Video: Highlights of Damari Milstead and Kyree Walker
The Moreau Catholic (Hayward, Calif.) duo combined for 56 points in a MLK Classic victory on Monday.
MORAGA, Calif. — The following are game results from the 20th annual MaxPreps/De La Salle Martin Luther King Jr. Classic, this year taking place at St. Mary's College.
Among the California schools participating are defending state champions Manteca (Division III) and Harvard-Westlake (Division IV), which features one of the top sophomores in the country, Cassius Stanley.
Check in throughout the day for live updates, game stories, quotes, photos and video highlights.
If you want to watch live pay-per-view broadcast of all the games, click on the following link to watch and listen to Pat O'Rourke and his crew.
CLICK HERE.
Graphic by Social Recluse Graphx/MaxPreps photographers
Live results and game times:
De La Salle (Concord) Spartans 43, Harvard-Westlake (Studio City) Wolverines 41
One
of the state's most sought-after sophomores Cassius Stanley pulled down
a rebound, dribbled the length of the court and sent down a soaring, picturesque dunk.
It was what many of the fans who arrived at McKeon Pavilion came to see.
Unfortunately for them, it was delivered with 0.8 seconds to play and was largely uncontested. And it was too little, too late.
See live play-by-play scoring from entire game
Stanley finished with a game-high 16 points, it was De La Salle that
displayed its own artistry with an impressive win over the defending state Division IV champions.
After
sluggish start and 8-0 deficit, the Spartans (11-4) played nearly
perfect — especially in the second half — while getting 15 points from
Justin Pratt, 13 by Eric Headley, nine from Connor O'Dea and seven
points and 15 rebounds by 6-6, 230-pound forward Emeka Udenyi.
It
made a winner out of first-year coach and former De La Salle player
Justin Argenal, making his Bay Area debut on a large stage, or in this
case court. 
Guard Colby Orr (14) drives down the lane for De La Salle.
Photo by Todd Shurtleff
The Spartans didn't take the lead until the
second half behind Pratt, who made 6-of-8 shots and Headley, who made
6-of-9. De La Salle worked the ball around beautifully before making
interior shots. Udenyi, a remarkably nimble player for his size,
controlled the paint.
No one other than Stanley had more than
seven for Harvard-Westlake (12-6), which played without star 6-7
freshman Johnny Juzang, the team's second leading scorer and leading
rebounder. He was out with a finger injury.
"I think we have a chance to be very good," Argenal said. "We had a lot of adversity early in the season and we lost to some very good teams. This was a big step forward." 
Cassius Stanley, Harvard-Westlake
Photo by Todd Shurtleff
Justin Pratt, De La Salle/Muscle Milk Player of the Game.
Photo by Todd Shurtleff
Cassius Stanley, Harvard-Westlake/Muscle Milk Player of the Game.
Photo by Todd Shurtleff
How sweet it was for the Cougars (9-7), who took control from the start and command by the third quarter and never let up.
Zachary Chappell, a do-everything 6-foot-5 junior, led the scoring onslaught
with 24 points, while
Conor Jeffery and
Trey Jones contributed 22
each and
Austin Alexander pitched in 19.
It is believed to be
the highest point total ever scored against O'Dowd, which defeated
Capital Christian soundly in two previous meetings, including 86-60 in
the MLK Classic at Haas Pavilion in 2014. The Dragons also had their way
with the Cougars during summer league.
See live play-by-play scoring of entire game
Chappell said he plays
with O'Dowd standouts
Elijah Hardy (13 points, seven rebounds) and
Naseem Gaskin (28 points) for the Oakland Soldiers' AAU team. On top of
everything, O'Dowd's football team eliminated Capital Christian in
regional playoff action in Dec.
"There was a lot of fire going
into the game," Chappell said. "We'd never beaten them before in
basketball, so it feels good to finally do that. ... There were a lot of
bragging rights going on tonight."
Austin Alexander (24) had 19 points for Capital Christian in big win over Bishop O'Dowd on Monday.
