Torrey Pines Holiday Classic: Live updates, recaps from first round of National Division
(Lead photo by Justin Fine)
SAN DIEGO, Calif.-- Bracket play in the 32nd annual Torrey Pines Holiday Classic tipped off on Tuesday morning at five sites across the San Diego Section.
Follow for live updates from the first day of the National Division below.
Game 1: La Costa Canyon (Carlsbad, Calif.) 85, Clayton Valley Charter 60 (Concord, Calif.) (American Division)
La Costa Canyon caught fire during the first half of the opening game, connecting on ten three-pointers. Senior guard Christian Brown, who was a 1st team All-San Diego Section selection following his junior campaign, led the way with 22 first half points.
The Mavericks offense kept rolling in the second half as Brown finished with 33 points, leading La Costa Canyon to a 25-point win.
Game 2: St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) 68, Torrey Pines (San Diego, Calif.) 67
Several flight cancellations over the Holiday weekend led to many late bracket changes. St. Edward (Lakewood, Ohio) was unable to fly across the country leading to the addition of St. John Bosco. The Braves were scheduled to play in Arkansas until cancelled flights kept them in Southern California.
The host Falcons jumped on top early, leading by eight after one quarter and by seven points at the half. St. John Bosco senior guard DeLyle Williams scored eight of his 13 points in the third quarter, giving the Braves a 51-50 lead after three quarters.
Torrey Pines junior forward Zach Jackson split a pair of free throws to give the Falcons a 67-66 lead with just under 30 seconds remaining in the game. The Braves ran the clock down leading to a three-point attempt by Mateo Duran in the final seconds. His shot went long, leading to an offensive rebound by DeLyle Williams. Williams immediately swished his jumpshot attempt, giving the Braves a 68-67 lead with eight-tenths of a second remaining.
- Watch Williams' game-winner here
Following a timeout, Torrey Pines' half court attempt came up short, completing St. John Bosco's comeback.
Game 3: Dougherty Valley (San Ramon, Calif.) 70, O'Dea (Seattle, Wash.) 58
Following a cancelled flight out of Seattle on Monday morning, O'Dea boarded a bus and made the 20-hour trek to San Diego, arriving just prior to tipoff. However, four minutes into the game, it was Dougherty Valley who looked like they'd been stuck traveling on a bus all night.
The Wildcats quickly turned things around, erupting for 21 points over the final few minutes of the first quarter to lead 21-17. San Francisco-bound guard Ryan Beasley kept the momentum going, banking in a half court shot at the halftime buzzer for an eight-point lead.
O'Dea struggled from three-point range throughout the night, knocking down only one shot from deep until the closing moments of the game. Dougherty Valley held strong throughout the second half as O'Dea was unable to cut the Wildcats lead to less than six.
Beasley led all scorers with 37 points while O'Dea junior big man Miles Goodman led the Fighting Irish with 11.
Game 4: Eastside Catholic (Sammamish, Wash.) 60, Fairfax (Los Angeles, Calif.) 58
Eastside Catholic and Fairfax went back-and-forth for four quarters with neither team able to extend the lead to more than seven points. The Crusaders led by three points at the half but a strong third quarter by Fairfax in which they grabbed the lead four different times, led to a 45-45 game after three quarters.
Eastside Catholic junior Jacob Cofie made his presence known in the final quarter, scoring 11 of his game-high 37 points. Fairfax, trailing by four points and out of timeouts, got a jumpshot by Nile Ebi at the buzzer, cutting the final deficit to 60-58.
- Check out Cofie's 37-point performance here
- Check out Cofie's postgame interview here
Game 5: JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) 52, Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) 42
Tied at halftime and the end of 3, this one was nick and tuck throughout. But down the stretch, Game MVP Sebastian Rancik (17 points) and Aidan Fowler (16) made the biggest played as the Lions (12-1) handed the shorthanded Monarchs (6-1) their first defeat.
