Lucas Martin-Julien, Riverside
Photo by Jim Redman
The Rebels have played a brutal schedule and lost top senior guard
Louis Dabney for the season, so grinding it out for a fourth-place finish at the City of Palms Classic was a major accomplishment.
22. (NR) North Central (Indianapolis, Ind.) (5-1)The Panthers won a showdown last Saturday against then-No. 20 Hamilton Southeastern (Fishers) in front of over 3,000 fans, receiving 27 points from Purdue signee
Ronnie Johnson. North Central has another big game tonight against Indiana signee Kevin Ferrell and Park Tudor (Indianapolis).
23. (NR) Scotlandville (Baton Rouge, La.) (16-1)The Hornets' only loss this season came against No. 15 Southwind at the Rumble on the Ridge in Arkansas back in November. Scotlandville beat McKinley on Thursday night 79-66 and looks to be on its way to a fourth 30-win season in as many years.
24. (NR) Rainier Beach (Seattle, Wash.) (5-0)Bolstered by transfers
Anrio Adams and Will Dorsey, the Vikings have been impressive in December. Beach pasted defending Class 4A state champ Gonzaga Prep (Spokane) by 19 points in its opener, then knocked off Class 3A preseason No. 1 Seattle Prep and No. 2 O'Dea (Seattle) over a seven-day span.
25. (9) Columbia (Decatur, Ga.) (8-1)There are a handful of one- and two-loss teams that could have easily occupied this spot. The Eagles, who went 30-3 with virtually the same roster a year ago, get the nod despite a setback to three-loss West Charlotte (Charlotte, N.C.) in the first round of the Chick-fil-A Classic in South Carolina. Columbia bounced back with wins over Ridge View (Columbia, S.C.) and Southwest DeKalb (Decatur).
Dropped out: No. 3 last week
Miller Grove (Lithonia, Ga.), No. 16
Taft (Cincinnati, Ohio), No. 18
St. Augustine (New Orleans, La.), No. 20
Hamilton Southeastern (Fishers, Ind.), No. 22
Lone Peak (Highland, Utah), No. 23
Boys & Girls (Brooklyn, N.Y.)
