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LA VERNE, Ca. – The best high school boys’ basketball team in the west, along with the host school’s unbeaten squad, had narrow escapes Tuesday night to advance to the championships in the Platinum Division of The Classic at Damien.

*Top-ranked Corona Centennial trailed much of the way against a relentless Bellflower St. John Bosco club before going ahead to stay on a nifty penetration and dish by guard Jared McCain that led to a dunk by 6-foot-10, fellow junior Devin Williams with 52 seconds remaining.

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LA VERNE, Ca. – Two of Southern Section’s better boys’ high school basketball teams were moved to the left side of the Platinum Bracket by programs from Idaho and Utah Monday during the first day of The Classic at Damien.

They were “upsets” only if you didn’t know much about the Meridian (ID) Owyhee and American Fork (UT) teams before they took to Damien’s Athletic Center floor for their games against Playa del Rey St. Bernard and Sherman Oaks Notre Dame, respectively, Monday.

But the squad from Idaho – playing for a school in its first academic year of existence – turned in an overwhelming fourth quarter, coming from four points down with about four minutes to go, and came away with a 66-54 victory over a St.

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LAGUNA NIGUEL, Ca. – The first “pre-Christmas” portion of the Southern California boys’ high school basketball season provide a solid look at the teams that are in contention or the eight spots in the CIF Southern Section Open Division playoffs that are set to begin on Feb. 11.

Six of those squads should be familiar to even the most casual follower of SoCal high school hoops, with in Centennial, Sierra Canyon, Damien, Harvard-Westlake, Bishop Montgomery and Mater Dei – the respective No.’s 1, 2, 3, 4, 7 and 8 teams in the updated BurlisonOnBasketball Southern California ratings (which encompass teams from the CIF Southern and L.A.

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LAS VEGAS – You, like myself, may have been on hand for each of the first eight Tarkanian Classics.

But you, also like myself, never saw anything quite like what took place in the championship game of the Platinum Division of the ninth year of the event Tuesday night at Bishop Gorman.

The host Gaels only trailed Liberty by 16 points at intermission because reserve guard Eli Bradley buried a 3-pointer from the right corner at the buzzer.

But Coach Grant Rice’s club, in a relentless, frantic and often chaotic final 24 minutes – a 16-minute second half and two four-minute overtimes – stunned the visitors, 97-95, to remain unbeaten while handing the Patriots a gut-twisting first loss.

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LAS VEGAS – During its first six games, the Irvine Crean Lutheran High boys’ basketball squad has shown that it’s not only among the elite teams in Orange County but a contender for one of the eight CIF Southern Section Open Division playoff bids, as well.

But Coach Nate Klitzing’s team will get by far its toughest test of the season Tuesday afternoon at Bishop Gorman High.

The Saints, who rolled past South Jordan (UT) Bingham Monday night, 71-54, in the Orleans Hotel Arena, take on one of the top teams from Texas in the 2:30 championship game of the Gold Division of the Tarkanian Classic.

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