SANTA ANA, Calif. - Mater Dei High School's big college three came up big in a game that lived up to all billing, an 82-76 win over Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) in the best game of the 15th annual Nike Extravaganza Saturday night.
Tyler Lamb (0) was relentless going to the basket.
Photo by Louis Lopez
Tyler Lamb, signed for UCLA, did everything with 26 points, seven rebounds and three steals.
Arizona State-bound Keala King was dynamic with 21 points, seven rebounds and four assists and Cal-signee Gary Franklin added 17, including six free throws in the final one minute, 14 seconds.
As good as they were, the key for the Monarchs (22-1), No. 6 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 national rankings, was the 3-point shooting of Max Hooper, who drilled 4 of 6 and finished with 14 points.
With all the great attackers to the basket that Mater Dei has - King and Lamb in particular - "It was like Hooper opened the red sea," Franklin said.
Bishop Gorman (23-2) got a superlative performance by one of the country's top sophomores, Shabazz Muhammed with 29 points, Anson Winder had 21 and Johnathan Lloyd 18.
Muhammed, a strong but fluid 6-5, 195-pound forward, scored on a varity of shots and dunks in the lane, but then delivered an off-balance 3-pointer with 39.2 seconds left, cutting the lead to .78-73 with 39.2 seconds left.
But Katin Reinhardt and Franklin drilled two free throws each sandwiched between a 3-pointer by Loyd and the Monarchs had survived a major scare
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Gorman's Anson Winder battles a strong Mater Dei defense.
Photo by Louis Lopez
"I'm really glad we scheduled these guys because this is the kind of team we'll see from here on out," Franklin said.
The feelings were mutual in that regard. Lloyd, a 5-10 senior point guard who led everyone with five assists.
"We won't see anyone like this in 'Vegas or Nevada," he said. "We competed hard and played right with them but I think they just have a little more experience. We were fighting up hill all game."
Mater Dei coach Gary McKnight, who recently became California's all-time winningest coach, said his team played too much individually in the first half and yet held a 34-29 lead.
It wasn't until the Monarchs started feeding Hooper in the second half did they start playing to his liking.
The Monarchs held a slim 47-42 lead when Lamb threw down a dunk off a feed from Franklin and after a Muhammed jump hook, Hooper drained back-to-back 3 pointers, giving the Monarchs their first double-digit lead, 55-44.
"When he's connecting on 3s were a much better team," McKnight said. "He opens a lot of lanes."
Mater Dei's Keala King had 21 points and seven rebounds.
Photo by Louis Lopez
Mater Dei 18 16 25 23 - 82
Bishop Gorman 14 15 22 25 - 76
MATER DEI (22-1): Tyler Lamb 11-19 4-5 26, Gary Franklin 3-13 9-11 17, Katin Reinhardt 0-3 2-2 2, Max Hooper 5-7 0-1 14, Tommy Stangl 0-2 0-0 0, David Brown 0-1 2-2 2, Keala King 6-10 8-11 21. Totals 25-55 25-32 82.
BISHOP GORMAN (23-2): Roscoe Allen 2-3 0-2 4, Timmy Carter 1-1 0-0 2, Shabazz Muhammed 10-16 8-9 29, Taylor Spencer 0-3 0-0 0, Anson Winder 4-12 13-15 21, Xavier Grimble 1-1 0-0 2, Johnathan Lloyd 7-13 2-2 18, Alex Turner 0 0-2 0. Totals 25-49 23-30 76.
3-point goals: Franklin 2, Hooper 4, King, Muhammed, Lloyd 2. Rebounds: Mater Dei 23 (King 7), Gorman 30 (Winder 9). Assists: Mater Dei 13 (Franklin 4), Gorman 8 (Lloyd 5). Turnovers: Mater Dei 9, Gorman 18.
Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.) 79, Fairfax (Los Angeles) 51
If the Wildcats play anything near like they did in the first half, they should have a good chance to repeat as Georga 5A state champs.
Wheeler put on a basketball clinic, showing an equally effective inside-and-out game and willingness to share the ball.
Eventually, they were led by their two offensive senior stars, 6-6 swingman and Memphis-bound Jelan Kendrick (16 points, seven rebounds) and 5-10 point guard Phil Taylor (15 points, two steals), who has signed to Florida International.
But the Wildcats (18-4) got loads of other contributions. Including 10 points each from Chuck Mitchell, a 6-8 sophomore, Joey Jerome, a 6-5 senior, and Derrick Frye, a 6-4 sophomore.
Kendrick and Taylor combined to take just 23 shots, five others took at least five shots and Wheeler made 31 of 55 overall (56 percent). The Wildcats also outrebounded the Lions by 11.
“We have to get better to repeat and this was a good start toward that,” said soft-spoken Wheeler coach Doug Lipscomb, who has led the Wildcats to five state crowns in 18 years. “The kids of done a good job of sacrificing personal glory for the good of the team.”
Granted, Fairfax (13-10) isn’t the national power they’ve been previous years, but they are athletic enough and well-coached enough to present some problems.
