Burlison on Basketball

Frank Burlison | High School Basketball | College Basketball

Harvard-Westlake heads strong SoCal Arizona effort

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MESA, AZ – The Studio City Harvard-Westlake High boys’ basketball team wrapped three superb days of focused and efficient play at both ends of the court Saturday night in the title game of the bracketed division of Hoop Hall West at Highland High.

The Wolverines jumped to an 18-point advantage at intermission en route to a 58-44 victory over previously unbeaten Concord De La Salle.

Six-foot-eight, Duke-bound senior Nikolas Khamenia (14 points, five rebounds and six assists in 32 minutes) was the obvious choice for the bracket’s Most Outstanding Player while helping his 16-1 team extend its win streak to nine.

The Spartans (14-1), after first- and second-round wins over Duncanville of Texas and St. Louis Chaminade, came into the game as the de facto top-ranked club in Northern California.

And – led by 6-7 senior Alec Blair (15 points, six rebounds and four assists Saturday) – they will remain one of the “tri-favorites” (with Richmond Salesian and San Francisco Riordan) to rep the North in California’s March 15 State Open Division title game in Sacramento.

The Wolverines’ perimeter defense limited the Spartans to one of eight shooting from behind the arc, while forcing 12 turnovers and allowing only five offensive rebounds.

And five of Coach David Rebibo’s players combined for 11 of 22 on 3s, with senior Isaiah Carroll and junior Amir Jones (pictured/courtesy Greg Stein Media) getting three apiece.

Jones (14) and Carroll (10) joined Khamenia as double-figure scorers.

With the Thursday (57-54 vs. Perry of Arizona) and Friday (66-63 vs. Washington, DC’s Gonzaga College Prep) decisions coupled with the title win, the Wolverines’ three victories here came against teams that are now a combined 39-4.

*The other three SoCal powerhouses in the “showcase” portion of the event ended their three-game schedules, vs.  common opponents, with wins Saturday to go a collective 8-1.

Only Notre Dame of Sherman Oaks (Thursday, 54-53 vs. Layton Christian Academy of Utah) dropped a game here.

Roosevelt (No. 1 in the BurlisonOnBasketball SoCal Top 30), 56-36 vs. LCA; No. 2 St. John Bosco, hanging on, 62-61, against Coronado of Henderson (NV); and No. 3 Notre Dame (65-62, vs. Phoenix Sandra O’Connor).

Roosevelt (18-1) didn’t play on the same level of excellence as the Mustangs did while winning the Platinum Division titles at the Tarkanian Classic and The Classic at Damien.

But Myles Walker – the best of the “still-available” point guards in the California Class of 2025 – was terrific throughout, capping the three days with 17 points (five 3s), four assists, four steals and no turnovers.

Senior Elzie Harrington (who recently changed his college destination from Harvard to USC) scored 29 points with three assists and three steals and converted an “and 1!” with eight seconds to go to help St. John Bosco (17-1) avoid a major upset against Coronado.

And junior Tyran Stokes turned in the most impressive performance in any of the six games I watched him play for Notre Dame this season, scoring 34 points with 10 rebounds, four assists and four steals.

With his team hanging on to a one-point lead, Stokes missed two free throws with 7.6 seconds to go but ripped the ball away from rebounder Ryan Parsley and dunked for the game’s final two points to beat the buzzer.

UC Santa Barbara-bound forward Michael Simcoe was every bit as impressive as Stokes with 26 points (including four 3s), eight rebounds, four assists and five blocked shots.

*Redondo Union (62-61 over Chandler, AZ, Basha/Saguaro Bracket); Rancho Cucamonga (76-62 over Oakland Tech/Jackrabbit); Oak Hills (51-48 over St. Anthony/Jackrabbit) and Orange Lutheran (62-55 over Henderson, NV, Liberty/Trailblazer) won championships in four of the 13, eight-team divisions played Jan. 2-4 as part of the Nike Tournament of Champions played in and around Mesa.

Redondo (16-2 and No. 7 in last week’s Top 30) trailed by 10 points going into the fourth quarter.

But senior Hudson Mayes and sophomore Chris Sanders combined for 18 of the Sea Hawks’ fourth-quarter points.

And the left-handed Sanders converted an “and 1!” on a drive against junior Desean Middlebrook with 12 seconds to go to put his team ahead.

A jump shot from the corner by  Basha freshman Lleyton Leonard was off the mark at the buzzer.

Redondo junior S.J. Madison was the bracket’s Most Outstanding Player while Mayes and Sanders were all-tournament selections, as were Basha junior Mason Magee and freshman Kingston Montague.

La Mirada (15-4), which lost to Basha in a Friday night semifinal, rallied from 17 points behind in the second quarter and 11 with about four minutes to go in regulation to beat Albuquerque Volcano Visa in the third-place game, 72-69, in two overtimes.

Senior guard Aaron Glass scored 30 points and pick up MOP honors for Rancho Cucamonga (15-6), while teammates McKel Shedrick and Diego Murguia were all-tournament.

Oak Hills (13-4) won for the 11th time in the past 12 games in knocking off the Saints with senior guard Ashton McCullough (17 points, six rebounds and five assists) the MOP and teammates Jeremiah Lark and Mar Landry all-tourney.

And 6-7 junior Jonathan Dzabatou, after averaging 18 ppg in the event, of Orange Lutheran (10-6) was Trailblazer MOP while his 6-8 sophomore brother, Benjamin Dzabatou, was all-tourney.

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