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By Mitch Stephens
MaxPreps.com
SAN DIEGO, Calif. - One school is a nationally renowned basketball power, a six-time state champion from the tough streets of Compton. Notable alums from Dominguez High School include MC Ren, member of the rap-group N.W.A., NBA stars Tayshaun Prince and Tyson Chandler and former five-time All-Star, the late Dennis Johnson.
The other school is considered an academic juggernaut, ranked the 555th best high school in all the land according to a recent MSNBC Top 1,000 ranking and it nestles in the safe Santa Susana Mountains adjacent to the San Fernando Valley. In fact, Simi Valley, established in 1920, is considered the first high school in the valley. Baseball is its game with Tim Laker, Jeff Weaver and Jared Weaver on current Major League rosters.
As stark as its contrasts historically, there's no denying one commonality in the here and now:
Dominguez and Simi Valley are the two best boys basketball teams in the MaxPreps Holiday Classic at Torrey Pines.
The two squads put on dizzying displays in Friday semifinal finals victories, Dominguez with a convincing 76-53 stranglehold on defending state Division IV champion Campbell Hall (North Hollywood) and Simi Valley with a crushing 85-61 hurt on Compton, a game that it led by 40 points late in the third quarter.
Tonight's championship game in the National Division, the top of the four-division, 54-team tourney, is at 8:35 p.m.
"Those guys can ball no doubt about it," Dominguez coach Russell Otis said. "They'll make us work."
Said Simi Valley coach Christian Aurond: "We're just happy to be in this position and have this opportunity. Our guys have shown great heart, they play hard and they play smart. We'll just try to keep that going."
Nobody is buying Simi Valley's "aw-shucks" act any more.
At 13-0 after Friday's shellacking of Compton, the Pioneers are for real.
They play an unorthodox style, one patterned after a Clovis West squad it got schooled by in Aurond's first year nine years ago and most recently recognized at nearby Pepperdine University.
The Pioneers, without a player taller than 6-foot-4, trap and pressure at every moment and try to get the game revved up at to a Porsche's pace. They'll give up some easy hoops but push the ball immediately down court behind their stellar senior point guard Lorne Jackson and try to get defenses spread and confused.
Once foes are scattered, Simi Valley attacks with lethal 3-point shooters like 6-2 junior Brad Lewis, who drilled six of them against Compton en route to 25 points and Jackson, who had five en route to a game-high 28.
The team's third big gun is physical 6-4 forward Michael Meza, who slashes through the key and can score from inside or outside. He had 19 on Friday and averages 21.5 points on the year.
Jackson, a truly savvy, sound and sometimes spectacular point, is the team's leading scorer at 22.2 points to go along with team highs in rebounds (6.8), assists (5.6) and steals (4.5).
"He's the real deal," Torrey Pines coach John Olive said after Jackson scorched his team for 34 in an 82-76 first-round loss. "He does it all."
Lewis is a flat-out shooter and averages 19.2 points per game. The Pioneers average 83.5 points per game and have been remarkably consistent, scoring at least 71 points in every game. Other than Jackson, Lewis and Meza, however, no one averages more than 5 points per game.
"We call them our three-headed monster," Aurond said.
The Pioneers, who do claim UCLA and NBA standout Don McLean as one of their own, were flat out monstrous against Compton (10-4), which seemed utterly confused and flabbergasted by the defensive pressure.
Simi constantly trapped, double-teammed and generally grounded high-flying Demar DeRozan, who finished with just 17 points after scoring a combined 86 the previous two games.
Jackson did most of the work on DeRozan, who didn't get off his fifth shot and second bucket until 6:30 left in the second quarter.
By then, the Pioneers had zoomed and bombed their way to a 37-14 lead and this one was done.
The barrage began after Compton took its only lead 4-3, when Lewis drilled a 3-pointer. After a Compton free throw, Jackson (nine assists) fed Spencer Feist for a layup.
Jackson then drilled a 3-pointer, Meza hit two free throws and after a Compton bucket, Meza nailed two more free throws and Jackson and Danny Cox canned back-to-back 3-pointers.
