Frank Burlison

SCOTTSDALE, Az. –  An eight-game slate, divvied into a couple of sessions, capped Saturday’s final day of the HoopHall West Invitational at Chaparral High.

A drumroll, please .  . .

*There was an SRO gathering (the listed capacity is 2,512) for the Chatsworth (CA) Sierra Canyon squad’s much-anticipated – especially, obviously, locally – clash with Arizona’s top-ranked team, Goodyear Millennium in the seventh game of the day.

And the local lads did much to pump up the masses in the building, taking a seven-point advantage after a quarter behind junior guard Justus Jackson’s pair of deep 3s.

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SCOTTSDALE, Az. – Apparently Evan Mobley and Jaden Hardy had no intention of letting Jalen Green “one-up” them with his startling performance Thursday night.

Twenty-four hours – give or take – after Green dropped 33 points on Hillcrest Prep during Prolific Prep’s 88-71 pounding of the Phoenix-based squad at Chaparral High during a nationally televised HoopHall West contest, Mobley and Hardy did their oh-so-impressive things Friday night in the same building and event.

*The 7-foot Mobley (pictured) showed off the kind of skill that fewer than a dozen or so – maybe – athletes at that size in the world have with a basketball in their hands, leading his Temecula (CA) Rancho Christian squad to a 95-75 victory over Seattle’s Rainier Beach by way of his 16 points (via eight of 10 from the floor), 11 rebounds, six assists and five blocked shots.

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SCOTTSDALE – Jalen Green, while playing in a game with a variety of quality prospects, left little room for debate as to who was the best player in the Chaparral High gymnasium was Thursday night during the first day of the HoopHall West.

Green, a transfer from San Joaquin Memorial in Fresno, scored 33 points as Prolific Prep – a “prep school team” based in Napa, CA – slammed another “prep school” program, Hillcrest Prep of Phoenix, 88-71, behind his 33-point performace.

The best of the players in the Class of 2020 yet to sign a National Letter of Intent, Green hit three 3s to go with four rebounds, a steal and an assist as his squad took an eight-point advantage after the first quarter in the nationally televised affair.

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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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NEWARK – Senior forward Devin Tillis scored 10 points and grabbed four rebounds in the fourth quarter to help Los Angeles Windward hold off Clovis West, 67-62, Saturday night in one of the seven games played in the 13^th annual NorCal Tip-Off at Newark Memorial High.

The come-from-13-points-down-in-the-second-quarter victory pushed the Wildcats’ record to 5-0.

It gave the southern portion of California a split of the head-to-head contests with northern-based squads, coming immediately after San Francisco Riordan toppled San Juan Capistrano JSerra, 64-59.

Windward trailed by 10 points at intermission, and the margin might have been 20-plus if not for the production of sophomore guard Dylan Andrews who scored 14 of his eventual 25 points in the first 16 minutes.

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