LA VERNE, Ca. – Twenty-four hours after an overwhelming performance by the Harvard-Westlake basketball team in its 27-point win over Curtis, best team in Washington, the Wolverines met their match – and, on Friday night, three points its superior – in its Classic at Damien Platinum Division showdown with Liberty High.
And – not surprisingly – it was the sizzling play from its backcourt that proved the difference in the Patriots’ 59-56 over 16-0 Harvard-Westlake.
Coach Kevin Soares’ team built a 16-point advantage on the first possession of the second half and then had to withstand David Rebibo’s squad, which cut its deficit to a point a couple of times in the final minute, the last of those coming on Trent Perry’s layup with 41 seconds to go.
But Dedan Thomas Jr. – the best player in the 112-team event the moment his team played its first game on Tuesday afternoon – was fouled with nine seconds to go.
Thomas, who had converted a twisting “how did he do that?” layup in traffic just 10 seconds before Perry’s bucket, calmly – the way he always does thing with a basketball in his hands — collected his points No. 22 and 23 from the free throw line, and the Wolverines couldn’t get off a clean look at a potential tying 3.
Senior guard Angelo “Gelo” Kambala – the face of the Patriots’ long-range shooting arsenal – hit seven of his team’s 12 3s, three in the first and two in the second quarters.
Kambala, who signed with Utah Tech in November, knocked in 17 of his team’s 33 field goals from behind the arc on the week.
Perry – like Thomas, a junior point guard – led the Wolverines with 19 points.
But another junior, 6-5 Robert Hinton, was most responsible for keeping his team within striking distance while hitting all seven field-goal attempts (most of those on powerful finishes at the rim) and both of his free throws for 16 points.
The Wolverines open Mission League play at home Friday night against Alemany, then travel to Redondo Union High on Saturday for another high-profile matchup against unbeaten Bishop Montgomery.
The 8-5 Patriots – and that’s a record full of deception; the last four losses were by a cumulative 10 points – take on one of Northern California’s best, Modesto Christian, Saturday at Pacifica Christian High in Newport Beach.
In the other Classic championship games Friday:
Gold
Danville (CA) San Ramon Valley 81, Glendale (AZ) Ironwood 66
In a confrontation between a couple of programs making their Classic debuts, the Wolves trailed by 11 points early in the second quarter before tying the score at intermission and then dominating the second half to improve to 14-1 and take a lot of tournament swag back to Northern California.
Senior Parker McClaughry (the division Most Valuable Player) scored 20 of his 24 points in the first half while sophomore teammate Luke Isaak – who hit the 3-pointer against Eastvale (CA) Roosevelt Thursday to put the Wolves in the final – added 22.
Six-six junior Seamus Deely scored 15 points with as many rebounds for Coach Brian Botteen’s team, a strong contender to represent the north in the California State D-II final this spring.
Diamond
Magna (UT) Cyprus 63, Highland (UT) Lone Peak 60
The Pirates built a double-figure lead in the fourth quarter then need a couple of steals and a blocked shot from Justin Jackson-Fobbs to keep Lone Peak from repeating as the Silver champion.
Senior guard Quentin Meza scored 13 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter and was the Most Valuable Player while Fobbs added 15 points.
Sophomores Issac Staley (17) and Chamberlain Burgess (13) combined for 30 points for the Knights.
Silver
Campbell Hall 70, La Mirada 69
For the second night in a row, the Vikings used late-game “magic” – as in, late, late game – to prevail, this time for a tourney title.
About 10 seconds after spectacular sophomore Julien Gomez (35 points) had converted a layup to put his team up by a point, junior forward Baron Bellamy followed in teammate Aaron Powell’s missed with a banker from the right side at the buzzer to set off pandemonium.
Wednesday night, Powell, a 6-1 junior who was an all-tournament selection, did hit the winning shot against St. Francis, picking off pass near mid-court and firing in a 40-plus foot shot at the buzzer for the 55-52 decision that put the Vikings in the title game against the Matadores (who had beat then in La Mirada on Dec. 3, 78-72).
Campbell Hall sophomore point guard Isaiah Johnson was the Silver Most Valuable Player while Gomez was joined as an all-tournament selection by teammate and senior point guard Sean Cervantes.
Bronze
Damien 69, Diamond Bar 50
Sophomore center Nate Garcia capped a big week as the division’s Most Valuable Player with 26 points and 15 rebounds as the Spartans improved to 16-2.
Green
Paraclete 51, Hesperia 49
Six-three junior Mister Burnside was the division’s Most Valuable Player as the Spirits of Coach Newton Chelette improved to 16-1 with their tenth consecutive victory. Their margins of victories in their final three games of the tournament were six, one and two points.
Iron
Glendora 53, South Hills 42
The Tartans had their lowest scoring total of the week (after 65-, 80- and 73-point efforts) but it wasn’t enough to keep them from improving to 13-6. Junior guard Chris Lee bagged the bracket’s MVP plaque.
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