After Edgar Garibay scored a layup and Kyrie Armstrong drilled a 3-pointer for Compton, Lewis drained two more 3-pointers and a lay-up and Meza sliced through the lane for a couple of lay-ups and this one was finished: Simi Valley 33, Compton 12 at the end of the first quarter.
"We couldn't have drawn it up or done it any better," Jackson said. "To beat one of the best teams in the state like that and hold down one of the best players in the country. .Incredible."
It will take an even more incredible effort, however, to stay with Dominguez, which is an entirely different beast.
The Dons (10-1) flexed its collective muscle and got a poetic 26 points and 11 points from one of the country's top juniors, 6-7 Jordan Hamilton, to handle one of the state's top teams in Campbell Hall (10-4).
The nation's 22nd-ranked squad pulled away with a 19-7 run in the fourth quarter and used its superb depth, quickness, defensive pressure and rebounding to eventually wear down the Vikings.
Lightning rod guard Bryce Cartwright had 16 points and long 6-8 junior Aaron Moore added 13 for Dominguez, which out-rebounded Campbell Hall 43-28 and seemed to grab every loose ball.
They also held super 6-4 senior guard and UCLA-bound Jrue Holiday to a quiet 21 points on 8 of 20 shooting and teammate Dallas Rutherford added 12.
"That may be the best team in Los Angeles," Campbell Hall coach Terry Kelly said. "I know Taft beat them earlier this year but the way Hamilton is playing with such confidence and the way the supporting cast is improving, that team is going to be hard to beat."
Hamilton, a transfer from Dorsey, was bent on not repeating an eight-point performance he had against Campbell Hall and Holiday last year. He said he studied game film on the tough and tenacious 6-4 Holiday before Friday's game and responded with four 3-pointers and a variety of spin moves, dunks and driving hoops. He made half of his 22 shots.
Most of them came against Holiday, whose defense is considered among the top of his many skills. He's ranked the sixth best senior at any position by CSTV.
"I came in focused and prepared," said Hamilton, the country's seventh best junior according to CSTV. "Jrue Holiday is a great player and I have a lot of respect for him. But I noticed on film that he cheats a lot (on the perimeter) so I went backdoor."
Kelly was impressed by Hamilton's improvement over the last three seasons, particularly the last year.
"He's an amazing talent but now he really seems to be playing within himself," Kelly said. "He's not trying to do too much."
Kelly was further impressed with Dominguez' supporting cast.
"We told our guys to let the other guys beat us but they were knocking down everything also," Kelly said. "The main thing is they beat us to every 50-50 ball. That was disappointing. That's something we can do better."
Said Holiday: "We're a little private Division IV team and they are a Division I team. That's how we're going to get better. Still, that was embarrassing. We don't lose by 20. We have to learn from this."
Dominguez has obviously learned and improved since a 70-54 loss to Taft (Woodland Hills), which is ranked seventh nationally, in the third game of the season.
The Dons have won eight straight since including the championship at the loaded Amare Stoudamire Classic in Florida last week. They beat Fairfax (Los Angeles), ranked eighth in the state, in the finals.
Besides being the team's main offensive weapon, Hamilton has elevated his leadership role to co-captain status, Moore, Myron Green and Thurman Woods, among others, hit the offensive glass hard, and Cartwright leads a pack of quick and tenacious guards on the perimeter.
They showed all their skills after Campbell Hall last led 16-15 on a slam dunk by Holiday with 7:30 left in the second quarter.
Dominguez then rattled off 17 of the next 19 points to take control. Moore started it off with a putback, followed by a 3-pointer and reverse slam dunk by Hamilton. After a sweet spin move and jack-knife lay-up from Holiday, Moore powered in a deuce, Cartwright drive to the bucket hard for a layup and Hamilton and Darrell Espy drilled back-to-back 3-pointers to go up 32-18.
The Vikings closed to 37-33 late in the first half but Cartwright hit two free throws and Hamilton scored on a lay-up at the buzzer after a nice feed from Cartwright and the Dons were in command at halftime. When they scored 12 of the first 17 to start the third quarter, Campbell Hall could never recover.
"It's all coming together," Hamilton said. "We're playing with a lot of confidence."
The Dons can't wait for another Jan. 5 when it gets another shot against Taft, this time at Pepperdine.
