Frank Burlison

LAS VEGAS – Sixteen teams earned “trips” Thursday to the Orleans Hotel Arena for Friday semifinals in four divisions of the Tarkanian Classic.

And I use the term “trips” quite loosely, because the Orleans is where the players, coaches and family of the bulk of the teams in the Grant Rice/Dinos Trigonis-fronted event are staying this week, with Bishop Gorman serving as the “host school” and primary games’ site.

The Platinum (in this case, like most hoops’ tournaments, meaning best) Division provide the most compelling of the semifinals, with a Southern California Showdown of sorts in the Corona Centennial-Santa Ana Mater Dei clash at 4 o’clock and the host Gaels – the event’s defending champions – facing Northern California powerhouse Sacramento Sheldon at 5:30.

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LAS VEGAS – The Southern California-based programs were 5-zip during Wednesday’s first-round action in the Platinum Division of the Tarkanian Classic at Bishop Gorman High.

Two of those squads got stunning deep-range shooting efforts to advance to Thursday’s quarterfinal action:

*Corona Centennial (7-2) continued its string of “upsets”, knocking off the top-ranked team from Pennsylvania in Philadelphia Neumann Goretti, 68-64, as freshman guard Jared McCain (pictured) buried eight 3s – seven after intermission – while scoring 30 points.

*And San Diego State-bound guard Keith Dinwiddie knocked in seven shots from behind the arc while continuing the sizzling start to his senior season as L.A.

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LA VERNE, Ca – The fourth Classic at Damien (Dec. 26, 27, 28&30), to be held in the Damien High Athletic and Event Centers, as well as on several area campuses, will showcase some of the very best players the Class of 2020 has to offer.

And 10 of the athletes in the five-division, 80-team event signed National Letters of Intent with NCAA-designated programs last in November.

The programs for eight of those players will be competing in the Platinum Division, the toughest post-Christmas tournament division anywhere in the country.

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LAS VEGAS – The first day of the Tarkanian Classic, at Bishop Gorman High, ended with more than just a bit of optimism for the UCLA coaching staff and the Bruins’ followers.

Six-foot-five Daishen Nix, who signed a National Letter of Intent last month to enroll at Westwood in the summer, put all of his highly refined skill on display Tuesday night while scoring 39 points in Las Vegas Trinity International’s 71-57 victory over San Antonio-based Cornerstone Christian in a first-round game of the Pangos Elite 8 “prep school” team tournament.

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MEDIA/PHOTO-VIDEO CREDENTIALS FOR THE CLASSIC AT DAMIEN

   Individuals with CIF Southern Section (or other CIF sections) media or courtesy passes will gain admission to the Dec. 26-30 Classic games (assuming seating remains available during a given day or night) but no “league” or other organization-media “passes” will be accepted for free admission.

To request a “tournament credential” for access to one of the limited number of Classic at Damien “media seats” or court-side “photographer/videographer” spots, as well as access to the tournament interview room, contact Classic at Damien Media Director Melissa Mallari: melmallari3@gmail.com

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