MP Holiday Classic Monday: Newark Memorial stuns No. 34 Price; No. 14 Taft holds on

SAN DIEGO - Isaiah Clark was as unlikely a hero as his team Newark Memorial was a winner Monday night in the MaxPreps Holiday Classic at Torrey Pines High School. 

The beefy 6-foot-2 reserve guard, who his coach chided for being out of shape after coming out late from the football team, made just two shots - both buzzer-beaters at the end of the third and fourth quarters - as the Cougars (9-1) stunned previously unbeaten and No. 34 Price (Los Angeles) 43-42 in a quarterfinal National Division game.

Both shots were tough leaners in the lane under heavy duress, the latter with 3.0 seconds left.

A halfcourt heave at the buzzer was no good and Newark, which trailed 18-6 early in the second quarter, moved into Tuesday's semifinals against the nation's No. 14 team Taft (Woodland Hills), a 53-46 winner over Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland).

Khion Sankey led all scorers with 20 points for the Cougars, who shot just 28 percent (14 of 50) but forced 19 free throws and wore down Price with tenacious pressure and long offensive sets.

Price, which took 16 less shots than Newark Memorial, dropped to 11-1. Sankey, meanwhile, made 10 of 11 foul shots and added 10 rebounds.

"We played their game in the first half and our game the second half," Sankey said. "It's pretty much that simple." 

And it was all Clark's game during those two critical situations, the latter when he challenged Price's Cal-bound duo of 6-6 Allen Crabbe and 6-9 Richard Solomon.

Remember, Clark is 6-2 and no high-flyer.

"We were scrambled and I was too far out to shoot so I went to the basket," said Clark, whose older brother Trae played four seasons at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo. "I saw (Solomon) so I didn't go all the way to the basket. I just leaned up against (Crabbe) and knew it was going in. I'm used to that."

Sankey confirmed that though Clark doesn't appear to be Newark's go-to guy - on appearance alone - he usually is during the toughest times.

"He's won games for us his whole life," Sankey said, referring to youth leagues as well as high school. "He's a big boy and he has a lot of confidence."

Said Newark Memorial coach Craig Ashmore: "He's a strong kid and a very good basketball player. He'd be even better with less (pounds)."

Clark's shot at the end of the third set the tone for the fourth.

The Cougars had closed to within 20-18, when Price appeared to take control back with an 11-2 run to take a 31-20 lead. Crabbe (10 points) drilled a 3-pointer in the run and Casey Trujeque finished it off with another outside jumper.

But Sankey took over, scoring the next five and after the teams exchanged a hoop, Clark hit his only other shot just before the horn as Newark closed to 33-29.

"I knew we were going to come all the way back then," Clark said. "It was just a matter of time.

A 6-0 run, started by a power layup from Sankey, who is only 6-3, and back-to-back baskets from 6-1 sophomore Casey Norris, gave the Cougars their first lead, 41-39 with 1:48 left.

Crabbe missed one of two free throws, then the front end of a one-and-one to keep Newark ahead 41-40 with 1:33 left. After Sankey missed a chip shot inside, Askia Booker fed Solomon for a slam dunk giving Price a 42-41 lead with 25 seconds left.

But after a timeout, Clark found himself with the ball and the clocking running down. His four-footer gave the Cougars the lead and after a Price timeout, the halfcourt shot wasn't close and Newark, from Bay Area, had pulled the stunner against the five-time state champions from La-La land.

"Everyone thinks teams from Northern California are weak, so this is a great win," Sankey said.

The victory was particulary stunning considering how it started.

With a huge size advantage, Solomon scored 11 points in the first quarter, on a pair of dunks, a 3-pointer, a power move and two free throws. Crabbe also drilled a 3-pointers so Price looked in complete rythum and Newark looked completely lost offensively.

The Cougars, frankly, never looked all that comfortable offensively but they made Price, which hadn't scored less than 71 since an opening night 62-39 win over Arroyo Valley, look completely out of whack.

It didn't help that Solomon came out with three fouls in the second quarter.

Taft 53, Bishop O'Dowd 46

Another Northern California squad almost pulled the upset over a Southern California rival, but Taft (9-1) made the plays down the stretch to take the hard-earned win.

O'Dowd, which got a superb effort from extremely athletic Nick Capiti (15 points, seven rebounds), took its last lead 44-43 with 4:21 left following a superb entry pass from 6-8 sophomore Brandon Ashley to 6-5 strongman Jordan Barton, who sent down a dunk.

"That was a great sequence for us," O'Dowd coach Doug Vierra said. "But unfortunately, that was one of our last ones."

Indeed the Toreadors, who got 14 points from USC-bound Bryce Jones and 13 by Pierson Williams, finished the game on a 10-2 run to move into Tuesday's semifinals against Newark Memorial.