But first things first. They got a red hot and tenacious Simi Valley team tonight. The Pioneers aren't going to change their attack against the battle-tested Dons.
"No way," Jackson said. "We know how good they are and we know their tradition. But we're going to just keep trying to do what we've been doing. It's worked pretty well so far."
NATIONAL DIVISION
At Torrey Pines HS
Consolation Bracket
NEWARK MEMORIAL 74, PASADENA 65: E.J. Farris scored 18 points, Fresno State-bound Chris Jones added 17 and Ifeanyi Ezeufor 14 as Newark Memorial rebounded from its opening day loss to Long Beach Jordan with a second straight win.
"Boxing out and defense," said the 6-3 Jones when asked what the team has done better. "Those guys were a lot bigger than us so we did a much better job on the boards."
A 25-8 run in the second quarter put the Cougars (10-2) in seemingly complete command, up 41-24 at halftime.
But Pasadena (9-4), which got 15 points by Keion Bell and 13 from Marcus Harvey, eventually tightened its defensive grip, forced numerous turnovers and got with 62-58. The Cougars, who got a combined 17 points by Evan Kobori and Jisuan Randle, scored the next five before Tyron Crockom drilled a three-pointer and Bell tipped in his own miss, making it 67-63.
After Kobori made two free throws and Bell drove in for another hoop, Newark put it away with five straight free throws, four by Bayanzai.
"This should help toughen us up for the league and postseason," Jones said. "That was a good win."
GAHR (Cerritos) 88, CAMPOLINDO (Moraga) 81 (OT): Down 17 in the fourth quarter, Gahr had Campolindo just where it wanted.
The comeback kids who made up huge deficits to nationally-ranked Mater Dei (Santa Ana) and Compton, only to come up short, fought all the way back behind a remarkable effort from 5-10 senior point guard Casper Ware, who scored all but eight of his team-high 30 points after the third quarter.
"I just decided I wanted to take over the game," said Capser, who has committed to Long Beach State. "For what ever reason we our intensity picks up the second half."
In this case, it was strictly the fourth quarter.
Campolindo, which got 39 points from 6-9 post Jack Trotter, went on a 25-12 run in the third quarter to go up 64-47 entering the fourth. That's when Gahr (10-3) got 16 points from Ware leading a 27-10 run.
The Gladiators took their first lead of the game 72-71 on a 3-pointer by Chester Woolen (13 points) with 1:52 to play. Two free throws by Ware made it 74-71 with 22.9 seconds left.
A 3-pointer by Will Shields, his sixth of the game, with 12 seconds left sent the game into overtime. Shields finished with 21 points and teammate Graham Smith added 14.
In overtime, two free throws by Trotter put Campolindo up 80-78 when Gahr ended the game on a 10-1 streak keyed by a 3-pointer from Woolen and four free throws by Erwin Ware.
"We have to play tougher," Campolindo coach Chris Whirlow said. "We have to find ways to make plays down the stretch. We did a lot of good things early but have to make plays."
Said Gahr coach Bob Becker: "There's absolutely no quit in this team. For whatever reason, they play better when they're down. I'd rather be up 16 than down 16 in the fourth quarter but it seems to work OK for us."
FRANKLIN (Seattle, Wash.) 67, LONG BEACH JORDAN 54: Peyton Siva had 22 points and Sterling Carter added 12 as Franklin (8-1), the nation's No. 17 team, rebounded from a quarterfinal game to Dominguez with a hard-fought win over Jordan (7-6), which got 20 points by Keith Davis.
SHELDON (Elk Grove) 66, COUNTRY DAY (Metairie, La.) 51: Marcus Jackson had 14, Darius Nelson 13 and Ramon Eaton 12 as Sheldon raced to a 41-25 halftime lead to win its first game here in three tries. Jack Baus, a 5-10 senior guard, had 24 points for Country Day.
SANTA RITA (Tucson, Ari.) 53, ARROYO VALLEY (San Bernardino) 51: Terrell Stoglin and Mark Simmons scored 17 points apiece as Santa Rita fought back from a 15-6 deficit to pull out the comeback win over Arroyo Valley, which got 15 points from James Sanders and 14 by Joseph Richard.