Not against the Wildcats on this night.
“We came a long way and wanted to show people out west we play pretty good out east,” Kendrick said.
Said Taylor: “A lot of our guys haven’t been out here before. We had a good rest before we came out and I think that helped.”
Wheeler’s last game was Tuesday and they flew into Orange County on Friday.
Jordan Weathers had 19 points to lead Fairfax and teammate Donte McFrazier added 13.
Wheeler 79, Fairfax 51
FAIRFAX (13-10): Reggie Theus 1-2 1-2 3, Raymond Barry 4-12 0-0 8, Jordan Weathers 8-20 2-5 19, Donte McFrazier 4-10 2-2 13, Drew Howard 0-2 0-0 0, Ashton Edwars 1-4 0-0 3, Dondre Coleman 1-1 0-0 2, Ollie Mills 0-1 0-1 0, Amari Mundy 0-1 0-0 0, Brett Price 1-1 0-0 3, Laik Carter 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 20-55 5-9 51.
WHEELER (18-4): Jelan Kendrick 7-12 1-5 16, Derrick Evans 0-0 2-2 2, Joey Jerome 2-6 6-7 10, Karl Cochran 1-5 0-0 3, Phil Taylor 6-1 0-0 15, Alex Arnold 1-1 0-0 3, Derrick Frye 5-7 0-1 10, K.K. Simmons 2-5 1-2 5, Chevelan Pearson 0-1 0-0 0, Tevin Reeves 1-1 0-0 3, Sam Glover 1-1 0-0 2, Chuck Mitchell 5-5 0-2 10. Totals 31-55 9-17 79.
Fairfax 10 18 11 12 - 51
Wheeler 21 24 16 18 - 79
3-point goals: Weathers, McFrazier 3, Edwards, Price, Kendrick, Cochran, Taylor 3, Arnold, Simmons, Reeves. Rebounding: Fairfax 27 (3 tied with 4), Wheeler 38 (Frye 8). Assists: Fairfax 7, Wheeler 13 (Simmons 4). Turnovers: Fairfax 17, Wheeler 13.
Ocean View 83, Orange Lutheran 67
Anthony Brown and Avery Johnson both said losing in last season's state title game was the most painful experience on a basketball court.
They vow not to feel it again.
The Seahawks (22-3), ranked 15th in the state by MaxPreps, looked certainly in the second half they are ready for a state-title run, especially Brown and Johnson who combined for 62 points in a runaway victory between two up-tempo, athletic teams.
Brown, a sleek, 6-7, 190-pound guard headed to Stanford, made 12 of 17 shots, including four of six on 3-pointers en route to a game-high 32 points to go along with a game-high 12 rebounds.
Johnson, a strong 6-3 guard who is receiving strong interest from Oregon, Boston College, Portland, Pacific and UC Riverside, added 30 points on a variety of slashing drives.
The duo were also perfect from the line, coming on 11 straight free throws.
“The moment we lost that game (to Sacred Heart Cathedral) our single goal was to get back to the game and win it,” Brown said. “This was a good opportunity to play a strong athletic team before we go into the post season.”
The Seahawks have had few competitive games in league play, so they looked a little rusty early on. Orange Lutheran (17-7), which got 17 each from James Douglas and Tyler Funk and 15 from Gabe York, stayed close during a sluggish first half, trailing just 27-22.
But Ocean View got into passing lanes, forced 21 turnovers and scored 56 points in the second half, making 21 of 31 shots (67.7 percent).
The one-two punch of Johnson and Brown was just way too much. They almost outscored the Lancers by themselves.
“When (Brown) scores like he did tonight it takes a ton of pressure off of me,” Johnson said.
Said Brown: “We’ve been playing together for four years now so it’s like I can close my eyes and know exactly where (Johnson) is. At halftime, I told him he and I needed to take over the game and that’s what we did.”
Ocean View 83, Orange Lutheran 67
OCEAN VIEW (22-3): Steven Yoon 3-3 1-1 7, Aaron Delgado 0-6 0-0 0, Billy Keller 2-6 0-0 5, Chris Martinez 1-2 0-0 2, Avery Johnson 11-20 7-7 30, Brown 12-17 4-4 32, Christian Rivera 0-2 0-0 0, Ryan Okwudibonye 3-6 1-2 7. Totals 32-62 12-14 83.
ORANGE LUTHERAN (17-7): 8-12 1-3 17, Tyler Funk 5-9 6-6 17, Dylan Rice 2-7 1-1 5, Payton Banks 3-4 0-0 7, Mason Hahn 1-4 2-2 4, Jared Carver 0-1 0-0 0, Gabe York 6-16 2-3 15, Scott Baron 1-3 0-1 2. Totals 26-56 12-16 67.
3-point goals: Yoon, Keller, Johnson, Brown 4, Funk, Banks, York. Rebounds: Ocean View 39 (Brown 12), Orange Lutheran (3 tied with 4). Assists: Ocean View (Keller 4), Orange Lutheran 10 (Funk 3). Turnovers: Ocean View 23, Orange Lutheran 21.
