SCOTTSDALE, AZ — A couple of down-to-the-wire clashes — aka, “overtime” — between some of the elite boys basketball teams in Arizona highlighted the four-game action during the HoopHall West Thursday evening at Chapparal High.
The event continues at Chapparal Friday, with prep school matchups at 4 p.m. MT (Veritas Prep of Southern California vs. Chandler, AZ, Canyon International) and 5:30 (Wasatch Academy of Utah vs. Chandler Compass Prep).
“Traditional high school” teams follow at 7 (and high school action following at 7 (two-time Arizona champion Glendale Perry vs. White Plains, NY, Stepinac) and 8:30 (North Hollywood Campbell Hall vs. Chandler, AZ, Basha).
Perry is led by 6-foot-8 Koa Peat, one of the Top Five or so juniors in the country and a USA Basketball and Compton Magic standout.
Thursday evening, Sunnyslope of Phoenix — the runner-to Perry last spring — led Glendale Millennium by nine points with about 3:40 remaining in regulation.
But several turnovers — usually by way of passes that didn’t have enough steam to keep defenders from jumping them — helped drop the advantage to three points with about 30 seconds to go.
And then sophomore Cameron Holmes deflected another pass and pushed it ahead to senior (and Cal State Northridge-bound) Sabien Cain, who — without a defender within two strides of him — rose and swished his fifth 3 with 16 seconds to play to tie the score at 53.
A potential game-winning layup by sophomore Rider Portella was swatted by a defender three seconds before the buzzer, signaling a four-minute overtime.
And Millennium kept up the heat at both ends of the floor in OT and hanging on, 65-62, for a win that apparently could influence state playoff seedings in February.
Cain — who nailed another 3 in OT — scored a game-high 27 points and was the player most responsible from keeping the Tigers close enough to make their fourth-quarter push against the Vikings, who beat California powerhouse Centennial in Corona two weeks ago.
The 6-3 Cain, who moved from Indianapolis over the summer, also grabbed six rebounds with five assists and seven steals and just two turnovers.
Slick freshmen point guard Delton Prescott scored 19 points with seven rebounds and five assists but also committed five of the Vikings’ 21 turnovers.
And, in a matchup of Scottsdale-based clubs with legitimate state-championship aspirations,
Notre Dame Prep was down by 20 points with five minutes to go before earning an overtime against Desert Mountain before falling, 83-81.
Sophomore (but, perhaps, “re-classifying” to the Class of 2025 before too long) guard Kaden House turned a steal into the go-ahead — for good — layup with 40 seconds remaining.
The game was highlighted by a couple of individual efforts rivaled only by Cain over the evening.
They rarely checked each other but House and senior (and Rice-bound) 6-4 Anthony Batson were equally productive and spectacular.
House — who becomes, IMO, no worse than one of the top-five point-guard prospects in the Western Class of 2025 if or once he “re-classifies” — scored 35 points (10 of 20 from the field, including six of 10 behind the arc) with 12 rebounds, four assists, three blocked shots, five steal and eight turnovers.
Batson did a lot more of his work from in and around the lane (off crisp cuts that he turned into dunks or layups) for his 39 points — 15 of 24 from the floor, including two of four behind the arc — and 15 rebounds, two assists, three steals and three turnovers.
In the other two games:
*Anthem Boulder Creek 50, Peoria Liberty 39: Six-eight Ring Nyeri (with 22 points — nine on 3s — coupled with 12 rebounds) did his best to lead his team back from an 18-point deficit.
He and his team got close — within three points in the fourth quarter — but Boulder Creek pulled away down the stretch in another all-Arizona tilt.
Nyeri (who signed with the University of Missouri/Kansas City last month) scored 22 points and grabbed eight rebounds while 6-8 junior Andrew Bhesania had 20 points, eight rebounds and three assists for the winners.
*Chapparal 56, Santa Barbara 47: The Dons, one of CIF Southern Section programs participating in the event, got a game-high 26 points from 6-4 junior Luke Zuffelato while suffering their first loss after three wins.
The host Firebirds are 3-2 after getting double-figure scoring from three players, led by junior Nate Smith’s 13 points (perfect on three 3-point attempts).
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