MaxPreps/DLS MLK Classic roundup: Jalen Green stars, De La Salle wins

MORAGA, Calif. — In the 22 years of the MaxPreps/Martin Luther King Jr. Classic, there had never been six games quite as competitive as the ones played Monday at McKeon Pavilion on the campus of St. Mary's College.

None went to overtime, but not one was decided by more than double digits. In fact, the final margins were 6, 8, 2, 6, 3 and 2. That's a total of 27 total points or 4.5 points per game.

The games featured a truly remarkable buzzer-beater, a 7-foot-4 center, the nation's No. 2 national junior recruit, the country's No. 13 team, great comebacks, controversial calls and an unlikely 6-10 center to 5-6 post guard entry pass that led to a pivotal three-point play.

For fans who missed the exciting games Monday, click on the live recorded streams below.

De La Salle (Concord) 53, San Joaquin Memorial (Fresno) 47

Most of the fans and coaches who arrived at McKeon Pavilion for the day-long event came to see what all the hubbub about Jalen Green, a 6-foot-6 off-guard, was all about.

By scoring 29 points on 11-of-18 shooting under heavy duress, they got a pretty good idea why NBA Draft Board projects Green as the No. 1 pick in the 2021 draft.

Basketball purists also got a good clue just why host De La Salle is 17-2 and winners of seven straight following a wire-to-wire impressive victory. Andrew Flannigan, a 6-4 wing and the first of five defenders on Green, had 19 points for the Spartans and Tim Kostolansky and Cade Arbogast added 12 apiece.

Green came away impressed, though he wasn't exactly gushing.

WATCH SAN JOAQUIN MEMORIAL VS. DE LA SALLE, 3:15 P.M.: Click here

"I knew about their football team," Green said of De La Salle. "Didn't know much about their basketball team. They're pretty good. They set a lot of screens. They play hard."

The Spartans' impressions of Green was more than a little respectful. Coach Justin Argenal had his players face guard him wherever he went, basically allowing a 4-on-4 game on the rest of the court. It worked. No one else for the Panthers scored more than six.

San Joaquin Memorial had scored 83, 87, 73, 86 and 89 its previous five games.

Argenal thought the Spartans did a very good job on Green, until he heard his total of 29 points. That's only 13 less than De La Salle gives up as a team per game. The program prides itself on defense.

"Really?" he said when told the game total. "That's amazing. He's a heck of a player. He was a great challenge for our guys to go against."

Said Flannigan: "It was fun trying to guard him in front of a big crowd. He's really good."

Green made most of his points on either 3-pointers — he made four of them — or long-range jumpers. He broke free only once in the open court when guard Justin Huelskamp sent a pretty lob pass high up into the air and Green sent it crashing home for a pretty dunk in the first quarter.

That drew the biggest groan of the day. Green also drove a coupe times to the hoop, but De La Salle clogged lanes well.

Still, Green found a way to score at his season average in an efficient manner. He was a willing passer, but unfortunately none of his teammates found the range.

"I played all right," Green said. "I could have played better on defense. Set up my teammates better. I always try to give the fans their money's worth."

The game was tight and in question, until an 8-0 run late in the third made it 39-27. Arbogast had a three-pointer and driving layup in the run. A three-pointer by Green eventually cut the lead to 47-42, but 6-7 Kostolansky and Flannigan took over down low, sharing the ball for three interior hoops to put this one away.

"They pass pretty well too," Green said. "I wish we had another shot at them." Salesian College Preparatory (Richmond) 61, Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland) 53

Shane Bell fought back from a nightmarish start — he missed a dunk and two open layups in the first half — and 6-7, 260-pound post Te'jon Sawyer had 18 points apiece as the 13th-ranked Pride (21-0) fought back from 12-point second-half deficit to outscore the Dragons 39-19 over the last 14 minutes of the game.

WATCH SALESIAN VS. BISHOP O'DOWD: Click here

Ranked 13th nationally by MaxPreps, the Pride finally solved O’Dowd’s zone defense and were energized by the guard duo of twins Jovon McClanahan and Jaden McClanahan, who combined for 21 points. “We always find a way,” Bell said. “The twins get us going and we never give in and fight to the end.”

