Ivan Rabb and No. 12 O'Dowd handle No. 7 Bishop Gorman

NEWARK, Calif. — Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland) boys basketball assistant Tony Freccero said before his team's national showdown with Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) that Ivan Rabb's ankle wasn't quite right.

"He tweaked it at practice again," Freccero said. "He's just got to decide to play."

When the 6-foot-10 senior scored 19 points and 12 rebounds by halftime, Freccero whispered into a reporter's ear: "He decided to play."

Rabb finished with 28 points and 20 rebounds as O'Dowd pulled out a 63-55 victory in the premier game of the Prep2Prep Tip-Off Classic at Newark Memorial  Saturday night.

In a game filled with big men, it was all Rabb who showed no signs of an ankle problem that has been nagging him since losing the state championship game in March. He made 10 of 17 shots, was 8-for-12 from the line and added four steals and three blocks.

It was the second straight year O'Dowd has beat Gorman. Last season in Las Vegas, the Dragons won 68-54.

"It was fine," Rabb said. "I was just excited to play and when I get excited I play a lot better. We all played well. Our energy and intensity and effort was really strong. We didn't play scared.

"This was a great way to start the year." 

Though Rabb's performance was dominating against Gorman's front line of 7-footer Stephen Zimmerman (14 points, 12 rebounds) and Duke-bound 6-11 forward Chase Jeter (10 points), it was a 14-0 run to start the second half keyed the victory.

Tied at 30-30 at halftime, the Dragons actually went small utilizing four guards, including Boise State–bound point guard Paris Austin, who scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half. First-year starter Isaiah Thomas (eight points, 4-for-4 from field) also played well for the Dragons, who had just 14 turnovers to 23 for Gorman.

One of the key plays in the spurt was a nifty behind-the-back fastbreak move by O'Dowd senior Austin Walker, who had a clear path for what looked to be an uncontested layup. Zimmerman made a beautiful block from behind, but Rabb, sprinting down the court as well, followed it up with one of his four follow dunks.

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"Since we beat them last year, we knew they were going to come hard after us," Austin said. "We just really focused on defense and rebounding and being more aggressive the second half. And it was great to have Ivan so involved. He was pretty special tonight."

Indeed his numbers bettered the combined numbers of Jeter and Zimmerman (24 points, 16 rebounds). All three big men are ranked among the top 10 seniors in the country.

"Twenty-eight and 20 speaks for itself," Gorman coach Grant Rice said of Rabb. "He definitely was the player of the game. They came out and made shots the second half and we did not. We fought hard but couldn't get over the hump."

Gorman came into the game No. 7 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 national rankings and O'Dowd was No. 12.

Bishop O'Dowd 63, Bishop Gorman 55

BISHOP GORMAN (0-1)
Chase Nomaaea 1-3 0-0 2, Richie Thornton 2-9 0-0 5, Stephen Zimmerman 5-9 4-8 12,  Chase Jeter 5-11 0-2 10, Nick Blair 3-6 0-0 7, Tanner Leishman 1-1 0-0 3, Charles O'Bannon 1-1 0-2 2, Julian Payton 0-0 1-3 1, Zach Collins 1-3 0-0 2, Dean Whiteside 2-2 0-0 4, Travis Rice 0-1 0-0 0, Ugo Amadi 1-2 2-2 5, Totals 22-48 7-17 56.

BISHOP O'DOWD (1-0)
Austin Paris 5-9, Austin Walker 2-7 0-0 5, Ivan Rabb 10-17 8-12 28, Jeevin Sandhu 1-5 1-2 3, Isaiah Thomas 4-4 0-0 8, Elijah Hardy 0-0 2-2 2, Je'Quart Baggett 0-1 0-0 0, Franklin Longrus 0-2 0-0 0, Arinze Chidom 1-1 0-0 2. Totals 23-49 15-25 63.

Gorman 15  15   8  17  — 55
O'Dowd 14  16  19 14  — 63

3-point goals: Gorman 4-4 (Amadi, Thornton, Leishman, Blair), O'Dowd 2-14 (Walker, Austin). Rebounds: Gorman 30 (Zimmerman 12), O'Dowd 30 (Rabb 20). Assists: Gorman 8 (Thornton 3), O'Dowd 9 (Austin 5). Fouls: Gorman 22, O'Dowd 16. Turnovers: Gorman 23, O'Dowd 14. 

Moreau Catholic (Hayward) 65, Drake (San Anselmo) 64

Moreau Catholic coach Frank Knight was asked who improved the most among his players during the offseason.

Without hesitation, the coach of the defending Northern California Division IV champions said: "Hands down, Brandon Lawrence. Huge leap."

Lawrence, a 6-foot-3 junior wing, proved his coach right by scoring 20 points while hitting the game-winning basket. Lawrence and Terrell Brown had 20 points each and Cal-commit Oscar Frayer added 16 points and 12 rebounds for Moreau, which fought back from a 10-point first-half deficit.

Jesse Hunt had 19 points and 11 rebounds and Jasper Verduin and Dane Wells added 12 points apiece for Drake, the defending Northern California Division III champs.

Lawrence drilled a 3-pointer with 17 seconds left to put Moreau up 65-64 before Eastern Washington-bound Hunt missed twice down the stretch. His second miss hung on the rim and fell out as the final buzzer sounded.

Moreau played without standout sophomore guard Damari Milstead, out for a couple of weeks according to Knight for unspecified reasons.

"Drake is one hell of a team, so an especially good win without Damari," Knight said.

Berkeley 67, St. Joseph Notre Dame (Alameda) 66

Casey Roquemore had 17 points, Asa Allen 14 and Zach Copeland 13 leading Berkeley. … Fourth-year starter Lamont Banks made six of 10 shots and all nine free throws to finish with 21 points for the defending state Division V champions, which got 14 from Darne Duckett.

Other games

Drew Kunde, a 6-3 senior, had 20 points and Keith Smith 11 as San Ramon Valley (Danville) pulled out a 55-50 win over Cordova-Rancho Cordova. …Steven Daily had 21 points and Arash Aliyar 18 as College Park (Pleasant Hill) went wire-to-wire to beat St. Mary's-Stockton 64-58. … Anthony Townes had 25 points and 21 rebounds and Christian Ellis 24 as Modesto Christian defeated Bullard-Fresno 89-65. … Defending Northern California Division I champion Folsom got 29 points from super junior guard Jordan Ford in a 72-46 win over Newark Memorial, which go 14 points from Marcus Harris.