Chino Hills puts 125 points on the board in MaxPreps Holiday Classic quarterfinal win

Video: MaxPreps Holiday Classic quarterfinal highlights
Action-packed day in front of record crowds at Rancho Mirage High School.

PALM SPRINGS, Calif. – Monday’s quarterfinal nightcap at the MaxPreps Holiday Classic was played in front of a record crowd of over 3,000 fans, featured 224 combined points and was highlighted by over-the-head and off-the-backboard alley-oops.

There was even a touch of the bizarre with an untimely fire alarm in the fourth quarter.

Just another night in the life of the nation’s No. 1-ranked high school basketball team – the Chino Hills (Calif.) Huskies, who are thriving amid coast-to-coast attention and hoopla.



Fresh off a pre-Christmas tournament title at the City of Palms Classic in Florida, Chino Hills advanced to the MaxPreps Holiday Classic semifinals with a 125-99 win over Rufus King (Milwaukee, Wis.).

MaxPreps Holiday Classic Open Division bracket

"We don’t feel like it’s pressure," Chino Hills head coach Steve Baik said. "It’s a privilege to be in this position and guys like 'Zo (senior guard Lonzo Ball) don’t feel any pressure. We are still trying to get better and we have to be relentless in that pursuit."

The 125-point total was a tournament record and sparked by the dynamic brother trio of Lonzo, LiAngelo and LaMelo Ball, who combined for 85 points.

As has become the norm in the team’s 11-0 start, the stat lines were outrageous;

- Lonzo, a 6-foot-6 senior point guard headed to UCLA, finished with 26 points, 13 assists and six rebounds.

- LiAngelo, a 6-5 junior also headed to UCLA, piled up 27 points, six rebounds and four assists.



- LaMelo, a 6-0 freshman and another future Bruin, buried six 3-pointers in the third quarter alone en route to 32 points.

There’s more to Chino Hills than just the Ball brothers, however. Athletic junior Elizjah Scott slashed and dunked his way to 20 points while 6-9 freshman Onyeka Okongwu added 12.

"Those two are huge for us," Baik said. "Onyeka is our defensive catalyst and his maturity for a freshman is incredible."

Redondo Union (Redondo Beach, Calif.) 83, Bentonville (Ark.) 57

Star guard Malik Monk of Bentonville entered as the headliner in this matchup.

But Redondo Union’s backcourt of Leland Green, Morgan Means, Elijah Nesbit and Ryse Williams overwhelmed Monk and the Tigers in a 26-point thrashing.



"We think of ourselves as party crashers," Redondo Union head coach Reggie Morris said. "Everybody comes to see somebody else and our guys are good players too and want to have the same notoriety. They took advantage tonight."

Green – a talented unsigned and uncommitted guard – led the way with 32 points while Means (17 points), 5-foot-2 Nesbit and Williams  took turns delivering daggers.

"Leland is a big game guy," Morris said. "He has stomach flu right now, he threw up two or three times at halftime so I'm really proud of him."

Monk battled cold shooting, a hand injury and foul trouble in the first half. The University of Kentucky pledge bounced back a bit in the second half and finished with 20 points as Bentonville fell to 6-2 on the season.

For Redondo Union (9-2), the win sets up a rematch with Bishop Gorman, who the Sea Hawks lost to 63-58 at the Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas less than two weeks ago.

"They are really talented," Morris said of Gorman. "That game was in Nevada with no shot clock so hopefully with our style of play, maybe the game will speed up and we can challenge them a little more."



Jonesboro (Ga.) 59, Alemany (Mission Hills, Calif.) 56

Georgia's defending Class AAAA state champions built an 18-point lead late the second quarter but had to hold on late to advance to Tuesday's semifinals.

Jonesboro (9-2) received 26 points and nine rebounds from star junior wing M.J. Walker. Big numbers aside, his most important contribution may have been taking a charge with 90 seconds to go that nullified a game-tying bucket by Alemany.

Senior guard Eric Lovett added 15 points for the victorious Cardinals, who have won nine in a row since opening the season with back-to-back losses.

Shacquille Dawkins, a 5-foot-6 dynamo, led Alemany (8-3) with 21 points.

Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) 71, De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) 59

A 17-time state champion in Nevada, Bishop Gorman (9-2) surged late to take a hard-fought victory over De La Salle (7-1).



Trailing 49-48 heading into the fourth quarter, the Gaels outscored De La Salle 23-10 in the final eight minutes to set up a semifinal matchup with Redondo Union.

Gorman put the Bay Area powerhouse away on back-to-back possessions with just under four minutes to go.

The first ended in a Charles O'Bannon Jr. 3-pointer that made it 62-56, followed by a Jamal Bey bucket off a beautiful pass by Gonzaga-bound big man Zach Collins that stretched the lead to 64-56.

Collins finished with 14 points, 10 rebounds, six assists and five blocked shots while teammate Christian Popoola tallied a team-high 19 points.

University of San Francisco signee Jordan Ratinho paced De La Salle with 22 points.
 
Consolation Scores
Folsom (Calif.) 58, St. Petersburg (Fla.) 52
Moreau Catholic (Hayward, Calif.) 77, Windward (Los Angeles) 67
Capital Christian (Sacramento, Calif.) 58, Prestonwood Christian (Plano, Texas) 56
Santa Margarita (Calif.) 72, Seattle Prep (Wash.) 48