Fowler, a lightning quick guard, did most of his damage in the fourth quarter with half of his points.
JSerra looked in control up eight in the fourth quarter, but Mitty, missing Princeton-bound wing Derek Sangster (broken wriest) kept coming back. A pair of 3-pointers by Dartmouth-bound Gavin Ripp closed the gap to 52-50.
A Mitty steal gave the Monarchs the chance for a tie or win. Tyler Jones (13 points) drove in past two defenders and seemed to have an uncontested layup, but instead sent a pass to Max Scharpf for a wide-open 3 and the lead. It rimmed out, Rancik rebounded and was fouled. His two free throws with 4.3 seconds left sealed it.
Both teams were supposed to play other opponents but because of flight problems throughout the region, the two got matched up. Mitty's Monday flight was cancelled and instead they made the seven-hour bus ride.
"We took it as a challenge," said Fowler. "That's a really good and well-coached team. This will definitely help prepare us for the Trinity League. It was a fun game."
"My job is to get my teammates involved first. But if I have shots I'm going to take it. If I need to take over the game at the end that's my job too. To make sure we pull out the win."
Game 6: St. John's (Washington DC) 75, Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland, Calif.) 36
If not A big enough challenge to face the powerful and unbeaten Cadets, O'Dowd had its Monday flight cancelled. The Dragons fought traffic and arrived just prior to facing one of the top teams in the country.
The Dragons (3-5) hung around for about six minutes before the high-flying Cadets were on their way to the lopsided win behind 15 points from the nation's No. 15th-ranked junior guard Daquan Davis Jr. and nine by Jonathan Barton.
A 21-6 run in the second quarter gave the Comets (9-0) a 38-15 lead. Amos Hodgson had 11 points and Miles Burrows 10 for the Dragons.
Game 7: San Ysidro (San Diego) 105, Monterey Trail (Elk Grove, Calif.) 100
The following of Mikey Williams and new running mate JJ Taylor is unmistakable and on a Tuesday night, the duo packed the Torrey Pines gym once more.
Both teams did not disappoint.
In what is believed to be the first time two top division teams each scored triple digits in the same Holiday Classic game, a game that featured 74 baskets made, it was two free throws each in the final 23 seconds by Taylor and Williams that clinched the win for the Cougars (7-3).
The Memphis-bound duo combined for 55 points, with Player of the Game Taylor going for 35. San Ysidro needed much more to offset the huge games from Varick Lewis (34 points) and Brandon Gibson (27) for Monterey Trail (4-6).
Andrei Tovar and Gerardo Guerrero had 16 apiece and Ty Ingram 12 for San Ysidro, which scored 25, 28, 24 and 28 in each quarter. Kentrell Kelly added 17 and Kam Manning-Fuimaono 12 for Monterey Trail, which exploded for 31 in the fourth quarter but it wasn't quite enough.
Even though the game was tight, San Ysidro always felt in control. But the Mustangs never backed down from
Game 8: De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) 63, Coronado (Henderson, Nev.) 35
The bad news for the Spartans was that their flight was cancelled Monday, so they had to drive to San Diego, a 7-hour jaunt. "We got in at 1 a.m.," De La Salle coach Marcus Schroeder. "It was a grind."
The good news for the Spartans: They got the last game of the day, an 8:30 p.m. tip off.
De La Salle took advantage of the extra time with an absolute clinic on defense and execution, beating one of the most talented teams in Nevada. Billy Haggerty had 18 points, Evans Wells 13 and Alec Blair with 11.
After giving up 13 in the first quarter, De La Salle allowed single-digit tallies the rest of the way. This against a team that features UCLA bound Sebastian Mack, major D1 recruit Tee Bartlett, a 6-10 sophomore center, and dynamic junior guard Josiah Cunningham.
Cunningham had 13 points, Mack and Bartlett combined for four.
"We played very well, no question," Schroeder said. "(Coronado) is very good. We're starting to really click defensively, even offensively. We're very pleased."
