Poly proves too much for Bishop Gorman

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LYNWOOD, CA – A rule of thumb when it comes to high school basketball:

Very good seniors are going to beat very good sophomores pretty much every time – especially when there is a nifty junior tossed into the mix for the seniors.

That was the case Sunday afternoon at Lynwood High when Long Beach Poly – paced by the senior duo of Roschon Prince and Jordan Bell and multi-skilled junior Kameron Chatman – jumped out to a rapid-fire advantage and then coasted to a 73-47 victory over Las Vegas Bishop Gorman in the championship game of the 20^th Fullcourt Press Fall Hoops Classic.

The USC-bound Prince scored a game-high 19 points while Bell added 17 and Chatman 13 during the Jackrabbits’ coast-to-coast victory.

Stephen Zimmerman, a 6-foot-10 sophomore who missed all of the summer competition following surgery on his right knee, led the Gaels with 10 points.

Zimmerman is one of half-dozen members of the Class of 2015 on Coach Grant Rice’s roster – better, one can assume with near certainty, than any other group of sophomores in the west.

But all off those energetic 10^th graders, along with senior Rashad Muhammad (who scored 24 points in the team’s come-from-behind, 59-57 semifinal victory over Branch West Academy Prep earlier Sunday), weren’t enough to withstand the aggression, quickness (to the ball and rim) and depth of Coach Sharrief Metoyer’s Jackrabbits.

Prince had a team-high 17 points in his team’s 64-43 semifinal victory against the San Diego All-Stars.

Here are my choices for an all-tournament team culled from the 16-team, two-day event:

Most Outstanding Player – Bell (6-foot-8, Poly, Sr.)

Prince (6-5, Poly, Sr.)

Chatman (6-6, Poly, Jr.)

Muhammad (6-5, Bishop Gorman, Sr.)

Zimmerman (6-10, Bishop Gorman, So.)

Eric Childress (5-11, Leuzinger High/Branch West Academy Prep, Sr.)

Jahmel Taylor (6-1, L.A. Pacific Hills High/Belmont Shore, Sr.)

Will Newman (6-1, Lawndale High/Hoop Phi, Sr.)

Khyri Thomas (6-3, Omaha Benson High/Branch West Prep Elite, Jr.)

Dantley Brown (6-1, Culver City High/Belmont Shore Gold, Sr.)

Trey Keller (6-3, San Diego St. Augustine High/San Diego All-Stars, Jr.)

Andre Adams (6-8, Avondale, AZ,Westview High/Arizona Magic, Jr.)