REDONDO BEACH – My measure for evaluating the quality of a “regular-season” sporting event is this:
Imagine said game taking place in, say, a Super Bowl (if an NFL game), National championship game (if a college basketball or football game) or NBA final series (if a regular-season game).
Would the circumstances and/or outcome of the contest lead it to be universally compared to the “greatest” of those events ever played?
With that in mind, how well-played, dramatic and “memorial” was the Take Flight Challenge boys’ basketball game between two of the best three teams in the state Saturday night at Redondo Union High?
Well, if the Harvard-Westlake vs. Bishop Montgomery had been played in the CIF Southern Section Open Division title game (set this season for Feb. 25 at the Honda Center), the buzz would be “How does this stack up with the great championship games of all time?”
That’s the dynamic that those fortunate enough to watch the game in person (and it was pretty much, SRO, 2K-plus) were exposed to during the two hours – via three overtimes – of the clash that ended, dramatically, with No. 2 Harvard-Westlake handing Bishop Montgomery its first loss, 74-66.
The teams (each 18-1) are locks to return as two of the eight teams in the Open Division playoff field (unveiled, approximately, on Feb. 3) and – depending on how the eight teams are seeded – could have a “rematch” in Anaheim three weekends later.
Harvard-Westlake, nine days after suffering its only loss (to Henderson, NV, Liberty, in the final of the Platinum Division of The Classic at Damien), led by 16 points a possession into the second quarter – largely, because the 17 points senior forward Brady Dunlap had scored.
And Dunlap (pictured) was just getting started.
But the Knights’ half-court defense mucked up the Wolverines’ offense and Coach Doug Mitchell’s team was able top generate enough offense of its own – HW’s man-to-man D was nails pretty much throughout, too – to get to within four points at intermission.
Christian Jones (who did most of his damage on the defensive end of the floor) hit a jumper from the top of the key to give Bishop its first lead, at 31-29, a minute and a half into the third quarter.
The Wolverines, who trailed by as many as five points a couple of times in the fourth quarter, didn’t regain a lead until Dunlap sank two free throws, to go up 50-49, with a minute to go in regulation.
The official’s call that sent Dunlap to line was one that impact the rest of the game – maybe even the outcome – if more ways than in resulting in HW regaining the lead.
Six-foot-nine senior Xavier Edmonds – the linchpin to his team’s offense (his low-post positioning and scoring and passing skill are terrific) and defense – was called for brushing Dunlap’s right (shooting) arm on the follow thru, much to his, his coaching staff and the large group of Knights’ fans in the stand chagrin.
And it was his fifth foul, sending him to the bench for what proved to be the next 13 minutes of game action.
Will Smith (a team-high 21 points) took a pass from Jones and buried a 3 from the left corner to put his team up again by two with 48 seconds to go.
Fifteen seconds later junior guard Trent Perry (who scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half and OT sessions) hit a five-foot floater to tie the score at 52.
The Wolverines then had to endure two BM timeouts and a Smith five-footer from the right side that bounced off the iron to earn an extra four minutes.
And then Dunlap (who scored 14 of his career-high 38 points in the 12 minutes of extra time), with a lot of help from his teammates, was able to extend the game into a second and then third overtime – and, finally, their 18th win.
*The Knights got their crowd roaring again, scoring the first two buckets of OT and seemingly on verge pushing the lead to six points after Jones blocked a Dunlap jumper with 1:20 to go.
But Dunlap, after the ball was jarred loose from a Knight, scored his own transition bucket.
The Knights went deep into the shot clock, with LaQwon Cole (the transfer from Serra who scored 12 points) missed a jumper with 38 seconds remaining.
That Man Dunlap came through again, following in his own miss with 14 seconds go and rebounding a miss by Cole.
*OT No. 2.
The Knights again went up by four points, with Kelcy Phillips scoring on a layup – followed by another block of a Dunlap jumper by Jones (the best “basketball athlete” on the floor, FYI) with 1:12 to go.
But a Smith turnover was converted into a bucket by Dunlap 17 seconds later.
Again, the Knights went deep into the shot clock before reserve guard Christian Hall missed a jumper, with the ball rebounded by sophomore Nikolas Khamenia.
And it was Khamenia, inbounding from the near (to the HW bench) baseline with 6.6 seconds to go, who put a short pass into the cutting Dunlap’s hand for an even shorter “jumper” that went through the net three seconds later.
*OT No. 3.
The Wolverines controlled the OT center jump for the third time and took a lead via a slashing driver from the left side by junior Robert Hinton, but Phipps responded with a typing bucket with 3:20 to go.
Dunlap’s mid-range jumper gave his team lead 15 seconds later and for the rest of the way.
Perry and Dunlap split their team’s final eight points, the Knights going nearly three minutes between their only baskets of the final OT.
Man, oh, man . . .
If only any of the CIF Southern Section championship games played on Feb. 24-25 scratch the surface of both the quality of play emotion that guys brought to the Redondo Union gymnasium floor for 44 minutes Saturday night . . .
In the other seven games played Saturday:
*Redondo Union 62, Narbonne 61: In the final game of the event – which ended up tipping off about 9:15 because of the aforementioned “Instant Classic” – the host Sea Hawks had to overcome missing the front end of three 1-and-1 free-throw opportunities and the mind-boggling excellence of Narbonne’s Marcus Adams Jr. to prevail.
The 6-8 Adams went for 34 points (including three 3s), 13 rebounds and three assists but missed on a short drive, and his own follow try, just before the final buzzer.
Sophomore Huddy Mayes scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half for Redondo while freshman S.J. Madison produced 12 of his 14 in the first 16 minutes.
*Heritage Christian 66, Crossroads 59: Sophomore forward Tae Simmons turned in one of the event’s top individual performances, pounding the Roadrunners for 28 points and 14 rebounds as the Warriors went to 10-4 ahead of their Tuesday night Olympic League showdown with Village Christian.
*Irvine Crean Lutheran 66, La Canada St. Francis 63: Freshmen guards Kaiden Bailey (22) and Braedon Davidson (18) combined for 40 points as the 11-5 Saints won their fourth game in a row. Senior guard Jackson Mosely scored 24 for the Golden Knights, who dropped to 15-5.
*Long Beach Poly, Newport Beach Sage Hill 33: The Jackrabbits, with 14 points from sophomore Jovani Ruff and 13 from junior Ryan Maddox, snapped a six-game losing streak to go to 5-12 as they return to Moore League play Monday night at home against Cabrillo.
*St. Bernard 56, Leuzinger 50: Freshman Tajh Ariza scored a team-high 14 points as the Vikings, No. 9 in last week’s BurlisonOnBasketball SoCal Top 20, moved to 15-4.
*Rolling Hills Prep 45, Washington Prep 37: Six-six senior J.V Brown scored 23 points as the Huskies improved to 15-5.
*St. Anthony 65, L.B. Jordan 54: Transfer guards Tyler Small (Servite) and Quincy Phillips (Gardena) combined for just more than half – 33 – of the Saints’ points as Coach Allen Mitchell’s team is 11-7 following its fourth consecutive victory.
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