Torrey Pines Holiday Classic: Day 3 National Division recaps — St. John's vs. St. Augustine in East-West finals
SAN DIEGO, Calif.— Follow for live updates from the third day of the National Division below. (See video highlights above from JJ Taylor's 35-point performance against Monterey Trail).
The final two games of the day are semifinal contests.
- Lead photo by Steven Silva (of St. John's guard Malik Mack)
Day 3, Game 1: Archbishop Mitty (San Jose) 68, Monterey Trail (Elk Grove) 58
Monterey Trail jumped out to a 20-15 lead after the opening quarter but saw their defense give up 23 second quarter points. Archbishop Mitty, playing without star forward Derek Sangster, made a point of getting the ball in the post.
Junior forward Gavin Ripp had his way inside during the first two quarters, scoring 18 first half points while helping the Monarchs take a 38-29 lead into the halftime break.
"I saw that I could take it down in the post and they weren’t doubling me, and I started being aggressive in the post," Ripp said.
The Monarchs entered The Holiday Classic unbeaten but dropped each of their first two games losing to JSerra and Centennial (Ariz).
Ripp found success once again in the second half, finishing with a game-high 30 points to lead the Monarchs to their first win of the tournament.
“The main thing was just playing as a team," Ripp said. "We talked it out and came together to get a win.”
Day 3, Game 2: Torrey Pines (San Diego) 60, Fairfax (Los Angeles) 43
Host school Torrey Pines entered Thursday's game on a three-game losing streak. The Falcons found success in the first half against a Fairfax team that suited up five players for the second straight day.
The Falcons jumped out to a 27-16 halftime lead behind 13 points from senior guard JJ Bartelloni.
"For us to have a bounce back game like this is really good for the chemistry and for the guys to come together and see that we can play at this level," Bartelloni said.
The six-foot-five sharpshooter has now knocked down 13 three-pointers in three games at The Holiday Classic, averaging 21 points per game.
"I’ve tried to bring that shooting mentality I have from last year and take it with everything I’ve worked on in the summer," Bartelloni added.
Day 3, Game 3: O'Dea (Seattle) 72, Centennial (Peoria, Ariz.) 58
Two days removed from an overnight bus ride from Seattle to San Diego, O'Dea has appeared to have shaken off any rust. The Fighting Irish posted a second straight dominant effort at The Holiday Classic, leading wire-to-wire against Centennial (Ariz.).
O'Dea led by 18 points at halftime following a dominant second quarter performance that included eight points from junior Noel Davis.
"Way more rthythm," Davis said of O'Dea shaking off the rust the past two games. "Just getting back out here and getting our bodies going and really getting out here and competing.”
Centennial guard Keyan Murphy helped the Coyotes briefly cut the lead to 48-43, knocking down five of his seven three-pointers in the third quarter.
Eastern Washington-bound guard Mason Williams knocked down the third of his three three-pointers in the closing seconds of the third quarter to put an end to the Coyotes run.
“I think just getting to our spots and knowing in practice what works against zones and we just came out and executed as a team," Davis said.
Davis, who combined for two three-pointers in the first two games of the tournament, knocked down five on Thursday. His team leading 21 points advances the Fighting Irish into Friday's National Division consolation championship game.
Day 3, Game 4: Coronado (Henderson, Nev.) 74, Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland, Calif.) 66
Consolation games in half empty gyms can be rough. Often times, teams can find their groove.
It's not clear if the Cougars (7-4) did so against a very scrappy O'Dowd squad (4-6). But they definitely solidified a second scorer if they didn't already know, as 6-foot-3 junior guard Josiah Cunningham had 22 points, to go with 18 from UCLA-bound Sebastian Mack and 11 from Blake Sullivan.
The Cougars sped to 25 points in the first quarter, struggled in the second quarter but found its groove after O'Dowd took a 53-52 lead late in the third quarter on a 3-pointer from Amos Hodgson (17 points) and layup from Samuel Chavarin (9) on a nice feed by Miles Burrows.