O’Dowd (11-6) got 13 points from William Chavarin and nine by Monty Bowser. The Dragons had the Pride on the ropes by utilizing a suffocating zone defense and getting offense from a variety of sources. They played tough and with a lot of resolve.

"They were definitely fired up for us," Jaden McClanahan said. "They wanted to take the No. 1 seed from us in the Open Division. We just fought back for it the second half."

The Pride are definitely battle-tested.

They came back more than once during a five-game, 13-day trip to the South over the Holiday Break. They won the Chick-fil-A Classic in South Carolina and both games at the Mustang Madness showcase in Paducah Ky., including a 63-57 victory over then undefeated and nationally-ranked Curie (Ill.).

"We've been through some very tough games," Bell said. "This was another. We knew we had to pick each other up." Moreau Catholic (Hayward) 58, Notre Dame (Riverside) 56

The horn had sounded, Notre Dame thought it had won 56-55, but the Mariners (13-6) and Amil Fields got a second chance. A wild shot by Maxwell Anderson (team-high 18 points) missed badly in the final seconds, the ball broke loose and the officials ruled after much delay that there was a jump ball before the horn sounded and put 1.0 second on the board. 

The arrow went to Moreau and after a timeout, coach Frank Knight called for an inside play to Leonard Turner (10  points). Instead the ball was kicked out to Fields, who made a highly contested and unlikely 3-pointer right in front of the Moreau bench to win it.

WATCH NOTRE DAME VS. MOREAU CATHOLIC, 1:30 P.M.: Click here

Fields' shot hit the back iron, bounced again 3-4 more times off the rim before gently dropping through the hoop. It was the only basket Fields made all night in three attempts. He was mobbed by teammates.

“I was the second option,” said Fields, the team's second leading scorer this season (11.2 ppg). “I’m just glad my coach and teammates didn’t loose faith in my and I’m happy I could make it for them. I’ve never made a shot like that.”

Few have seen one made with that many bounces. Especially from that angle.

David Hector added 14 points for Moreau, while Pierce Sterling (21 points) and Anthony Holland (12) led Notre Dame-Riverside (16-8), which was outscored 22-13 in the fourth quarter.

Back-to-back three-pointers by Pierce followed by another three pointer from Dondre Bausley seemed to put Notre Dame in complete command heading into the fourth quarter, leading 43-36.

But Moreau scored 13 of the first 18 points of the fourth quarter, capped by a three-pointer from Anderson to give the Mariners a 49-48 lead. From there, the game see-sawed, the lead changing hands five straight possessions.

Contested layups from Holland and Sterling, extended the lead to 56-53 before two free throws from David Hector closed Moreau's gap to 56-55 with 35.6 seconds left.

Notre Dame missed the front end of a one-and-one with 20 seconds left, setting up the final wild sequence.

"We never lose faith in one another," Fields said. "I wasn't down on myself because I hadn't scored. I put my faith in my teammates and in the end, they put it in me." Pleasant Grove (Pleasant Grove, Utah) 75, James Logan (Union City) 69
On a day of great, competitive, evenly-matched teams and games, this one might have outdone all of them.

There were 12 lead changes and three ties in the fourth quarter alone, but in the end, the combination of 7-4
Matt Van Komen (21 points, 19 rebounds, five blocks) and super shooting guards Casey Brown (22 points) and Tyler Fairbanks (six three-pointers, 21 points) proved to be too much for the never-say-die Colts.

James Logan surely had plenty of opportunity to back down, especially with the giant Utah-bound Van Komen standing in its way.

But 6-4 Logan post Gabriel Hawkins (25 points, 12 rebounds), giving up a full foot in height, was fearless and displayed it time after time. So did the the game's leading scorer, 5-10 point guard Brahjon Thompson, who had 29 points on an array of improbable makes, drives to the hoop and three-pointers.