Ashley, who sat out more than 10 minutes with foul trouble, and Barton each had 11 points and combined for 22 rebounds.

They helped contain Taft's big man, 6-8 junior De Andre Daniels, who has already committed to Texas. He finished with just seven points and five rebounds.

Jones also struggled from the field - 3 of 11 - but made up for it at the line, making 8 of 9. Williams, a 6-4 senior wing, played a superb floor game and also had a team-high eight rebounds.

His 3-pointer with 3:31 left gave Taft the lead for good, 46-44.

"We knew they were physical and bigger than us, so we had to run them and get the game up-tempo," Williams said. "They stayed up with us pretty good. They definitely made us work."

That's an understatement.

Taft jumped to leads of 12-4 and 14-6, but O'Dowd began to utlize it's power game and size while going on a 15-6 run to take a 21-20 lead.

Capiti, a strong and quick senior really handled Taft's pressure well and rather than play on his heels, attacked at a moment's notice. His driving coast-to-coast layup broke a 32-32 tie and early in the fourth he made the play of the game, blocking what looked to be a high-flying dunk attempt by Jones.

"I fouled him but they didn't call it," admitted Capiti said. "I'm just glad he didn't dunk it because that would have given them all the momentum. It was fun to be in this game with that setting. I love playing in big games like this."

The score see-sawed much of the fourth, before Taft, coming off a championship at the Mission Prep Tournament, just looked a little more assured down the stretch.

"We know what we need to do to close things out," Jones said.

Centennial (Corona) 87, Eisenhower (Lawndale) 65

Simply, the 9-2 Huskies beat the defending state Division II champions at their own game.

Eisenhower normally wears down teams with its relentless pressure, 3-point shooting and offensive rebounding, but Centennial was equally quick, tough and effective shooting.

USC-bound 6-1 guard Gelaun Wheelwright exploded for 25 points and 11 rebounds and New Mexico-bound Dominique Dunning added 22 as the Huskies blew open the game with a 27-11 run in the second quarter to advance to Tuesday's semifinal against the nation's No. 1 team St. Patrick (Elizabeth, N.J.), which received a second-round bye.

Eisenhower (8-4), which got 21 points by Alex Varner, 14 from Keyon Sayles and 10 by Bernard Ireland, never closed to within 10 the second half.

Marquis Ransom, a 6-3 senior, added 17 points and a game-high 14 rebounds for the Huskies, who held a 49-36 edge on the boards, made 16 of 20 free throws (80 percent) and shot 32 of 66 from the field.

The Eagles, meanwhile made just 25 of 74 from the floor (33.8 percent), including 8 of 34 on 3-pointers. Leading scorer Bryan Bock was a cool 2 of 16, all but one of the misses were on 3-pointers.

"Against a hard-nosed team like that with a great coach like (Steve Johnson) I never felt comfortable," Centennial coach Josh Giles said. "But our guys did a decent job boxing out, we took their best shot and our conditioning paid off. That was a very good win."

In early consolation games:

Leuzinger (Lawndale) 64, Mesa (Ariz.) 61: Amir Garrett, a 6-6 junior, had 16 points and Colroy Gordon, Aqeel Quinn and Chayson Williams added 12 each as Leuzinger finally won a close game. The Olympians had lost five previous games by nine points total. Mesa made a nice charge in the fourth quarter with a 16-8 run but despite 17 by spectacular 5-11 point guard Jahii Carson, Mesa dropped to 8-2.

Carson had a gravity-defying ally-oop dunk in the fourth quarter then almost won the game with a pretty no-look pass for a layup in the closing seconds. But a layup was missed, Leuzinger rebounded and made two free throws to seal it.

Mohamad Sobh had 16 points and Adam Milkovich 14 for Mesa.

Compton 75, Franklin (Seattle, Wash.) 52: Allan Guei, a 5-9 guard, had 18 points and Cliff Sims, a 6-5 guard, added 14 as Compton (3-7) rolled to an easy win over Franklin (3-3).

Lutheran (La Verne) 64, Ironwood (Tucson, Ariz.) 55: Grant Jerrett, a 6-8 sophomore, looks like a player to keep an eye on after scoring 27 points while Bruce English had 12 as Lutheran improved to 6-5 with a hard-fought win over Ironwood (9-3), which got 17 from Matt Walter and 15 by Mitch Fischer. Lutheran held 7-foot post Jan Maehlen to just six points.

McClymonds (Oakland) 37, Fairfax (Los Angeles) 36: Despite being outscored 12-4 in the third quarter, McClymonds (6-5) held on behind 12 points by Dulani Robinson. Jordan Weathers had 13 and Raymond Barry 10 for Fairfax (8-3). 