DESERT VISTA (Phoenix, Ari.) 59, TORREY PINES 52: A 22-13 run in the third quarter put Desert Vista in control. Michael Proctor scored 17 for the winners, Marcus Lever added 15 and Josh Lowery 13. James Rahon scored 27 points for Torrey Pines, giving him 102 points in three games.
AMERICAN DIVISION
At La Costa Canyon HS
Semifinals
EISENHOWER (Rialto) 66, MISSION HILLS (San Marcos) 45: Alex Varner led four players in double figures with 15 points, while Andrew Bock had 11 and Nicholas Carter and Kauri Black contributed 10 as Eisenhower moved into the finals. A 16-2 run in the second quarter proved pivotal. Taylor Darby was 10-for-10 at the line and finished with a game-high 23 points for Mission Hills.
MAYFAIR (Lakewood) 66, LA COSTA CANYON (Carlsbad) 56: A 21-12 spurt in the second quarter lifted Mayfair, which got 24 points by Charles Adum and 14 apiece from Wendell Wright and Garrett Jefferson. Shawn Hempsey had 16 for La Costa Canyon.
Consolation Bracket
BISHOP O'DOWD (Oakland) 78, RESEDA 52: Justin Brue, a 6-4 junior, scored 26 points, Roosevelt Kirk 12 and Nick Capiti 11 as O'Dowd raced to a 19-9 lead and went on a 23-12 run in the third quarter to win going away over Reseda, which got 18 points by Mycal Mendez and 14 from Ryan Watkins.
CLEAR BROOK (Friendswood, Texas) 51, BAKERSFIELD 44: Kevin Lewis led a balanced attack with 11 points and Clear Lake went on a 26-10 run during the middle quarters to pull out the victory. Eleven different players scored for the winners in a game that featured 39 fouls. Alfonso Jackson had 18 points for Bakersfield while Dijon Henry added 12.
FREMONT (Los Angeles) 66, LEUZINGER (Lawndale) 53: Laron Armstead had 16 points, Tony Freeland 15 and Savion Udeh added 12 as Fremont scored 43 points in the second half to win going away. Jerry Evans had 12 points and Cameron Bell added 10 for Leuzinger.
MISSION PREP 50, RIBET ACADEMY (Low Angeles) 44: Mitch Woolepert scored 20 points and Mission Prep outscored Ribet Academy 14-8 in the fourth quarter to win going away. Krys Faber had 15 points and Kevin Scoggins 13 for Ribet Academy.
SYLMAR 87, LA MIRADA 82: Gary Ricks had 22 points, Darrell Powers 20 and Josh Toms 17 leading Sylmar, which broke loose for 30 points to 26 for La Mirada in the fourth quarter. Derek Williams, a 6-7 junior, scored 41 points on 15 field goals and 11-for-14 from the line.
CLEAR BROOK (Friendswood, Texas) 76, BISHOP'S (La Jolla) 62: Clear Brook jumped on Bishop's with a 15-8 run and cruised to victory as Anthony Miles and Eric Milam scored 20 points apiece. Jywrell Wilson led all scorers with 26 for Bishop's while Malik Love added 21.
GOVERNOR'S DIVISION
At Rancho Bernardo HS
Semifinals
ST. JOHN BOSCO (Bellflower) 86, LACES (Los Angeles) 75: Cezar Guerrero had 27 points and Bradon Parga added 17 as St. John Bosco took a 20-14 lead at the end of the first quarter and never relinquished the lead. Michale Butler led Laces with 26.
LANGLEY (McLean, Virginia) 66, ORANGE LUTHERAN (Orange) 54: Ahmed Malik had 22 points, Derek Baker 15, Ryan Davenport 14 and Thomas Kody 12 as Langley used a 19-3 run in the third quarter to move into the finals. Matt Ledbetter and Tyler Funk had 12 points apiece for Lutheran.
Consolation bracket
CORONADO (Henderson, Nevada) 86, MONTE VISTA (Spring Valley) 73: Coronado exploded for 34 points in the second quarter and got 16 points each from Tommy Tebbs and Charlie Wakefield and 15 by Christian Hatch to win going away. Mike Watkins hit four 3-pointers and scored 26 points, while Trent Watkins chipped in 19 and Geoff Hartman 16 for Monte Vista. The game featured 18 3-pointers, 39 fouls and 63 free throw attempts (39 made).
