SAN DIEGO – In reality, the Los Angeles Windward team needed to play even better than it had during the first three days of the tournament.
And its Hyattsville, MD, DeMatha counterpart needed to have a significant letdown after playing so impressively during its first three victories in National Division play of the 22nd Torrey Pines Holiday Classic.
Neither thing happened and that’s why DeMatha’s players and coaching staff will board a Washington, D.C.-bound jetliner with tournament championship hardware in their overhead storage space.
Coach Mike Jones’ team – oozing with talent, depth and composure – withstood the spirited play of Windward’s Wildcats and came away with a 74-64 victory in front of an overflow crowd in Torrey Pines High’s gymnasium Friday night.
Tournament Most Outstanding Player Jerami Grant scored only 12 points but did a quality defensive job against Windward standout Nick Stover – especially in the first half when the Stags seized control of the contest.
BeeJay Anya, a 6-9 center who is one of the 10 best prospects in the national class of 2013, added 13 while Pittsburgh-bound guard James Robinson led DeMatha with 18 points and his best performance of the week.
Stover heated up in the second half to finish with a team-high 18 points while junior point guard Jordan Wilson – probably the quickest player in the event – added 12 points for Coach Miguel Villegas’ Windward squad, which upset San Jose Mitty and Woodland Hills, CA, Taft the previous two evenings.
All in all, it was a marvelous four days of basketball. I can’t imagine there was a better tournament this week, anywhere.
Congratulations once again to Torrey Pines Coach John Olive and his able assistant Kelly Peters for making everything click so smoothly.
Let’s do it against next year, everyone.
My All-Tournament Team/National Division
- Dakarai Allen (Sacramento Sheldon/6-6 Jr.)
- BeeJay Anya (Hyattsville, MD, DeMatha/6-9 Jr.)
- Marcellous Bell (Hyattsville DeMatha/6-0 Sr.)
- Garrett Galvin (San Diego Torrey Pines/6-3 Sr.)
- Aaron Gordon (San Jose Mitty/6-8 Jr.)
- Jerami Grant (DeMatha/6-8 Sr.) Most Outstanding Player
- Grant Jerrett (Laverne, CA, Lutheran/6-9 Sr.)
- Jairus Lyles (Hyattsville DeMatha/6-2 Jr.)
- Casey Norris (Newark, CA, Memorial/6-2 Sr.)
- Brandon Perry (Woodland Hills, CA, Taft/6-6 Sr.)
- Brandon Randolph (Playa Del Rey, CA, St. Bernard/6-2 Jr.)
- Victor Robbins (Compton/6-6 Sr.)
- James Robinson (Hyattsville DeMatha/6-3 Sr.)
- Tyree Robinson (San Diego Lincoln/6-4 Jr.)
- Christian Sanders (Houston St. Thomas/6-4 Sr.)
- Nick Stover (L.A. Windward/6-6 Sr.)
- Jordan Wilson (L.A. Windward/5-7 Jr.)
- Dion Wright (Lakewood, CA, Mayfair/6-5 Sr.)
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