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LAGUNA NIGUEL, Ca. – There was only the slightest of tweaking near the top of the second BurlisonOnBasketball 2015-16 Southern California prep team rankings.

And the top-ranked team remained just as firmly entrenched at No. 1.

Chino Hills’ point guard-supreme Lonzo Ball, his two younger brothers, a first cousin and some other gifted teammates averaged 108.4 points while sprinting past five opponents in a very tough “The Battle Zone” Tournament at Corona Centennial High last week.

Sliding up a spot to No. 2 are Coach Doug Mitchell’s Bishop Montgomery Knights, by way of their capturing the Trevor Ariza Tourney at L.A.

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CHICAGO – Saturday’s second day of the fourth Chicago Elite Classic in the University of Illinois-Chicago Pavilion covered six games and nine-plus hours – and a healthy helping of impressive individual performances, a stunning sequence to send a game into overtime and an over-powering team effort.

In order, those were:

*Six-foot-seven Duke-bound St. Louis Chaminade High’s Jayson Tatum more than “stuffed” a stat line:

He choked it.

Tatum, conservatively one of the three best players in the Class of 2016, scored 40 points with 11 rebounds, seven assists (and six turnovers), three blocked shots and two steals to help his team win in overtime over Lithonia (GA) Miller Grove, 86-77.

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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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