Burlison on Basketball

Frank Burlison | High School Basketball | College Basketball

Justin Pippen had it poppin’ Saturday night

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BEVERLY HILLS — Justin Pippen’s 3 from the left wing against the Redondo Union zone put Sierra Canyon High’s basketball team ahead to stay with 2:46 remaining and started a 10-1 closeout to a 68-59 victory over the Seahawks Saturday night at Beverly Hills High.

The 6-foot-4 Pippen (who finished with 23 points, seven assists and six steals) seemingly made ever critical play at both ends of the floor on a night when the Trailblazers needed them to hold off Redondo (6-1) and improve to 8-1.

Fifteen of Pippen’s points came from behind the arc while another senior, 6-8 Noah Williams, got all his 25 points in and around the lane (except a second-quarter 3 off a Pippen pass), including 10 free throws in 13 attempts.

Six-five Devin Ringer — like Pippen, one of the best of the “still-unsigned” (by colleges) members of the western Class of 2024 — led Redondo with 19 points, five assists and three steals.

Junior guard Brayden Miner (the son of former USC All-American and NBA first-round selection Harold Miner) came off the bench to score 12 of his 17 points from behind the arc for the Seahawks, while 6-5 junior forward Hudson Mayes added 12 points for them, 10 of those in the third quarter.

Pippen (pictured) directed a 25-5 second quarter run that helped his team take a 38-27 lead at intermission, scoring 10 points with three steals and three assists in that stretch.

Mayes scoring from along the baseline (a short-corner jumper to start and then four more buckets on strong drives and finishes) kept his team within striking distance in the third quarter.

Trailing by seven points after a Williams layup (via a Pippen pass) with a bit more than five minutes to go in the fourth quarter, the Seahawks went 7-0 at the other end by way of two Ringer free throws, a Miner 3 (after a Ringer dish) and Mayes’ two free throws with 3:12 remaining.

But Pippen (yeah, Williams helped a lot, too, of course) — and turnovers — proved the difference.

After Pippen’s go-ahead 3, Redondo turned the ball over on four consecutive possessions, the first three of those which were “reasonably unforced”.

Unofficially (aka “by my rapid-fire stat-keeping), Redondo committed 25 turnovers and Sierra Canyon 16 — and, with Pippen directing the transition offense, teams aren’t going to lose the ball that many times and beat the Trailblazers.

In other games played at Beverly Hills Saturday:

*St. Anthony 66, Bakersfield Centennial 48: The Saints were minus senior guard Quincy Phillips (ankle sprain; he expects to be back in action this week) but were able to improve to 9-2 as sophomore guard Joseph Wicker scored all his game-high 18 points over the first three quarters.

*Culver City 75, Beverly Hill 71: The Centaurs took a 20-point advantage into the fourth quarter but avoided a total collapse by hitting just enough free throws in the closing moments to improve to sweep their three games at the event and improve to 4-3 as Keyshawn Ross led four of their players in double figures with 18 points.

 

 

 

*Brentwood School 58, Oakwood 51: Senior guard Jordan Houegban scored 19 of his game-high 28 points in the fourth quarter (four 3s and seven for seven on free throws) and the Eagles pulled away in the final two minutes.

Coach Ryan Bailey’s squad (5-3) also got 14 points off the bench from junior Bobby White.

Oliver Ford (14) and Lucas Gaspar (12) combined for 25 points for the Owls (2-7).

*St. Monica 63, Sun Valley Poly 47: Junior guard Jaedyn Patterson scored all his team-high 15 points via shots from behind the arc while 6-3 classmate Isaiah Johnson (in his first start) added points as the Mariners improved to 7-2.

Another junior, JD Wyatt, scored 30 points despite his Parrots dropping to 2-3.

And, in other games played in Southern California:

*St. John Bosco 88, Windward 63: The Braves’ “Big Four” (senior Jack Turner; juniors Kade Bonam and Elzie Harrington; and sophomore Brandon McCoy Jr.) combined for 68 points in the title game of the Braves’ Varsity Classic, with the 6-6 Kade Bonam — 27 points — a well-deserved Most Outstanding Player hardware winner.

*JSerra 71, Newport Pacifica Christian 51: Still available (to colleges in need of a Class of 2024 point guard) Aidan Fowler averaged 19.0 points and 4.5 assists in the Lions’ four wins at Corona del Mar High by an average margin of 24.5 points. At 11-0, Coach Keith Wilkinson’s club joins SJB (7-0) and Mater Dei (7-0) as three unbeaten Trinity League teams.

 

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