to within 49-46 with a little more than two minutes to play. Junior Roschon Prince could have cut his team’s deficit to a point but missed both free throws (he was just seven of 16 from the line for the game while scoring a team-high 18 points).
Woodland Hills Taft junior Kris Yanku hit four free throws down the stretch to secure the victory.
In the third-place game, Bishop Gorman rolled past the Cali Rebels (who lost by 21 to Poly in the other semifinal), 72-46.
Guard Jay Miller hit a 3 at the buzzer after Grant Jerrett’s 3 moments later had tied the score moments later as “The Trojans” (La Verne Lutheran High) edged Branch West Elite, 64-61, for fifth place in the 16-team event.
My very unofficial all-tournament team is made up of:
- Ugbede, Yanku (a 6-2 junior) and 5-10 D.J. Harris (a senior at Inglewood Morningside) of Cal Supreme;
- Prince (a 6-5 junior) and Jordan Bell (a 6-7 junior) of Poly;
- Jerrett (the 6-9 Arizona-bound player who is the best post player in the west) of La Verne Lutheran;
- Alex Fertig (a 6-3 guard from Clovis Buchanan, located adjacent to Fresno) of Branch West;
- Kendall Small (a 5-10 freshman point guard at Huntington Beach Ocean View) of Cali Rebels;
- Brynton Lemar (6-3 junior guard at San Diego St. Augustine) of the San Diego All-Stars.
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