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Frank Burlison | High School Basketball | College Basketball

Mayfair collects tourney title at Redondo Union

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REDONDO BEACH – Harvard-Westlake and Redondo Union’s forceful victories, and Mayfair’s championship win over St. Monica, highlighted Thursday’s final day of the Ryse Williams/PAC Shores boys basketball event.

There’s two more days of high-caliber high school basketball set to tip off Friday afternoon (3:30) at Redondo Union High, via the 23-game Jordan Brand Take Flight Challenge/Powered by Morgan Stanley.

Action begins with the Serra vs. Palos Verdes clash in the school’s auxiliary gymnasium, with play starting at 4 o’clock in the main gym with two other South Bay-based foes, Rolling Hills Prep and St. Bernard.

Four of the 2024 CIF Southern Section Open Division participants – Corona Centennial (vs. Redondo), Eastvale Roosevelt (vs. Riverside Poly), Sierra Canyon (vs. Millennium of Arizona) and two-time, State Open champion Harvard-Westlake (vs. Owyhee of Idaho) – are in action Saturday.

Coach David Rebibo’s Harvard-Westlake Wolverines improved to 6-0, scoring the first 16 points and leading 32 points at intermission before wrapping up the 69-30 victory against a Bishop Montgomery team (5-2) that suffered its first loss Wednesday night.

After getting a tad sloppy Tuesday night in their win over San Gabriel Academy, the Wolverines’ half-court defense was spot-on against the Knights Thursday and senior Nikolas Khamenia (12 points, mostly off hard cuts and drives) and juniors Joe Sterling (16, mostly via his crisp jump shooting) and Dominique Bentho (16 points) scored pretty much at will.

Bentho (pictured) started as a sophomore and, at 6-foot-8 and a firm 230 pounds – something close to 30-plus less than he checked into school at two years ago – he has been an even more  omnipresent force in and around the lane, at both sides of the floor, than he was even toward the end of last’s season run to Sacramento.

And his 6-8 junior back-up, Barron Linnekens (eight points), may be the most improved player in Rebibo’s rotation.

The host Sea Hawks (5-0) held a 28-point advantage at intermission en route to a 93-57 over Chaminade, handing the visitors their first loss in nine games.

Five of Coach Reggie Morris, Jr.’s players scored in double figures, with Central Michigan-bound Hudson Mayes (20 points) and junior S.J. Madison (19 and a whirlwind of activity in the team’s full-court defensive scheme) leading the way.

In the finale of the eight-team tourney bracket (the other games mentioned were “showcase-style” contests, as will be those played Friday and Saturday), Mayfair (4-2 on the court, 5-1 including the forfeit by Inglewood) edged St. Monica (7-2), 59-56, with a potential score-tying jump shot by senior guard Jaedyn Patterson off the iron as the buzzer sounded.

Patterson scored 11 points and directed the team’s rally from a 10-point deficit late in the third quarter.

The Monsoons got double-figure scoring from four players, including 6-4 junior guard Josiah Johnson (the tournament MVP; 13 points, seven rebounds and five assists) and freshman forward Amon Boykin (14 points and eight rebounds).

In some of the other Thursday games:

Leuzinger (3-3) trailed by 10 points midway thru the third quarter before finally overcoming Hart (3-3), 60-49, behind senior Malachi Knight. He scored 25 of his 29 points after intermission.

    Sophomore center Mahamadou Diop scored 18 points with 10 rebounds and three blocks as San Gabriel Academy (2-5) held off Foothill, 62-52.

Senior center Danny Kennard led the Knights (5-3) with 16 points and senior forward Blake Pearson added 14.

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