The headlining game of the night in the event's Traditional Bracket saw Harvard-Westlake escape with a 66-63 victory against No. 2
Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.). Duke signee
Nikolas Khamenia and four-star junior guard
Joe Sterling knocked down back-to-back 3-pointers late in the contest to push the Wolverines ahead by as many as seven points in the final two minutes.
Sterling finished with a game-high 19 points, five assists and four rebounds
in the victory. Khamenia chipped in 16 points, four rebounds and two
steals.
Five-star Duke signee Nikolas Khamenia contributed 16 points, four assists and two steals in the win Friday night. (Photo: Caleb Brown)
Gonzaga jumped to a 7-0 lead early but Harvard-Westlake erased the deficit quickly to grab a 16-15 lead at the end of the first quarter. A back-and-forth second quarter featured four lead changes and a tie as the Eagles inched ahead 25-23 at the intermission.
After a 4-0 spurt to begin the second half gave Harvard-Westlake a 27-25 lead, Gonzaga responded strong with a 13-2 run to take a 38-29 advantage mid-way through the third quarter. The Wolverines didn't flinch, closing out the third period on a 13-5 stretch to cut the deficit to 44-43 entering the final stanza.
After both teams traded baskets down the stretch, a tip-in from four-star Virginia tech signee
Christian Gurdak cut the Harvard-Westlake lead to 57-56 with 3:45 remaining in the contest. The Wolverines subsequently scored six unanswered points to push ahead 63-56 with 1:20 to go after the big threes from Khamenia and Sterling.
Free throws from
Amir Jones and Sterling put things away in the closing seconds.
Harvard-Westlake (17-1) picked up its second consecutive win in the tournament against a top five opponent after knocking off No. 4
Perry (Gilbert, Ariz.) 57-54 in the first round Thursday.
Gonzaga (11-2) will have opportunities for redemption against nationally-ranked teams, including a Jan. 20 showdown with No. 1
Roosevelt (Eastvale, Calif.) at the Spalding Hoophall Classic.
The first semifinal showdown saw De La Salle cruise to a 58-48 victory over
Chaminade (St. Louis, Mo.) led by a game-high 17 points, 10 rebounds and six assists from four-star Oklahoma signee
Alec Blair.
Chaminade led 15-14 after the first quarter before De La Salle used a strong second quarter surge to go ahead 32-25 at the half. The Spartans maintained their advantage at 45-39 at the end of the third quarter before putting things away late.
De La Salle (14-0) came into the tournament ranked No. 37 in MaxPreps expanded top 100. The Spartans took down No. 22
Duncanville (Texas) 65-62 in the first round Thursday night behind 21 points, three rebounds and three assists from Blair.
Chaminade (6-3) takes on Gonzaga in the third-place game tomorrow at 4:30 p.m. after knocking off
Christ the King (Middle Village, N.Y.) 58-40 in the third round guided by 16 points, 16 rebounds and four blocks from junior wing
Jamison White. The Red Devils entered the event ranked No. 57 nationally.
In consolation bracket play earlier in the day, Perry and Duncanville advanced to tomorrow's fifth-place game at 10:30 a.m. after picking up wins over quality opponents.
Perry knocked off
Sunnyslope (Phoenix, Ariz.) 77-56 paced by 27 points, 10 rebounds, nine assists and three blocks on 13 of 17 from the field from five-star senior
Koa Peat. Duncanville defeated Christ the King 75-70 behind 27 points and five rebounds from four-star TCU commit
Kayden Edwards.
