LAS VEGAS – Two nights after knocking off top-ranked Mouth of Wilson (VA) Oak Hill Academy on national television in Indiana, Southern California’s top-ranked team was in the Bishop Gorman High gymnasium Saturday night.
And the Trailblazers showed little in the way of “hangover” during their brief stint in Las Vegas while holding off Las Vegas Centennial, 61-52, in a “showcase” contest as part of the fifth Tarkanian Classic.
Earlier in one of the Platinum (top) Division quarterfinals at Bishop Gorman, defending California State Open Division I champion Chino Hills stretched its win streak to 44 with an 87-77 victory over Northern California power Oakland Bishop O’Dowd.
At least on Saturday, 6-foot-6 University of Oregon-bound guard Troy Brown of Centennial was the best – and most spectacular – player on the court during the game with Sierra Canyon (7-0).
Brown finished with a game-high 21 points (hitting nine of 11 shots from the field, including a 3, and two of four free throws).
He also turned in a candidate for Sports Center Highlight of the Week – or maybe season – when, after recovering his dribble after stumbling a bit on the right wing some 22 feet from the iron, smashed a dunk over the top of Sierra Canyon mega-junior Marvin Bagley III with 8:24 to go.
It got his team (7-2) to within five points but, sparked by speedy (and then some) senior guard Remy Martin, the Trailblazers reeled off next six points and never led by fewer than six points the rest of the way.
Bagley, despite missing a bit more than six minutes in the first half after picking up his second found, finished with 18 points (eight of 12 from the field and two of four on free throws) to go with seven rebounds and six turnovers.
UCLA-pound Cody Riley scored added 15 points with five rebounds and four turnovers for Sierra Canyon while Arizona State-bound Martin added 12 points, five assists and three steals while showing off a “burst” that would be the envy of a lot of NFL running backs and wide receivers.
Chino Hills (9-0), which had to overcome a 10-point deficit with less than six minutes to go Friday to beat Las Vegas Clark in its opening round, found itself in another tussle Saturday afternoon.
The Huskies were up, 30-27, at intermission against Bishop O’Dowd, which had done a solid defensive job on senior Gelo Ball and his sophomore brother, Melo.
And they trailed by four points (41-37), roughly five minutes into the second half.
But even as Gelo (who was to finish with 22 points while hitting eight of 21 shots from the field) and Melo (20 points, seven of 22 from the field) were struggling with their jumpers, the Dragons were never able to concoct an answer for the powerful inside presence of senior Eli Scott and sophomore Onyeka Okongwu.
The 6-5, Loyola Marymount-bound Scott scored 21 points and grabbed 19 rebounds – almost always in congested traffic – despite being whistled for his fourth foul with 1:23 to go in the first half.
And, in the Chino Hills philosophy so-well known to anyone who has watched the Huskies in recent seasons, he never went to bench and didn’t foul out, either.
In fact, he wrapped things up in the closing minutes with a couple of crams by way of Melo Ball (seven assists and three steals) lobs.
Okongwu grabbed 15 rebounds to go with 12 points, six of which came via mid-range jump shots when his team’s offense was stagnant.
And sophomore Phaquan Davis turned in his second consecutive strong effort for the Huskies with 11 points, including a couple of 3s after intermission.
Senior B.J. Shaw (the son of Lakers’ assistant coach Brian Shaw) led the Dragons with 24 points while junior guards Naseem Gaskin and Elijah Hardy scored 21 and 19 points, respectively, despite missing a combined 24 of 43 attempts.
The Dragons were also hamstrung by 18 turnovers.
In Monday’s championship semifinals (which will be played in the Orleans Hotel Arena), Chino Hills takes on another almost assured CIF Southern Section Open Division squad, Eastvale Roosevelt, at 4 p.m.
And Santa Ana Mater Dei – a veteran of the first three CIF SS Open Division playoffs – takes on the host Bishop Gorman Gaels at 7 o’clock.
In other Platinum Division quarterfinals Saturday:
*Mater Dei 58, Richmond Salesian 46: The Monarchs (10-0) faced their first real challenge of the season, leading by only four points at intermission against a much smaller but very quick and aggressive opponent before holding on.
Forward Justice Sueing picked up his fourth foul early in the second but returned to finish with a team-high 17 points for the Monarchs while junior guard Spencer Freedman had six assists and reserve forward Reagan Lundeen grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds.
*Roosevelt 64, Santa Monica Crossroads 51: The Mustangs nearly immediately jumped to a 10-point advantage and never were seriously threatened.
Forward Matt Mitchell (a Cal State Fullerton signee last month) scored 17 of his 25 points in the first half and with his final field goal coming via a crunching dunk after beating Sharrief O’Neal off the dribble.
Guard Jemarl Baker (Cal-bound) scored 12 of his 20 points after intermission while O’Neal (a 6-8 junior) scored 13 points and grabbed eight rebounds (seven of those in the second half) despite picking up his fourth personal foul with 9:30 to go.
*Bishop Gorman 96, L.A. Westchester 53: The Gaels turned in by far their most impressive effort of the season while overwhelming the L.A. City power-Comets in the last of the Platinum quarterfinals played.
Seniors Charles O’Bannon Jr. (who had six rebounds) and Christian Popoola Jr. (five assists) scored 21 points apiece for Bishop Gorman while junior forward Jamal Bey added 15 points and six rebounds.
Senior forward Luis Rodriguez scored 21 points for Westchester.
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