PASADENA, Ca. – The “host” teams won five of the six games played Saturday during the inaugural SoCal-Vegas Showdown, fronted by Gerry Freitas and held at Pasadena City College.
In an entertaining finale that was televised by KDOC, Rancho Christian of Temecula held on to edge Liberty, 74-67, despite a dazzling 44-point effort by Gonzaga-bound Julian Strawther.
He dropped all 22 of his squad’s points in the fourth quarter as it cut the Eagles’ advantage to five points with 1:03 remaining.
The 6-foot-6 Strawther then picked off a pass in the Rancho Christian backcourt and appeared to be fouled in the act of shooting with 54 seconds to go.
But he was ruled to have been fouled prior to the attempt and, since the Patriots weren’t in the bonus yet, they were only granted the ball out of bounds.
On the ensuing possession, the ball rimmed in and on Strawther’s 3-point attempt and Jayce Catchings converted a layup at the other end to put Rancho Christian up, 72-65, with 36 seconds remaining.
Strawther – who hit eight of 12 from the field (including a 3) and all five of his free throws over the final eight minutes – was fouled and his pair of free throws got his team back to within five with 20 seconds to go.
The Patriots had to foul on consecutive inbounds passes to get the Eagles into the bonus and two the free-throw line in an attempt to lengthen the clock and get the ball back into Strawther’s hands.
But Luke Turner hit both ends of the 1-and-1 for the Eagles with 17 seconds to go for what proved to be the game’s final points.
There likely wouldn’t have been quite the suspense down the stretch had not the best player in high school hoops, Rancho Christian 7-footer Evan Mobley had not suffered what a appeared to be a right ankle injury with 5:25 remaining and was a spectator the rest of the way.
The injury didn’t appear serious (he walked to the bench after the “tweak” and left the building after the game under his own power) but – as usual – the impact he had while on the floor was.
Mobley finished with 15 points (six of six from the field and three of six on free throws), 15 rebounds, five blocked shots and four assists while playing in front of three members of the coaching staff he’ll play for next season at USC – head honcho Andy Enfield and assistants Eric Mobley (dad!) and Jason Hart.
Guard Dominick Harris, scheduled to join Strawther as members of Mark Few’s 2020-21 freshman class at Gonzaga, added 21 points for Rancho Christian.
The Eagles and Patriots will be in the lower bracket of the Platinum Division during the loaded Dec. 26-30 Classic at Damien but wouldn’t have a possible “rematch” until the third day (Dec. 28) of the tournament.
Prior to the Rancho Christian-Liberty clash, Bishop Gorman collected the only victory for the Las Vegas-area squads while pulling away down the stretch against San Gabriel Academy, 67-49.
Four players scored in double figures for Coach Grant Rice’s squad, led by senior Johnny Braggs’ and junior Zaon Collins’ 16 points.
Another senior, Mwani Wilkinson (the Trojans’ coaching staff was also there to watch him; he visited USC in the fall) added nine points, five rebounds and three steals.
One of the best of the non-committed “bigs” in the western Class of 2020, 6-9 Boubacar Coulibaly, led SGA with 18 points and an event-best 19 rebounds but committed eight turnovers against the harassing Gaels’ defense.
In a significant upset, Corona Centennial stunned unbeaten Coronado, 73-65, behind a tremendous “team” rebounding and defensive effort and 25 points, nine rebounds and three assists from Portland State-bound point guard Paris Dawson (pictured).
Coach Josh Giles’ Huskies collected another upset a few weeks ago while knocking off Mobley and Rancho Christian.
A multitude of Centennial defenders pressured one of the nation’s best guards in the Class of 2021, Jaden Hardy, into nine turnovers and “limited” him to 22 points.
In the other three games (in sequence of when they were played Saturday):
Harvard-Westlake 68, Durango 61: Princeton-bound center Mason Hooks powered his way to 23 points while sophomore guard Cameron Thrower chipped in with 16 as Coach Dave Rebibo’s team improved to 11-zip.
Junior point guard Keshon Gilbert did his best to keep Durango close with 25 points, four rebounds and three assists while his senior brother, Kendrick Gilbert, added 17.
Ribet Academy 80, Desert Oasis 41: Four players scored in double figures for the unbeaten Fighting Frogs, led by Tyler Powell’s 26 points.
The 6-5 junior also grabbed eight rebounds to go with two each of steals, assists and blocked shots.
Etiwanda 60, Desert Pines 44: The Eagles’ offense was sluggish – at best – during a first half in which Coach Dave Kleckner’s team could manage just 21 points.
Fortunately, the Etiwanda defense was as sound as usual which is why the Las Vegas squad only managed its own 21 first-half points
Scoring become a bit easier in the second half for the Eagles, especially when Desert Pines – after falling behind by 10 points – abandoned his zone for a man to man defense and they were able to create for opportunities off of dribble penetration.
Junior reserve Marcus Green scored a team-high 19 points (with seven rebounds) while senior guard Darryl Jackson scored 12 of his 18 after intermission.
Etiwanda (9-1) doesn’t play again until taking on Ft. Lauderdale Dillard in the Dec. 26 first round of Platinum Division play in the Classic at Damien.
Leave a Reply