Torrey Pines 78, Temescal Canyon 43: In a Mayor's Cup Division quarterfinal game played at Torrey Pines, Nick Kerr, son of former NBA sharpshooter and current Suns GM Steve Kerr, made five 3-pointers and scored a game-high 19 points leading Torrey Pines to their 10th win in 11 outings.

Max Heller had 17 for the winners, who went on a 42-17 run in the middle quarters to win going away against Temescal Canyon, which got 16 points from Lee Staples.

NATIONAL DIVISION

Tuesday's schedule 
At Torrey Pines HS
Mesa vs. Fairfax, 9:30 a.m.
Ironwood Ridge vs. Franklin, 11:05 a.m.
Leuzinger vs. McClymonds, 12:40 p.m.
La Vern Lutheran vs. Compton, 2:15 p.m.
Torrey Pines vs. La Jolla Country Day (Mayor's semifinals), 3:50 p.m.
Bishop O'Dowd vs. Price, 5:25 p.m.
Semifinals
Taft vs. Newark Memorial, 7 p.m.
Centennial vs. St. Patrick, 8:35 p.m.

AMERICAN DIVISION
Monday's scores
James Logan 71, Cienga 69
Campbell Hall 55, Roosevelt 51
Windward 61, Simi Valley 49
Huntington Beach 62, Birmingham 49
Foothills Christian 86, Long Beach Jordan 79
Los Osos 84, Oakland 77
St. Joseph Notre Dame 62, Los Alamitos 43
La Costa Canyon 60, Miramonte 57

Tuesday's schedule
At La Costa Canyon HS
Roosevelt vs. L.A. Cathedral, 9:30 a.m.
Simi Valley vs. Birmingham, 11:05 a.m.
Campbell Hall vs. James Logan, 12:40 p.m.
Windward vs. Huntington Beach, 2:15 p.m.
Long Beach Jordan vs. Oakland, 3:50 p.m.
Los Alamitos vs. Miramonte, 5:25 p.m.
Semifinals
Foothills Christian vs. Los Osos, 7 p.m.
La Costa Canyon vs. St. Joseph Notre Dame, 8:35 p.m.

SENATOR'S CUP DIVISION
Monday's scores
Washington Prep 97, Los Angeles Cathedral 82
Community Charter 76, Mayfair 74
Folsom 54, The Rock 37
Desert Vista 49, San Diego Cathedral 47
Yale Secondary 70, Francis Parker 46
Maranatha 60, Pacific Hills 44
Chaparral 71, Spanish Springs 32

Tuesday's schedule
At Cathedral HS
Mayfair vs. The Rock, 11:05 a.m.
Washington Prep vs. Cienga, 12:40 p.m.
Community Charter vs. Folsom, 2:15 p.m.
Spanish Springs vs. Francis Parker, 3:50 p.m.
Pacific Hills vs. San Diego Cathedral, 5:25 p.m.
Semifinals
Chaparral vs. Yale Secondary, 7 p.m.
Desert Vista vs. Marantha, 8:35 p.m.

GOVERNOR'S CUP DIVISION
Monday's results
Tesoro 61, Bakersfield Christian 50
Ribet Academy 71, Temecula Valley 50
Catalina Foothills 71, Upland 67
Rim of the World 70, College Park 39
Brea Olinda 55, Carlsbad 41
Poway 61, Santa Margarita 47
College Park 65, Ponderosa 56
Vista Del Lago 56, Rancho Bernardo 42

Tuesday's schedule
At Rancho Bernardo HS
Temecula Valley vs. St. Joseph Santa Maria, 9:30 a.m.
Upland vs. RBV, 11:05 a.m.
Tesoro vs. Ribet Academy, 12:40 p.m.
Mesa vs. Catalina Foothills, 2:15 p.m.
Rancho Bernardo vs. Carlsbad, 3:50 p.m.
Santa Margarita vs. Ponderosa, 5:25 p.m.
Semifinals
Vista Del Lago vs. Brea Olinda, 7 p.m.
Poway vs. College Park, 8:35 p.m.

MAYOR'S CUP DIVISION
Monday's results
Palm Desert 81, St. Joseph Santa Maria 51
Yacaipa 59, Rancho Buena Vista 49
St. Mary's 69, La Jolla 59
Cowichan 69, Flintridge Prep 62
La Jolla Country Day 52, Westview 46

Tuesday's schedule
At Westview HS
Eisenhower vs. College Park, 11:05 a.m.
Bakersfield Christian vs. Palm Desert, 12:40 p.m.
Rim of the World vs. Yucipa, 2:15 p.m.
La Jolla vs. Flintridge Prep, 3:50 p.m.
Westview vs. Temescal Canyon, 5:25 p.m.
Semifinals
La Jolla Country Day at Torrey Pines, 3:50 p.m.
St. Mary's vs. Cowichan, 7 p.m.