Photo by Todd Shurtleff
O'Dowd coach Lou Richie had
warned his team - and the media - that Capital Christian is the most
talented team in Northern California coming into the game.
The
Cougars played like it also getting 13 points from 6-8 freshman
Kendall Munson. Capital Christian dominated both offensive and defensive
rebounding, plus it got a huge game from Jeffery, who four
three-pointers and scored 16 points in the second and third quarters.
"(Jeffery)
really hurt us tonight," Richie said. "And we hurt ourselves with
missed dunks, missed free throws, traveling and we didn't play any
defense or rebound. We're definitely not an Open Division team right
now. We're just a good Division III team that needs a lot of work.
"But kudos to Capital Christian. They are an extremely talented team and they put it all together tonight."
Said
Chappell, who opened the season with a 38-point explosion during a win
over Alemany: "We had a good turnout tonight and they came a long way.
We didn't want to let them down."
The Cougars surely didn't do that.
Zachary Chappell, Capital Christian/Muscle Milk Player of the Game.
Photo by Todd Shurtleff
Austin Alexander, Bishop O'Dowd/Muscle Milk Player of the Game.
Photo by Todd Shurtleff
Even
though he scored nearly 75 percent of his team's points, Salesian
junior James Akinjo was besides himself after the Pride (15-3), the Bay
Area's top-ranked team, won their ninth straight game.
"He'll be mad that he missed his free throws," Salesian coach Bill Mellis said. "That's just James. He's a perfectionist."
The 6-foot point guard missed four free throws in the fourth quarter, but he also made eight and finished with 29 points, about three times of any player in the game, a sluggish, defensive affair.
See live play-by-play scoring of entire game
Akinjo
made five three-pointers, was 7-of-13 from the field overall and
10-for-14 from the line. The rest of the Pride scored 16 points and made
just four baskets.
"I can't believe I missed those free throws," Akinjo said. "I need to help my team better than that."
James Akinjo, Salesian
Photo by Todd Shurtleff
Alpha Okoli scored 10 points - all in the
second half - to pace St. John Bosco (10-9) which jumped to a 6-0 lead.
Makani Whiteside, a terrific 6-3 sophomore, and Fernando Gomez each had eight points for the Braves.
"A
lot (of Salesian's offensive woes) had to do with (Bosco's) defense,"
Mellis said. "Those guys are really big and strong and good. ...
Sometimes you have to win with defense when the offense isn't clicking."
Luckily
Okinjo was. He said he worked most of the offseason on his outside
shooting. He has offers from Colorado, Texas A&M, San Jose State and
Montanta.
"That hard work is paying off," he said. "I like
playing in big gyms like this too. It's something I'll have to get used
to hopefully." 
James Akinjo, Salesian/Muscle Milk Player of the Game.
Todd Shurtleff
Alpha Okoli, St. John Bosco/Muscle Milk Player of the Game.
Photo by Todd Shurtleff
Highly-touted
Moreau freshman Kyree Walker has been playing basketball at a high
level since he was 7-years-old. The 6-6 wing, who scored 20 points and
collected nine rebounds in a thorough win over Jesuit, has seen a lot of basketball.
He's learning loads from teammate Damari Milstead.
The
6-3 point guard scored 36 points and added seven rebounds and six
assists as the Mariners (7-9), who play a national schedule, won their
third straight. It was off from his career high of 44 points in a 96-88 overtime loss to Mitty the second game of the year.
"I
can't imagine a better teammate," said Walker, who had three
high-flying dunks to go along with variety of slicing moves and
fastbrook hoops. "He knows the game so well. He gets us all involved.
And he's a great person too."
So what he did Monday — make 13 of
20 shots including five 3-pointers — wasn't anything special? Milstead, a
Grand Canyon U came in averaging 23.3 points, 4.9 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game.
See live scoring from this game
Milstead's performance helped offset big games from Jesuit's Isaiah Rutherford, an impressive 6-2 freshman who had 20 points, and Matthew Ehrlich (15 points).