Van Komen broke a 45-45 tie with a slam dunk, but that was countered with a three-pointer from Brett Thompson, Brahjon's cousin, giving Logan a 48-47 lead.

Brown came back with a driving layup, Hawkins answered with a short jumper and Fairbanks buried a three-pointer to give Pleasant Grove a 52-50 lead.

The teams alternated five baskets, before a three-pointer from Brown gave Pleasant Grove a 59-56 lead. Three free throws by Brahjon Thompson tied it at 59, before the Vikings finally gained some separation, on a layup, then back-to-back three-pointers from Brown and Fairbanks to make it 67-59.

The Colts continued to fight, but they would never lead again as Pleasant Grove made five straight free throws down the stretch to seal it. St. John Bosco (Bellflower) 68, Modesto Christian (Modesto) 65

Already down its top player, Pacific-bound Jonathan Salazar, a 6-6, 235-pound wing out with a season-ending knee injury, Bosco lost their top scorer Chris James with an ankle injury late in the second quarter.

No worries, because the Braves were running Modesto Christian off the court, up 33-17.

But the Crusaders (16-5) suddenly woke, and started to connect from downtown, especially 6-3 senior guard Dathan Satchell (20 points), who drilled three straight three-pointers to key a 25-8 run starting late in the second quarter. They entered the fourth leading 49-47.

When Satchell opened the fourth with a jumper and three-pointer and 6-7 post Aaron Murphy added an interior bucket, Modesto Christian looked in complete command, up 56-49.

WATCH ST. JOHN BOSCO VS. MODESTO CHRISTIAN: Click here

But these Braves are battle tested and they've fought through the injury bug all season.

Fernando Gomez (10 points) started a rally with a fastbreak layup. Joshua Adoh (game-high 21 points) added a layup and three-pointer and Lamaj Lewis (11 points) contributed a fastbreak hoop to close to 60-59.

After two free throws by Modesto Christian's Michael Pearson (12 points), the game turned into a three-point shooting contest. The teams exchanged four of them, three by the Braves, one each from Gomez, Jeremiah Paul and Josh Camper (11 points) to go up 68-65, the final one with a minute remaining.

Both teams missed shots and Adoh had a chance to put it away with a one-and-one and 9.4 seconds remaining. He missed, but then made up for it with a steal in the final seconds to give the Braves the hard-earned win.

Earv Knox added 10 points for Modesto Christian.

The St. Patrick-St. Vincent of combination of 5-foot-6 Esai Contreras to 6-10 Dishon Jackson is usually in that order. But midway through the fourth quarter, with Campolindo making a run, Jackson turned the tables, fired an entry pass and Contreras delivered.

Jackson, one of the nation's top rated junior posts, fed the diminutive junior guard, who pump faked, drew a foul, made a bucket and converted a three-point play.

The Bruins (13-7) went on to their fifth straight win as Jackson went for a game-high 18 points, 14 rebounds and three assists. His favorite assist was to Contreras, who scored only those three points.

"He's a scrappy player, tough, he's not afraid," Jackson said of Contreras. "I love to get other players involved. We all love Esai."

Said Contreras of his pivotal play: "I was kind of trapped and knew the pump fake would work. I'm glad I could make a big basket. ... Dishon is a totally unselfish player."

WATCH ST. PATRICK-ST. VINCENT VS. CAMPOLINDO: Click here

A couple of big runs by Akil Edwards (13 points) also helped the Bruins to the victory. "Defense brought us back," Esai said. "It always brings us back."

SPSV did a great job on David Ahazie, who was coming off a 34-point effort on Friday in a win over Clayton Valley (Concord). Ahazie, a 6-1 guard, had his way in the the first half with 14 points, but was held scoreless in the second. Carter Mahaney led the way for the Cougars (14-5) with 17 points. His driving layup with 1:15 cut the lead to 53-51.

Campolindo, which got 10 points from freshman Matt Radell, had a chance to tie or take the lead but it missed three shots in the final seven seconds as the final buzzer sounded.