SCOTTSDALE, AZ – Southern California’s Corona Centennial and Studio City Harvard-Westlake boys basketball teams turned in potent performances on the final day of the HoopHall West Saturday at Chaparral high.
And, while smacking Las Vegas powerhouse Bishop Gorman (72-53) and a quality Arizona Ironwood club (76-49), Centennial and Harvard-Westlake seemed firmly on track for what may be showdowns in the CIF Southern Section’s and State Southern Regional’s Open Division playoffs in February and March.
In the first of seven games played Saturday, Harvard-Westlake tipped off against Ironwood at 10 a.m., local time.
The Wolverines got a “wakeup call”, of sorts, by way of the Eagles’ 7-zip start.
But Coach David Rebibo’s squad never got out of “character”, which in its case meant it continued to play focused and sound half-court defense, rebound forcefully, and move the ball crisply until a quality shot attempt was manufactured.
They trimmed the deficit to two points at the end of the first quarter (by way of three Trent Perry free throws a second before the buzzer) and were in front at intermission, 33-31.
They punched out (metaphorically, of course) the Eagles in the third quarter while out-scoring them, 18-2.
Senior forward Brady Dunlap, who signed with the University of Notre Dame in November, scored nine of his game-high 17 points – nine of those from behind the arc – after some anxious moments during pre-game layup drills.
And, as he conceded, those moments were more “panic-stricken” than “anxious”.
The 6-foot-7 Dunlap (pictured), one of the better jump shooters anywhere in high school, was bothered most of the summer and fall with a sprained left ankle that limited his mobility and effectiveness.
And then, in the second half of his team’s Nov. 14 opener at St. Monica High against Venice, that same foot was stepped on resulting in an inflamed tendon that forced him to the sideline for four games.
He returned for three games during the Nov. 29-Dec. 3 Ryse Williams/Pac Shores Showcase at Redondo High, and an eased-up, blowout of Long Beach Jordan at home last Tuesday night.
But, while moving in the layup line just minutes before tip-off Saturday morning in the Chaparral gym, he suddenly belt his left ankle buckle.
He quickly hobbled to the bench, where he was attended to by his coaches and, with his father, Jeff, looking over his shoulder while Brady was clutching his ankle with a look of panic in his face.
And that’s what the most severe part of the incident was – panic.
He was ushered back into the trainer’s area just outside of the gym, where the ankle was re-taped snuggly.
And, about two minutes into playing time, he was at the scorers’ table checking into the game – and then buried a 3 almost immediately after getting on the floor.
“I wasn’t looking at my feet (before the slight twist of the ankle),” he said afterward. “So, I must have stepped on someone’s foot or tripped.
“Yeah, it was panic (more than pain). I’ve worked so hard to get healthy, I didn’t want to have to miss any more games.”
Neither does Rebibo, of course.
With Dunlap on the floor, his jump shooting and skill as a handler spreads defenses and helps the team’s transition and half-court offenses become even more difficult to defend with fellow senior Jacob Huggins (13 points and 11 rebounds Saturday), juniors Perry (12 points, eight rebounds and seven assists) and Robert Hinton (12 points and six rebounds), and superb sophomore Nikolas Khamenia (10 points and nine rebounds) around him.
And Rebibo’s first three substitutes, junior Christian Horry (who started while Dunlap’s ankle was being tended to), senior Brando Fuqua and freshman Dominique Bentho, keep things running just as smoothly when they’re on the floor.
The 10-0 Wolverines have a home game against Granada Hills Charter School Tuesday night before flying to Arkansas Thursday morning for Friday and Saturday games against Chicago Whitney Young and Bentonville West (AR), respectively.
They will open play in the Platinum Division of the Classic at Damien on Dec. 27 when they face the top-team – and player – from the L.A. City Section in Marcus Adams Jr.-led Narbonne.
Ironwood is also part of the 112-team Classic at Damien field and will take on Rancho Verde in a 12:30 p.m. Gold Division game on Dec. 27.
Centennial is missing the dynamic (and, often, dominant) point-guard play it got out of Kylan Boswell (the University of Arizona) and Donovan Dent (the University of New Mexico) the past two seasons while finishing a collective 56-3 as California’s – and the west’s – top team during the 2020-21 and ’21-22 seasons.
But four starters, including seniors Jared McCain (he’s Duke-bound), Aaron McBride (Loyola-Marymount) and Devin Williams (UCLA), were still in uniform when the Huskies took the floor against the Gaels Saturday afternoon.
And that fourth returning starter (well, he was a part-time starter who often played “starter’s minutes” as a sophomore), Eric Freeny, continued to look like one of the most improved juniors in the west Saturday while out-muscling and out-hustling everyone for 13 points and 12 rebounds.
The fifth starter is senior Mike Price, in his fourth scholastic stop after one-season stints at Crespi, Ribet Academy and Sierra Canyon, respectively – the last of those two schools for which he played against the Huskies.
His shot selection is still a work-in-progress (he was two of 12 from the field, missing four times from behind the arc) but his strength and quickness with the ball in his hands – and as a defender – are helping his transition to Josh Giles’ system and demands go nicely so far in the team’s 6-1 start.
The Huskies, whose only loss was by two points against Duncanville on Texas on Nov. 26, are in Florida and North Carolina for pre- and post-Christmas tournaments.
In the other five Saturday games:
*Gilbert (AZ) Perry 90, San Diego San Ysidro 66: The Pumas weren’t nearly as sharp and efficient as they were in a Friday night blowout of Cardinal Hayes of New York but still hit no speed bumps while rolling to 9-zip as overwhelmingly the top team in Arizona.
With University of Colorado-bound Cody Williams (26 points) and sophomore Koa Peat (16 points, 15 rebounds and six assists) in Perry uniform, it took a while for San Ysidro’s players to take notice of junior guard Barron Silsby.
By the time they did, however, he was already well into a sizzling jump shooting performance, finishing with six 3s in eight attempts in route to a career-high 20 points.
Mikey Williams and J.J. Taylor (who signed with the University of Memphis last month) combined for 45 points for the 3-3 Cougars – better known as, for the school’s campus proximity to Mexico, the “Border Boyz”.
*Bradenton (FL) IMG Academy 67, Chandler (AZ) Compass Prep 61: The program from Florida picked up its second victory over another high-profile prep program here, building a 15-point lead in the second half and then holding off a mild rally.
University of Maryland-bound forward Jamie Kaiser led the winners with 18 points and six rebounds.
*Chicago Simeon 52, Henderson (NV) Coronado 46: The team from Nevada, out of action since opening with wins over Northern California programs Modesto Christian and Salesian on Thanksgiving Weekend in Oakland, suffered its first loss.
Future UCLA Bruin Sebastian Mack scored all 15 of his points for Coronado in the first half.
*Brookville (NY) Long Island Lutheran 63, Mt. Pleasant (UT) Wasatch Academy 55: Junior forward V.J. Edgecombe went for 18 points and nine rebounds while senior point guard Jayden Reid added nine points and set up nine field goals as the New York team bounced back from a six-point loss to IMG Academy Friday.
*Milton (GA) 61, Goodyear (AZ) Millennium 46: Sophomore point guard Josh Dixon helped his team go 8-0 after its second win here with 21 points, six rebounds and two steals.
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