"I mean, (Milstead) was really good, but he's always really good," Walker said.
Damari Milstead, Moreau Catholic
Photo by Todd Shurtleff
"He's
way mature for his age on and off the court," Milstead said. "He really
sees the court. When I leave, he'll definitely be a point guard with
us."
Walker and Milstead agreed Monday's game was one of Moreau's best, but still in the "B" range.
"We got off to a slow start this year getting to know each other," Milstead said. "We're getting there slowly but surely. It's not how you start but how you finish and I expect us to be there in the end."
Milstead was finishing plenty on Monday. He said he loves playing at McKeon, noting he scored 36 in the North Coast Section finals last season against Miramonte.
"I love the big stage and the big court," Milstead said. "It gets my blood flowing." 
Kyree Walker, Salesian
Photo by Todd Shurtleff
DaMari Milstead, Moreau/Muscle Milk Player of the Game.
Photo by Todd Shurtleff
Isaiah Rutherford, Jesuit/Muscle Milk Player of the Game.
Photo by Todd Shurtleff
The first game of the day could very well turn out to the be the best.
Kyle Bolding, a reserve guard scoreless through three quarters, made a driving layup at the buzzer, lifting Manteca, the defending state Division III champion, to the thrilling overtime victory.
See living scoring from this game
Bolding was utterly overshadowed throughout by head-turning performances from Rancho Mirage senior 6-foot-3 guard Charles Neal (41 points) his teammate Bryan Talley (17 points, 13 rebounds, four blocks) and Manteca's Gino Campiotti (26 points), Jorge Cedano (20 points) and Tydus Verhoeven (16 points, 15 rebounds, five blocks).
But with Neal, who averages 26 points per game, and Verhoeven, a 6-7 post who has an offer from Fresno State, both fouled out someone had to emerge a hero. The overtime see-sawed largely from the foul line. Talley had a chance to give his team lead with eight seconds left, but missed a free throw after making the first.
Manteca and Kyle Bolding (2) celebrate after Monday's big win.
Photo by Todd Shurtleff
"I was looking for the three but it wasn't open, so I just drove in and got lucky," Bolding said. "I've never made a game-winning shot at the end before. Not in high school."
The game was entertaining from the start, thanks largely to Neal, who finished with 17 field goals, including six three-pointers. The skilled guard made shots from a variety of spots. Remarkably, Neal has no college offers though a couple of college coaches talked to him afterward.
Neal said it was the first time he's ever fouled out of a game.
"It was hard to watch, but I'm proud of our guys," Neal said. "We played hard and had a great weekend trip."
Said Rancho Mirage coach Rob Hanmer: "We would have loved to pull it out, but we got exactly what we wanted from the weekend, including a hard-fought game against a really tough opponent."
Rancho Mirage, adjacent to Palm Springs, attending a pair of college games over the weekend and the Sacramento Kings-Oklahoma City game on Sunday night.
Neal was making NBA three-pointers throughout Monday's game. "He's the real deal," Bolding said. "He was real good, but we got the win. We deserved it. We battled all the way to the end."
Modesto Christian Crusaders 61, Newark Memorial (Newark) Cougars 47 
Tyler Williams, Modesto Christain
Photo by Todd Shurtleff
See complete live scoring from this game
The Crusaders looked sleepy during the 11:30 a.m. start and scored just six points in the first quarter. Murphy, a 6-7, 230-pound post, eventually got his team going with a couple of putbacks and Williams, a slashing 6-3 junior really got the team in gear with a couple of fastbreak hoops to close to 23-21 at halftime.
The Crusaders really got their fastbreak in gear late in the third quarter and took a 37-36 lead into the fourth quarter. A couple of three-pointers by Williams opened things up and the Crusaders went on a 24-11 run in the final stanza to win going away. Murphy scored three interior baskets in the fourth as well. 
Tyler Williams, Modesto Christian Muscle Milk Player of the Game.
Photo by Todd Shurtleff
Decaurey Brown, Newark Memorial Muscle Milk Player of the Game
Photo by Todd Williams