Lantz Stephenson drilled a baseline jumper, Mack hit two free throws and Coronado was on its way. It would never relinquish the lead despite 20 points from O'Dowd's Leo Chapman.
"I think we could have played a lot better with our energy," said Cunningham, selected the game's Player of the Game. "But for us to come back and get a win after losing the first game to keep that momentum going was good for us."
Asked what it will take for the Cougars to win tomorrow and eventually compete for a state title, Cunningham said: "We just need to jell together and be on the same page. We have the pieces to be really good. Sometimes we have trouble with our assignments and locking down on defense. Offensively we always seem to come together. ... Once we lock in defensively, we're going to be really, really good."
Day 3, Game 5: De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) 53, St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) 52
Struggling massively in the second half for the second game, the Spartans (10-3) pulled out a game it looked like it had fluttered away.
With no timeouts and scrambling to find a shot, Matt Daly swished a 3-pointer from right corner with 0.8 seconds to lift De La Salle to the improbable win after squandering a 20-point lead and being outscored 26-6 in the fourth quarter to that point.
A driving, hanging short-ranged bank shot by Alec Blair (16 points) cut Bosco's lead to 52-50 with 17.2 seconds left. The Spartans forced a turnover, then worked the ball around the perimeter.
Bosco, which had forced nine fourth-quarter turnovers, smothered the Spartans, who couldn't run any offense.
Daly a 6-2 guard, was trapped in the corner, passed to Billy Haggerty who was immediately trapped on the right wing. As the clock wound down to 5-4-3, Haggerty found Daly alone in the corner — his favorite spot.
He drilled the rainbow — nothing but net — setting off a wild celebration. Bosco (had one last chance, but De La Salle intercepted in the inbounds pass.
"Right when I let it go I knew it was going in," Daly said. "One hundred percent I knew it was in. No doubt in my mind."
After being outscored 29-7 in Wednesday's 55-36 loss to Eastside Catholic (Wash.), there seemed no doubt De La Salle couldn't struggle again that badly after taking a 40-22 halftime lead against Bosco.
Both teams scored just four points in the third, and then Bosco implemented a fantastic full-court press. Elzie Harrington and Kade Bonam led the Bosco charge with 14 points apiece.
The Spartans wilted. Until the end.
Video game highlights above by Paige Otto
"I've been struggling a little bit shooting the ball this year, but I had to keep trusting my work and everything I do," said Daly, who finished with just six points on two 3-pointers. "As soon as I let it go, I knew it was going in."
Said Haggerty: "He got it out to me. I knew there was a couple seconds. I threw it back to him. He works so hard. The corner three is his spot. We do that every day in practice. I trust him and he hit it. ...He's the best teammate you can ask for. He's the hardest worker on the team. He deserved this."
Day 3, Game 6: JSerra Catholic (San Juan Capistrano, Calif.) 97, San Ysidro (San Diego) 91 (OT)
Aidan Fowler said he always wanted to play against Mikey Williams. All the way back to the eighth grade.
"I wanted to go against him to see what I was about," said the 5-9 junior point guard for JSerra. "I think I proved it that I can match up against him."
Indeed he did, drilling eight 3-pointers and matching Williams for game-high honors with 34 points.
More importantly, Fowler's Lions (13-2) got the win in overtime, overcoming a 20-9 deficit at the end of the first quarter.
Like he's shown throughout the tournament, Fowler seemed to will his team, when they needed him most. He got big games from teammates Sabastian Rancik (18 points), Jake Stafford (15) and Korin Hull (13).
Williams, a 5-star guard and national phenom since his freshman season, was his usual spectacular self, hitting five 3-pointers of his own. He and fellow Memphis-signee JJ Taylor (26 points), Gerardo Guerrero (17) and Andrei Tovar (10) scored more than 90 for the second time in the tournament, but lost for the second time.
