Frank Burlison

LAGUNA NIGUEL – Twenty members of the updated BurlisonOnBasketball Southern California Top 30 boys’ teams are among the 128 squads set to play in the 7^th annual Classic at Damien, which tips off Tuesday morning and runs through Saturday evening.

Games will be played in the Athletic and Event Centers on the Damien campus in La Verne, as well as on other near-by campuses.

First-round action in the Silver, Bronze, Green, Copper, and Iron divisions begins Tuesday morning, with the Platinum, Gold, and Diamond divisions — which include 19 of the teams in the Top 30 — following Wednesday.

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LAS VEGAS — The Downey St. Pius X/St. Matthias High boys’ basketball team needed three significant second-half comebacks to earn its way into the Thursday evening Platinum Division championship game of the 12^th Tarkanian Classic.

But once they got there, the Warriors wasted little time in exerting their collective will on things, going on a 10-zip blitz to start things en route to their 89-79 victory over Scottsdale Desert Mountain at Bishop Montgomery High.

The wire-to-wire victory capped a remarkable week for Coach Donte Archie’s team, which improved to 8-1 following wins over Henderson (NV) Coronado, Sandy (UT) Alta, San Diego St.

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LAS VEGAS – Downey’s St. Pius X/St. Matthias squad is “next up” Thursday evening at Bishop Gorman High in the queue to take its pop at defending the basketball savant that is Scottsdale (AZ) Desert Mountain’s Kaden House.

And the thing is, the Warriors — while playing House & Co. in the 12^th Tarkanian Classic Platinum Division title game at 4:30 — could do a better job at it than any of the Wolves’ first 10 opponents have done yet still fail to contain him and knock off his team.

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LAS VEGAS – Backcourt play decided outcomes — and provided the “wow” factor — on Tuesday’s second day of the high school edition of the 12^th Tarkanian Classic, at and near Bishop Gorman High.

San Diego St. Augustine (55-52 over Las Vegas Arbor View), Downey St. Pius X/St. Matthias (81-69 against Sandy/UT Alta), Scottsdale/AZ (toppling the host Gaels, 81-65) and NorCal’s Ross Branson (via a 76-68 decision over Ft. Lauderdale Calvary Christian Academy) each collected Platinum Division second-round wins on Bishop Gorman’s main gymnasium floor.

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LAS VEGAS — The Ft. Lauderdale Calvary Christian High boys’ basketball team rallied — in decisive fashion — to collect one of the eight first-day victories in the Platinum Division of the 12^th Tarkanian Classic Monday at Bishop Gorman High.

Southern California-based powerhouse Corona Centennial led the Eagles 22-5 after the first quarter before being outscored over the final 24 minutes by 26 points as the team from Florida pulled off the upset, 55-46, and moved into Tuesday’s second round against another California squad.

Five-foot-eleven freshman point guard Cayden Daughtry — who turned 14 years old last April 9 — directed the stunning comeback while scoring 16 points (including seven consecutive free throws) and handling all defensive pressure the Huskies threw at him with equal elements of calm and efficiency.

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