ORANGE, Ca. – The Compton Magic captured titles in each of the top three divisions Monday afternoon during the final day of the Magic program’s Memorial Weekend tournament at Orange Lutheran High.
The last of those came in the 17 “Battle Zone” Division, via a 66-62 victory over Riverside-based Team Eleate.
And it was achieved despite a spectacular performance by San Bernardino High junior Matt Bradley.
The 6-foot-3ish Bradley (who plans to transfer to Wasatch Academy in Mt. Pleasant, UT) was dominant in each of the Marvin Lea-coached team’s three games on Sunday (also including a quarterfinal win vs. Northern California’s Tyler Johnson Elite and semifinal victory against Houston’s Basketball University).
The left-handed and 225-poundish Bradley – whose body fat would appear to be at an absurdly low level – missed his first three shots (two of those blocked by Onyeka Okongwu) but was a load for Compton Magic defenders to deal with the rest of the way.
He finished with 34 points while hitting 12 of 27 from the field (including three 3s) and all seven of his free throws to go with seven rebounds, three assists and three steals.
But Compton Magic had just enough other high-quality players on its roster to overcome Bradley’s strength inside and skill from the perimeter.
Foremost among those was Okongwu, a sophomore at Chino Hills who finished with a team-high 20 points (via seven of 10 from the field and six of eight free throws) to go with six rebounds and three blocked shots.
His free throws with a little less than two seconds to play provided his team with two points that would have rendered moot any desperation 3 that might have swished or banked in at the buzzer.
Sophomore guard Jovan Blacksher Jr.’s running floater with 12 seconds to go broke a 62-deadlock with 12 seconds to go before Okongwu cleared the rebound of D.J. Davis’ missed 3 and was fouled to set up the insurance free throws.
Blacksher, the speediest player on the floor, scored seven points to go with five assists and also took a turn a guarding Bradley for a lot of the second half.
Santa Ana Mater Dei junior Harrison Butler added 16 points for the Compton Magic Elite squad, hitting four of six from the field (including a couple of 3s) and six of six of nine free throws.
And another gifted sophomore, Isaiah Mobley of Temecula Rancho Christian, came off the bench to score 13 points (nine in the second half, when he didn’t miss any of his four field-goal attempts), grab five rebounds and block two shots, the second of those which led to his tying bucket with about 50 seconds to go.
In the 16s Battle Zone Division final, Compton Magic rallied from a double-digit deficit to knock off San Diego-based Cali Boost, 56-50, behind the play of freshmen Jaylen Clark (Corona Centennial) and Evan Mobley (Rancho Christian) who were also excellent in the semifinal and quarterfinal wins over Miami-based Team Knight and San Diego-based Game Point.
And the Compton Magic 15s prevailed against Orange County-based Dream Vision, 42-22, in a game that was called by the referees with two minutes to go after a skirmish broke out involving players and coaches.
No apparent physical damage was done by the time participants were separated and on their not-so-merry ways.
Other standouts among the 17s quarterfinalists and semifinalists included guards Logan Johnson (Tyler Johnson Elite/Mountain View St. Francis); Quentin Grimes (BB University/The Woodlands, TX, College Park); and Jaelen House (Team Hardin/Phoenix Shadow Mountain).
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