Frank Burlison

CHICAGO – The first night of the fourth Chicago Elite Classic couldn’t have ended in more spectacular fashion in the University of Illinois-Chicago Pavilion Friday.

With his Maine South team trailing Chicago Loyola Academy by two points, Jon Arenas was fouled while missing a potential tying shot with 4.1 seconds remaining in regulation.

Arenas swished the first team and everyone watching – and, probably, playing as well – had the “we’re going to overtime” feeling hit them.

Arenas’ second attempt, however, had other ideas.

Arenas missed the tying try but the ball was batted out of bands with officials ruling that it had come off a Loyola player’s hand.

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CHICAGO – For the fourth consecutive first December weekend, the Chicago Elite Classic will provide a nice window from which to gaze Illinois – and beyond – high school basketball.

Nine high school games will be played over about 28 hours of Friday and Saturday in the University of Illinois-Chicago Pavilion.

T hose start with the 6 p.m. (CT) tip to the Friday contest between Oak Park schools River Forest and Fenwick and concluding the 8 o’clock tilt Saturday night between Chicago powers Whitney Young and Simeon.

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LAGUNA NIGUEL, Ca. – It was a compelling Saturday night for Southern California high school basketball – including one game that was played in the northern part of the state.

*Chatsworth Sierra Canyon, just behind Chino Hills in the BurlisonOnBasketball preseason Top 25, frittered a second-half, 12-point advantage away and lost to Hayward Moreau Catholic, 60-59, during the Prep2Prep Tip-Off Classic at Newark Memorial High.

*Back in Southern California, proper, the host Redondo Union Seahawks pulled away down the stretch to knock off Long Beach Poly, 64-49, in a rematch of the 2014 finale (won by Poly) during the 64^th Dijon Thompson/Pac Shores Tournament.

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REDONDO BEACH, Ca. – The Redondo Union and Long Beach Poly programs will hook up in the championship game of the Dijon Thompson/Pac Shores Tournament Saturday night at 7:30 at Redondo High – for the second year in a row.

The Jackrabbits knocked off the Seahawks – in overtime – last Nov. 29, 63-61.

Zafir Williams scored 28 points for Poly and was selected the event’s Most Outstanding Player.

The 6-foot-6 junior scored 26 to help his team knock off Eastvale Roosevelt, 55-48, Friday night to earn the Jackrabbits’ spot in the Saturday night finale.

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NEWARK, Ca. – The ninth Prep2Prep Tip-Off – with seven games being served on the Thanksgiving Weekend platter – gets underway Saturday morning at 11 o’clock at Newark Memorial High.

Five of the games are “NorCal vs. NorCal” matchups, with the exceptions being the Sacramento Sheldon vs. Carlsbad Army-Navy (in San Diego County) at 3:45 p.m. and, in the 8:30 finale, Hayward Moreau Catholic vs. Chatsworth (in the San Fernando Valley) Sierra Canyon.

Sierra Canyon returns five starters from the team that won the California State Division V title last March in Berkeley.

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