Frank Burlison

SPRINGFIELD, MA –   The finale of Saturday’s action during the 16^th Spalding HoopHall Classic was nationally televised and touted as a “showdown”, of sorts, between two of the elite big men in the high school senior class.

And DeAndre Ayton (Phoenix Hillcrest) and Mohammad Bamba (Westtown of Pennsylvania) did offer the crowd – those in Springfield College’s Blake Arena and those viewing on their flat screens or hand-held devices – an opportunity to watch the near-seven footers showcase their respective physical gifts.

But, ultimately, it was a couple of guys not named Ayton or Bamba who decided the outcome as Westtown outlasted Hillcrest, 66-54, in the last of six games played Saturday.

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REDONDO BEACH, Ca. – Some of Southern California’s better high school basketball teams – and players, in all classes – were on display and in full bloom Saturday during the second day of the Redondo Union High-hosted Take Flight Challenge.

In the sixth, final and showcase game of the day, Santa Margarita pulled away down stretch to knock off Eastvale Roosevelt, 70-64, in a hook-up of two squads that almost certainly will be reasonably high seeds in the CIF Southern Section’s Open Division playoff bracket.

Roosevelt was playing without one of its two-best players in University of California-bound guard Jemarl Baker, sidelined for the second consecutive game in what Coach Steve Singleton deemed a “precautionary” decision because of a swollen knee as a result of a collision in the team’s Classic at Damien Gold Division loss to Damien on Dec.

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REDONDO BEACH, Ca. – The host Redondo Union Sea Hawks, along with Oakland Bishop O’Dowd and Torrance Bishop Montgomery, were the winners Friday night during the opening of the two-day, fifth annual Take Flight Challenge.

The event wraps up on Saturday, with six games that begin at noon (Compton vs. L.A. Windward) and wrap up with an 8 p.m. clash between two of the strongest squads in the CIF Southern Section, Santa Margarita and Eastvale Roosevelt.

Friday evening the squad from Oakland broke out to an big early lead as junior guard Naseem Gaskin hit all five of his first-quarter shots – the first four of those coming from the arc – against the Lynwood Knights.

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LA VERNE, Ca. – The Mater Dei High Monarchs turned in a near-impeccable second half Friday night to knock off the host school’s squad, 82-63, in the Gold Division championship game of the first-ever Classic at Damien tournament.

Junior point guard Spencer Freedman was the division’s Most Valuable Player and was joined on the 18-player all-tournament team by three Mater Dei teammates, seniors Justice Sueing and Matt Weyand, and junior Harrison Butler.

Capturing the two other division championships in the 48-team event were Vista in the Silver (60-52 over Woodland Hills Taft) and Hesperia in the Bronze (38-33 over La Canada).

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LAGUNA NIGUEL, Ca. — The first part of the 2016-17 high school hoops season – the pre- and post-Christmas tournaments – is officially a wrap.

It’s now time to dive full-bore league campaigns with the “showcase” events scattered among them – Part II – before mid-February thru March when Part III (the playoffs) get underway.

Along with league play this week, there are a spattering of solid non-league matchups on hand, as well as “showcase events”, including the Take Flight Classic (Redondo High/Friday and Saturday), Sierra Canyon Super Showcase (Sierra Canyon High/Saturday), the Coach Dwan Hurt Cavalier Classic (Gardena Serra High/Saturday) and the Westchester Challenge (Westchester High/Saturday).

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