Frank Burlison

LAS VEGAS – Sunday’s final day of The Border League competition had plenty of down-to-the-wire games, as well as the usual dose of high-octane individual talent.

The last two games of the event, coming in the “Showcase” category of contests at host Coronado High in Henderson, illustrated those points succinctly.

*Utah Prep, getting 28 points from the top scorer in high school or prep school hoops (6-foot-8 senior A.J. Dybansta), built a 16-point advantage in the second half before holding off Miami Columbus and the dynamic Boozer Twins, 72-68.

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LAS VEGAS – Three California-based boys’ basketball programs that will play in the Dec. 26-30 Classic at Damien will try to win divisional championships on Sunday’s final day of The Border League.

Players representing Los Alamitos, Anaheim Canyon and Clovis North earned the title slots with two wins apiece on Saturday in gymnasiums across the city.

The event is headquartered at Coronado High in Henderson.

It wraps up early Sunday evening with high-profile “national” matchups that will be televised by the ESPN networks, with Bellflower’s St.

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HENDERSON, NV – Players representing the four boys’ basketball teams that could sit atop the pre-season CIF Southern Section ratings split their openers on Friday’s first day of The Border League at Coronado High.

Since the California State Federation office is playing hard (basketball)ball this fall, state section programs aren’t allowed to participate in “fall” competition under the names of their high schools.

But the players are not in “club” situations but are playing with all of their respective high school teammates and being led by their respective coaches.

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COLORADO SPRINGS – The three-day, USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Minicamp wrapped up early Sunday evening with a display of just how tough it is for some of the best freshmen and sophomores in the country to hang tough against guys just one and two years older.

In the final competition, the Class of 2025 and ’26 camp team that came out in top of the three days of scrimmaging knock off its ’27 and ’28 counterpart in a 10-minute showdown, 24-10, at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center.

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COLORADO SPRINGS – Saturday’s second day in the USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Minicamp provided four and a half hours of some of the better high school players in the country to display their skill and feel for the game in front of USA BB coaches, NBA scouting personnel and media/scouting service-types.

And here are the non-Western-based athletes, in each of the classes, that most impressed me Saturday during the two sessions (the first for players in the Classes of 2028 and ’27; the second for ’26 and ’25) at the U.S.

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