REDONDO BEACH, Ca. – Eight high school basketball teams left Redondo Union High with victories Saturday during the third Take Flight Challenge.
And there was no doubt about which of those eight was the most impressive.
The Torrance Bishop Montgomery Knights thoroughly dominated the Corona Centennial Huskies, 73-51, during the sixth game played.
Coach Doug Mitchell’s defending CIF Southern Section Open Division champions rolled to 14-0 with juniors Jordan Schackel (25) and Ethan Thompson (21) and sophomore David Singleton (14) combining for 60 points.
Each starter scored at least one field goal for the Knights in the first quarter that ended with them up by nine points (19-10) even as Schackel and Thompson combined to hit just one of nine shots.
Then their respective jump shots took turns heating up.
Thompson hit four of five shots (three of those from behind the arc) with Schackel grabbing four rebounds and passing for two buckets as the Knights took a17-point edge into intermission.
Then it was Schackel’s turn as the 6-foot-6 forward hit seven of shots from the field (three 3s) and both free throws for 19 of his game-high 25 points in the second half.
Only the presence of Long Beach State-bound guard Jordan Griffin (15 of his 19 points after intermission) and 6-foot-9 junior Jalen Hill (19 points, eight rebounds and five blocked shots) kept things from getting too discombobulated for the Huskies (10-4) after intermission.
In the other seven games:
*Montbello Cantwell-Sacred Heart 65, Mission Hills Alemany 55: Eastern Washington University-bound guard Jacob Davison scored 19 points and grabbed nine rebounds while senior center Luka Radovic scored eight of his 14 points as the Cardinals (9-4) pulled away in a fourth quarter which began with the scored deadlocked at 46.
Sophomore guard T.J. McDonald led the Warriors (9-5) with 21 points.
The Cardinals also got a strong performer from junior Jaedyn Bonilla, who scored 13 points and made several big “non-scoring” plays for Coach George Zedan’s team.
*Redondo Union 72, Rancho Santa Margarita/Santa Margarita 65: The host Sea Hawks pretty much jump shot very well throughout the MaxPreps Holiday Classic, where they finished runner-up to unbeaten and top-ranked Chino Hills in the Open Division championship division.
But – with the exception of junior Ryse Williams (with four jump shots in the first half, including a 3 – those same jumpers were mostly clanking over the first half.
Coach Reggie Morris Jr.’s squad was nine of 37 from the field – .243, for all of us non-math majors.
Despite that, they still took a one-point edge into intermission (31-30) via three free throws by reserve Aaron Lapeyrollerie with two seconds to go.
The Sea Hawks finally started eating up from the perimeter in the second half, with Ryse Williams and Cameron Williams (no relation) each hitting a 3 and reserve Jailen Moore hitting two from behind the arc in the third quarter.
Leland Green – 0 for 4 from the field with just a free throw in the first half – scored 19 points over the final 16 minutes, 13 of those in the fourth quarter in which Redondo led by as many as 17 points before the Eagles (9-5) in the final minutes via the 3-point shooting of junior Kaden Rasheed (five 3s en route to 20 points) and junior Collin Ferrier (12 points).
Sophomore post Jordan Guest (who hit a couple of 3s) came off the bench to score 14 points. Junior post Adrease Jackson grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.
*L.A. Cathedral 63, Long Beach Poly 53: Neither team was at full strength as the Jackrabbits were missing three injured starters (senior Drew Buggs and juniors Zafir Williams and Myles Johnson) while Cathedral was without 6-8 senior Daron Henson (a transfer from Alemany due to become eligible on Monday after the mandated 30-day sit-out for first-time transfers in California who don’t move).
The Jackrabbits (7-6) hung fairly close most of the way, though, behind the play of seniors Harrison Bonner and Denzel Edmonds (13 points apiece).
But seniors Lucas Siewert and scored Milan Acquaah 26 points apiece for the Phantoms (6-8) and the Jackrabbits never got closer to within six points in the fourth quarter.
*Beverly Hills 49, L.A. Loyola 44: Seniors Matt Reskin (14) and Maddox Daniels (12) combined for more than half of the Normans’ points as Coach Jarvis Turner’s team improved to 7-6.
Senior forward Josh Lavergne scored 15 points for the Cubs (7-6) while Harvard-bound center Henry Welsh added nine.
*Eastvale Roosevelt 62, Compton 57: Junior Jemarl Baker hit five 3s in the first half and finished with 30 points as the Mustangs improved to 9-5 with their fifth consecutive victory.
Earlier in the week they won the American Division of the Under Armour Holiday Classic in San Diego.
Seniors Raysean Scott (19) and Chris Barnes (17) combined for 36 points for the Tarbabes (7-6).
*Santa Monica 61, Pasadena Maranatha 47: The Vikings (11-2) continued to be one of the “surprise” teams in Southern California after losing a couple of 2014-15 starters in the off-season (guard Spencer Freedman transferred to Mater Dei while center Jayce Johnson checked out of school and is expected to enroll at the University of Utah this month).
They improved to 11-2 as USC-bound guard Jonah Mathews scored 30 points and sophomore forward Rip Economou added 14.
Stanford-bound post Trevor Stanback scored 22 points for the Minutemen, who fell to 6-7.
*Lawndale Leuzinger 63, L.A. Brentwood 57: Senior guards Davion Crowder and Kavon Fair scored 19 and 15 points, respectively, as the Olympians improved to 8-5 under first-year head coach Arturo Jones (who used to be an assistant to Redondo Coach Reggie Morris Jr.).
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