LAKEWOOD, Ca. – Defending champion Mater Dei High, along with Bishop Montgomery, Culver City and Las Vegas Bishop Gorman, won first-round games Saturday night in the Elite 8 bracket of the fourth Ron Massey Memorial Fall Hoops Classic at Artesia High
Those victories set the stage for championship semifinal games Sunday pitting Mater Dei vs. Culver City (Court 1 at 10:10 a.m.) and Bishop Gorman vs. Bishop Montgomery (Court 1 at 11:20 a.m.).
The championship game is scheduled for 2:50 (also on Court 1).
There were also four “showcase” games played Saturday night among teams that are not part of the Elite 8 portion of the event.
Saturday’s results
Elite 8 first round
Culver City 79, Mission Hills Alemany 75: The Centaurs trailed by eight points late in the first half before going up in front by five points at intermission and as many as 14 in the second half.
But the Warriors, behind guards D.J. McDonald (28 points) and Brandon Whitney (21), sliced their deficit to two points before Century hung on.
Forwards Cyrus Johnson (the son of former UCLA and NBA standout Marques Johnson) and Tevian Jones combined for 23 and 19 points, respectively, for the Centaurs. They’re now coached by Reggie Morris Jr., the whose teams won Southern Section titles at Leuzinger, St. Bernard and Redondo before spending 2016-17 as an assistant at Loyola Marymount.
Santa Ana Mater Dei 55, Temecula Rancho Christian 48: The Monarchs, minus 7-foot-2 Bol Bol, weren’t able to really pull away and even trailed by a point into the second half.
But their balance, notably via the jump shooting of Michael Wang (19 points), active play of Harrison Butler (14) and leadership of Spencer Freedman enabled them to created just enough of a gap to hold off the Eagles.
Junior forward Isaiah Mobley led all scorers with 20 points for Rancho Christian.
Torrance Bishop Montgomery 66, Pasadena 55: The defending State Open Division-champion Knights overwhelmed the Bulldogs from the get-go, taking a 24-point advantage at intermission before cruising to the finish line.
David Singleton (already committed to UCLA) led the winners with 26 points via jump shots, floaters and finishes at the rim. Seniors Darius Brown (19) and Bryce Hamilton (17) scored all but 19 of Pasadena’s points.
L.V. Bishop Gorman 66, Santa Margarita 42: The Gaels led by just two points early in the second before using their overwhelming advantage in team quickness to pressure to the Eagles into contested shots and turnovers, while speeding their way to a lot of transition hoops and clean jump shots.
Freshman forward William McClendon came off the bench to score a team-high 16 points for Bishop Gorman while senior forward Jamal Bey chipped in with 14.
Juniors Jake Kyman and Max Agbonkpolo scored 12 points apiece for the Eagles with Kyman grabbing a game-high 12 rebounds.
Showcase games
La Verne Damien 75, L.A. Cathedral 55: The Spartans, despite playing without two starters, had not trouble in this one with four guys getting into double-figure scoring, with freshmen Malik Thomas (15) and Joseph Johnson (10) combining for 25 points.
Sedrick Hammond, a 6-2 junior transfer from Las Vegas Clark, led Cathedral with 25 points (15 of those by way of 3-point jumpers).
Rolling Hills Prep 56, Pasadena Maranatha 34: The defending State D-5 champions zipped to a big early lead and were never threatened the trio of Chris Koon (21), Alex Garcia (11) and JT Tan (12) combined for 40 points.
Senior Chris Austin scored 21 points for Maranatha.
Hacienda Heights Los Altos 94, Newport Beach Pacifica Christian 50: Julian Lopez (24) and Jarod Lucas (17) combined for 41 points as the Eagles overwhelmed the program that was the runner-up in the CIF SS Division 6 championship game.
Sophomore guard Dominick Harris led Pacifica Christian with 20 points.
Huntington Beach Edison 47, Pasadena Muir 44: In the only tight contest in the Showcase schedule, senior guards Matt Palma (17) and Aiden Garnett (16) combined for 33 points for the winning Chargers.
Sunday’s schedule
Elite 8 bracket
Court 1: 9 a.m., (consolation semi) Alemany vs. Rancho Christian; 10:10, (championship semi) Culver City vs. Mater Dei; 11:20, (championship semi), Bishop Gorman vs. Bishop Montgomery; 12:30 p.m., fifth-place; 1:40, third-place; 2:50, championship.
Court 2: 10:10, (consolation semi) Pasadena vs. Santa Margarita; 12:30 p.m., seventh-place.
Showcase Games
Court 2: 9 a.m., Gardena Serra vs. Compton; 11:20, Moreno Valley Rancho Verde vs. L.A. Cathedral; 1:40 p.m., L.A. Price vs. Compton Dominguez; 2:50, Newport Corona del Mar vs. Beverly Hills.
Leave a Reply