CULVER CITY – The third Ryse-Up Fall Classic wrapped Sunday at Culver City High, with six boys’ basketball games played in honor of the late Redondo High standout, Ryse Williams.
Williams died in June of 2017, just a day before his scheduled high school graduation, of a rare form of cancer, Renal Medullary Carcinoma.
Five games were played Saturday at Fairfax High in the first day of the event, proceeds from which go the Ryse Williams Foundation.
Four strong contenders for Open Division Sectional post-season play came away with impressive victories:
*Birmingham, an L.A. City Open Division semifinalist last season, opened the day’s action by sprinting past Brentwood, 57-34.
Junior standouts Corey Cofield (18) and David Elliott (15) combined for 33 points for the winners while sophomore forward Christian Moore paced Brentwood with 12.
What made the decisiveness of the performance was that it was coming less than a day after the Patriots had dropped down-to-the-wire decisions against Roosevelt (Eastvale) and Colony Saturday at Colony High in Ontario during the Hoops by Ugland Fall High School Showcase.
*Windward, playing without 6-foot-9 sophomore Kijani Wright (sore left ankle), rallied from three points down late in the second half to topple Leuzinger, 69-57.
The best all-around sophomore guard in California, 6-3 Dylan Andrews, led the Wildcats with 25 points and also had five steals.
Six-six senior Devin Tillis added 14 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists while 6-7 junior Brandon Richard contributed 12 points and eight rebounds.
Six-three senior Amound Anderson scored 20 points for Leuzinger while rapidly improving sophomore Akoye Hudson – who didn’t play as a freshman – led all scorers with 26 points.
*St. Bernard’s newcomers showcased what they will contribute to the Vikings’ 2019-20 season during a 68-58 win against Colony.
The Vikings, down by six points about eight minutes in, closed the first half in blistering fashion to go up, 43-23, then built on that advantage before both coaches finished things with reserves over the last six minutes or so.
Senior Guard Nick Bowen scored 10 points with five assists and did a terrific defensive job on Colony standout freshman Kylan Boswell (limited to seven points after scoring 37 over two Hoops by Upland Fall Showcase games Saturday).
Juniors Reese Dixon-Waters and Damion McDowell – transfers from Dorsey – scored 19 and 13, points, respectively, while freshmen guards Tyler Rolison and Darius Carr added eight points apiece.
Another freshman guard, Kollen Murphy, came off the bench to scored a team-high 17 points for Colony.
*Harvard-Westlake rolled Westchester with stunning ease, 59-44, as seniors Mason Hooks (6-10 and headed for Princeton) and Brase Dottin scored 14 and 13 points, respectively.
Westchester’s roster is mostly made up of transfers – most notably, guard T.J. Wainwright – and freshmen. Look for the Comets to evolve into another L.A. City championship contender over the course of the season, though.
In the final two games, Verbum Dei edged West Torrance, 59-53, and Loyola pulled away in the second half to knock off Culver City, 42-29.
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