Junior point guard sparks big prep upset

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SAN DIEGO – As far as chills and thrills go, Wednesday delivered on each front during the National Division action in the 22^nd Torrey Pines Holiday Classic.

At least that was the case in the final game of the night . . .

Woodland Hills (CA) Taft, Hyattsville (MD) DeMatha, Newark (CA) Memorial and Los Angeles Windward each advanced to Thursday night’s championship semifinals with victories in quarterfinals on Wednesday.

Taft (56-39 over Torrey Pines), DeMatha (in an 83-47 dismantling of Lakewood Mayfair) and Newark Memorial (57-49 against Playa Del Rey St. Bernard) prevailed in methodical and impressive fashion.

Then there was the Windward-San Jose Mitty contest in the final game of the evening . . .

Wow . . .

Playing against California’s No. 3-ranked squad which took a 25-game winning streak into the contest, Windward was anything but passive while having to cope with California’s most gifted player, 6-foot-8 junior Aaron Gordon.

Windward, sparked by 6-6, Loyola Marymount-bound Nick Stover but getting solid efforts across the board, built a 14-point advantage in the fourth quarter.

But, led by Gordon who called upon his wealth of skills – most emphatically his until-now vastly underrated passing skills – to take control of the game, Mitty caught and passed Windward.

A couple of free throws gave Mitty a three-point advantage with about 10 seconds to go but Jordan Wilson banked in a 3-pointer from out top at the buzzer to send things into overtime.

It was there that Wilson – converting a couple of high-ball screen into layups, ala the fashion that Darren Collison capitalized on so frequently at UCLA – took over and helped his team put the finishing touches on the upset, 73-71.

Wilson – listed at 5-9 but looking a lot closer to, say, 5-7ish – scored 20 points while Stover added 23, many of those coming when matched against Gordon.

My, oh my, oh my . . .

Thursday’s schedule (all games at Torrey Pines): (consolation) 9:30 a.m., Compton vs. Compton Dominguez; 11:05, Laverne Lutheran vs. San Diego Lincoln; 12:40 p.m., Seattle O’Dea vs. Lake Washington; 2:15, Houston St. Thomas vs. Sacramento Sheldon; 3:50, Playa Del Rey St. Bernard vs. Lakewood Mayfair; 5:25, San Diego Torrey Pines vs. San Jose Mitty; (championship semifinals) 7, Hyattsville DeMatha vs. Newark Memorial; 8:30, L.A. Windward vs. Woodland Hills Taft.

WEDNESDAY’S STANDOUTS ALSO INCLUDED:

*Garrett Galvin (Torrey Pines/6-3 Sr.); Brandon Randolph (St. Bernard/6-2 Jr.); Dakarai Allen (Sheldon/6-5 Jr.); Tyrell Robinson (San Diego Lincoln/6-3 Jr.); Christian Sanders (Houston St. Thomas/6-5 Sr.); Jerami Grant (DeMatha/6-8 Sr.).