PACIFIC HILLS (West Hollywood) 66, HANDSWORTH (North Vancouver, British Columbia) 39: Derrick Flowers had 17 points, William Porter 13 and Alex Osborne 10 as Pacific Hills used a 20-4 run in the second quarter to win by 27.
JAMES LOGAN (Union City) 37, PONDEROSA (Shingle Springs) 36: Howie Manzo had 10 points and James Logan forced 28 turnovers in a low-scoring consolation contest. Steve Lackey, a 6-7 junior, had 16 points for Ponderosa (10-2).
CARLSBAD 73, LODI 54: A 19-9 run in the third quarter keyed the victory for Carlsbad, which got 15 points apiece from Michael Tanael and Michael Krak. John Clemos had 18 and Jonathan Herold 16 for Lodi.
LEXINGTON (South Carolina) 58, RANCHO BERNARDO (San Diego) 55: Josh Vanwyk had 14 points and Devonta Taylor 12 as Lexington pulled out a nail-biter against host Rancho Bernardo, which got 11 points apiece from Tyler Hadecek and Evan Blackey.
GOVERNOR'S DIVISION
At Rancho Bernardo HS
ST. JOSEPH (Santa Maria) 71, TEMESCAL CANYON (Lake Elsinore) 55: Sam Schur, Keenan Smith and Jeff Blake had 12 points apiece and Vincent Brunello added 10 as St. Joseph went on a 20-10 run in the fourth quarter to win going away over Temescal Canyon, which got 18 points by Randy Powelson and 16 from Joel Zinda.
GRANITE HILLS (Apple Valley) 59, FRONTIER (Buffalo Hamburg, N.Y.) 55: Kevin Flagg had 16 points and Justin Dunford and Luther Bell added 15 apiece to lead Granite Hills. Jason Norsen scored a game-high 22 points for Frontier.
RANCHO BUENA VISTA (Vista) 60, SERRA (San Diego) 49: Terrell Mabry had 19 and Ty Miller 15 leading Rancho Buena Vista to victory. Chris Coleman and Gary Adams combined for 25 for Serra.
LA JOLLA 44, FRANCIS PARKER (San Diego) 34: Jerrell Agnew had 14 and Spencer Mayer 11 as La Jolla won the tough defensive battle.
SATURDAY'S SCHEDULE
National Division (unless noted) at Torrey Pines
Santa Rita vs. Sheldon, 9:10 a.m.
Torrey Pines vs. Pasadena, 10:45 p.m.
Desert Vista vs. Newark Memorial, 12:20 p.m.
Campolindo vs. Long Beach Jordan, 1:55
Gahr vs. Franklin, 3:30 p.m.
American championship: Eisenhower vs. Mayfair, 5:05
Compton vs. Campbell Hall, 6:40
National championship: Dominguez vs. Simi Valley, 8:35 p.m.
American Division (unless noted) at La Costa Canyon
National consolation, Arroyo Valley vs. Country Day, 8:10 a.m.
Reseda vs. Torrey Pines #2, 9:45 a.m.
Bishop O'Dowd vs. Bakersfield, 11:20 a.m.
Leuzinger vs. Ribet Academy, 12:55 p.m.
Fremont vs. Mission Prep, 2:30
Bishop's vs. La Mirada, 4:05
Clear Brook vs. Sylmar, 5:40
Mission Hills vs. La Costa Canyon, 7:15
Governor's Division at Rancho Bernardo
Hansworth vs. Lexington, 8 a.m.
Pacific Hills vs. Monte Vista, 9:30 a.m.
Monte Vista vs. Ponderosa, 11:05 a.m.
Coronado vs. James Logan, 12:40 p.m.
Lodi vs. Rancho Bernardo, 2:15
Carlsbad vs. Lexington, 3:50
Laces vs. Orange Lutheran, 5:25
Championship: St. John Bosco vs. Langley, 7
Mayor's Division at Francis Parker
Temescal Canyon vs. Frontier, 12:30 p.m.
St. Joseph vs. Granite Hills, 2:15
Serra vs. Francis Parker, 3:50
Rancho Buena Vista vs. La Jolla, 5:25
