REDONDO BEACH – The Harvard-Westlake High boys basketball team held up quite well while taking its first major test of the season Saturday night, all things considered.
The Wolverines, trailing by three points in the fourth quarter of a game with the team that beat Sierra Canyon seven nights before, pulled away in the final four minutes to knock off Rancho Christian, 63-52, in the final game of the five-day, Ryse Williams/Pac Shores Showcase at Redondo Union High.
Trent Perry (pictured) and Jacob Huggins split 16 of their team’s 21 fourth-quarter points as Coach David Rebibo’s team improved to 8-0.
The Eagles fell to 2-3 but, as mentioned, one of those wins was against Sierra Canyon and the loses were a by a combined four points to unbeatens St. Bernard and Santa Ana Foothill.
And, when they take the floor on Dec. 27 for their Classic at Damien Platinum Division opener against Idaho State champion Meridian Owyhee, Colony transfer Kollen Murphy is expected to be eligible to them an experienced, quality point guard.
But – with a 6-foot-11 center bound for Pepperdine, a 6-6 guard who signed with Cal and a 6-8 senior who is among the better of “still-available” forwards in the west – Coach Ray Barfield put a formidable opponent on the floor against SoCal’s No. 2 team (via BurlisonOnBasketball).
That center, Martin Gumwell, presented a shot-blocker unlike anyone the Wolverines had been confronted with this season and he blocked three attempts and altered a couple of others over the first three quarters that ended with the Eagles down by just a point.
Rancho Christian got buckets from Patton (who finished with a team-high 19 points0 and reserve guard Bailey Chambers to take that 3-point advantage – its biggest since a five-point edge late in the first quarter.
But Perry (who is playing better than any junior point guard I’ve seen in Southern California so far this season) took over things at both ends of the floor, with his eight points (for a game-high 21), four rebounds, three assists and a steal the rest of the way.
And the 6-9 Huggins (who is pound for Princeton next fall) – who was a bit passive in trying to finish against Gumwel through a lot of the first three quarters – began attacking the rim for dunks (three of them, two of which drew fouls from his Rancho Christian counterpart) and three rebounds.
Sophomore forward Nikolas Khamenia added 10 points, five rebounds and three assists for the Wolverines, and senior teammate Brady Dunlap (he signed with Notre Dame last month) showed he is a about 90 percent – give or take – recovered from the left foot injury he incurred against Venice during his team’s Nov. 14 opener.
The teams are in the Platinum Division of the Classic at Damien (Dec. 27-30) but are on opposite sides of the bracket – meaning there wouldn’t be a “rematch” until the last day of the tournament.
In the other three games at the event I watched Saturday, St. Paul knocked off Long Beach Jordan in double overtime (72-68); Narbonne overcame an 11-point deficit in the first quarter to toppled St. Monica (47-39); and St. Bernard took a 30-point edge into the fourth quarter before easing past Long Beach Poly (68-44).
FYI: St. Paul and St. Monica (Diamond Division); L.B. Poly (Gold); and Narbonne and St. Bernard (Platinum) are also in the Classic at Damien in three weeks.
Forward Marcus Adams Jr. (31 points and 18 rebounds) of 3-1 Narbonne and 6-6 freshman Tahj Ariza went for 15 points (three 3s), 10 rebounds and three assists for unbeaten St. Bernard.
In some of the better tournaments in Southern California this week:
*St. John Bosco plays host to the Braves’ Varsity Winter Classic, and is joined by the likes of unbeaten Rancho Cucamonga (which snapped a 22-game losing streak to Etiwanda with a win in the Inland Empire final Saturday night); Long Beach Poly (still in search of its first win after losses to Rancho Cucamonga, Beverly Hills, and St. Bernard); and La Mirada (led by dynamic sophomore guard Julien Gomez, who scored 36 points while helping his team hand Campbell Hall its first loss);
*St. Bernard is among the teams playing in Beverly Hills’ event that tipped off Saturday and continues Monday thru next Saturday.
The host Normans are 6-0 (after beating Crean Lutheran and L.B. Poly by a combined three points at Redondo Union last week) and faced San Diego at 2 o’clock Monday.
*And Corona del Mar plays host to the “Beach Bash”, Monday thru Saturday.
Rancho Verde, Foothill, Tesoro, and the host Sea Kings are among the 16-team field.
In the top event in the West region this week, Scottsdale (AZ) Chaparral plays host to the HoopHall West. Rancho Christian; Sherman Oaks Notre Dame; Harvard-Westlake; Corona Centennial and San Diego San Ysidro are among the teams involved.
The most compelling (regionally, at least) matchups has Centennial taking on Centennial Saturday night at 4:30 (MT).
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