The Cougars dropped to 7-5.
Taylor fouled out early in the overtime period and JSerra took advantage. Rancik, a 6-9 wing matched up with the smooth 6-7 Taylor. Rancik ended the game with a steal and breakaway slam dunk.
Video game highlights above by Paige Otto
"It was a great, high-level atmosphere," Fowler said. "We started slow but we had to come out and punch them in the mouth. We did that the second half."
Day 3, Game 7: St. Augustine (San Diego) 62, Dougherty Valley (San Ramon, Calif.) 58
There's not many flaws with the Saints (12-2). They have a lot of offensive weapons and when they get after it on the defensive end like Thursday, holding one of the state's leading scorers, USF-bound Ryan Beasley, to 14, they are championship caliber.
They moved into Friday's title game where it will be facing the class of the tournament, the unbeaten Cadets from St. John's (Washington DC).
Jurian Dixon had 23 points to win Player of the Game award for the second straight night. He had loads of help from LoLo Rudolph (15 points) and Derrius Carter-Hollinger and Jaden Matingou, who each had nine.
"There's not one guy who can do it all," Dixon said. "We can all do it in our own way. That's what gives defenses a lot of trouble. All five guys on the court can do something that makes it tough to defend."
The Saints did a great job holding down Beasley, who had scored a combined 67 in two previous wins and last season averaged better than 30 points per game. The 5-11 guard made just four baskets, one a 3-pointer.
Backcourt mate Connor Sevilla led all scorers with 24 points and Blake Hudson added 13 for the Wildcats (12-1).
"He's good," Dixon said of Beasley. "He knows how to get down hill and he can really shoot it. It was trying to find that in-between to guard him and get him off his game a little bit."
Down 47-39 late in the third, Dougherty Valley scored eight in a hurry and 3-pointers from Sevilla and Beasley and a jumper by Hudson to tie it at 47-47.
A steal, fastbreak and a layup by Sevilla seemed to give the Wildcats the lead and all the momentum, but a clear goaltending wasn't called. "Big non-call at a big moment, but that's not why we lost," Dougherty Valley coach Mike Hansen said. "That's a really good team and we didn't play our best."
Dixon hit a jumper and had a slam during a 10-5 run to go up 57-54 with 1:40 left. Hudson made a tough driving layup to close it to 57-54 but that's as close as Dougherty Valley got.
Video game highlights above by Paige Otto
Day 3, Game 8: St. John's (Washington D.C.) 73, Eastside Catholic (Sammamish, Wash.) 60
The Cadets (11-0) displayed the best in prep basketball the first quarter, racing to a 33-11 lead. And we mean race.
St. John's appears to have a different gear then the rest of the field and they showed it, especially 6-2 junior guard Daquan Davis, who scored 16 of his team-high 23 in the nearly perfect first stanza.
"I feel we can play better," Davis said. "We came out strong but we can do a better job of finishing off the game."
Eastside Catholic (7-2), which recorded an impressive quarterfinal win over De La Salle 55-36, hung tough after the first and actually outscored the Cadets 48-40 the rest of the way.
Video game highlights above by Paige Otto
That was largely because of 4-star big man Jacob Cofie, who had 29 points and seven rebounds. Teammate Nate Krohn added 11 but they didn't nearly have enough to handle the balance, speed and strength of the Cadets, who got 14 from Malik Mack and 10 by Donovan Freeman.
St. John's now faces the hometown team, St. Augustine. Asked to compare East Coast basketball with the West Coast, Davis chose to simply focus on his region.
"Eastcoast basketball is the best basketball," he said. "We have a lot of guys coming out of the East side."
Asked what makes it better, Davis said: "Coaching plays a part in it. There's a lot of talented players on the East Coast. We have toughness. We feel like we're the underdogs."
They won't be Friday at 8:35 p.m. when they face the Saints.
