By Kevin Askeland
MaxPreps.com
For the second time in two weeks, Newark Memorial got the better of the defending Northern California Division 3 champion Sacramento Dragons.
The Cougars held off a late rally by Sacramento to claim a 67-66 win over the Dragons and move on to the championship game of the 55th annual Gridley Invitational Basketball Tournament on Friday. Newark Memorial will face San Leandro, a 57-52 winner over Will C. Wood, in the championship game. The Cougars defeated San Leandro last year for the championship.
The Dragons put together a furious rally in the fourth quarter, scoring 28 points to Newark Memorial's 14. Chase Tapley, limited to eight points in the first three periods including none in the first, scored 10 points in the final quarter and finished the night with 18 points. Meanwhile teammate Josiah Turner, who had a team-high 29 points, scored 11 points in the fourth quarter to help cut the Cougars' lead.
However Newark Memorial was able to convert eight free throws in the quarter, including four in the waning seconds, to gain the victory. The Cougars had four players in double figures, including Bobby McCall with 16 points, Ifeanyi Ezeofor with 15, Khion Sankey with 13 and Evan Kobori with 10.
San Leandro 57, Will C. Wood 52
San Leandro overcame a 41-36 deficit in the final quarter with a 21-11 run, limiting Will C. Wood to just three field goals over the final eight minutes of play.
Meanwhile Shaheed Young scored 10 points in the fourth quarter for San Leandro, including a pair of three's, and Jared Cunningham converted five of six free throws down the stretch. Both Young and Cunningham finished with 15 points.
Will C. Wood's Carson Bruce led all scorers with 18 points, but had just two in the final period.
Modesto Christian 69, Pittsburg 61
The Crusaders bounced back from a disappointing loss to Sacramento in the first round to top Pittsburg 69-61 and advance to the consolation final.
Pittsburg had the hot hand early, just as it did in a first-round loss to Newark Memorial, but was unable to hang on in the second half. The Crusaders outscored the Pirates 40-28 over the final 16 minutes.
Steven Sullivan had 20 points for the Pirates while Anthony Pratt had 18 for Modesto Christian.
Salesian 72, Gridley 48
The Chieftans had no trouble advancing to the consolation finals, outscoring the host Bulldogs 36-18 in the first half. Jabari Brown had 20 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter, while Desmond Simmons had 16 and Kendall Andrews added 14 for Salesian.
Tyler Nichols led Gridley with 13 points.
Action concludes tonight with the championship game set for 6:30 p.m. at Farmer's Hall in Gridley.
Thursday
The scores were surprisingly lopsided in the first round of the Gridley Invitational Basketball Tournament, but there was still plenty of talent on display at Farmer’s Hall on Thursday.
All four games in the first round were blowouts with two resulting in the application of the mercy rule in the fourth quarter. Will C. Wood’s 13-point win in the final game over Salesian was the closest game, although defending champion Newark Memorial needed to rally in the second half to eventually win in blowout fashion.
The Gridley Invitational annually features some of the top boys’ basketball teams in California. The tournament’s motto this year is “55 Outstanding Years of Basketball” and the 2008 version shouldn’t be any different than years past.
So how tough is the Gridley Invitational? Consider that last year Branson, the state Division 5 champion, lost in the consolation finals.
That should be some consolation to Modesto Christian, which figures to be one of the top Division 5 schools in the state this year but lost Thursday by 54 points to CIF Division 3 runnerup Sacramento, 86-32.
Here’s a look at the first round games.
Sacramento 86, Modesto Christian 32
The Crusaders missed All-American candidate Reeves Nelson in the frontcourt, but it was the backcourt play of Sacramento’s threesome of Josiah Turner, Travon Abraham and Chase Tapley that proved to be the difference in the game.
Nelson, a 6-foot-6 power forward, was in street clothes on the bench after suffering an injury during football season. Nelson was a pre-season All-American by the Sporting News and is headed to UCLA next season.
The Dragons, however, have a standout of their own in Tapley. Headed to San Diego State next season, Tapley was the Sacramento Bee Metro Player of the Year last season after leading Sacramento to the state title game against Santa Margarita. In that contest, Tapley put on an impressive scoring display with 35 points.
Tapley was just as impressive on Thursday against Modesto Christian as he teamed with Graham and Turner to harass the Crusader backcourt into numerous turnovers which resulted in Dragon layups. Sacramento had 26 steals on the night including eight by Turner and four by Tapley.
Although he led the team in scoring with 19 points, Tapley also showed his generosity by dishing out eight assists. Turner was usually on the receiving end of Tapley’s passes and he ended the night with 16 points. Graham was also in double figures with 14.
The Dragons put the game away in the second quarter. Leading 21-12 after eight minutes, Sacramento outscored the Crusaders 29-9 in the second period for a 50-21 halftime lead.
Brandon Baker and Johnny Hutton each had eight points for Modesto Christian.
Newark 74, Pittsburg 52
The defending tournament champion Cougars avoided a first-round upset by outscoring the upstart Pirates 52-15 in the second half of a 74-52 victory.
Pittsburg, despite missing five players due to the football team’s participation in the North Coast Section playoffs, grabbed the first half lead, 37-22, on the strength of its three-point shooting. The Pirates made seven treys in the first half, including three by Touri McLennon.
The Cougars came roaring back in the second half, however. Khion Saikey paced an 11-0 run with two buckets and two assists. Meanwhile Bobby McCall closed out the third quarter with a pair of threes and a pair of field goals to put Newark Memorial ahead 47-42 heading into the final period.
Newark lengthened its lead over the final eight minutes with a 27-10 run. McCall finished with 18 points for the Cougars while Ifeanyi Ezeofor added 14. Kris Manning topped Pittsburg with 22.
San Leandro 91, Gridley 43
San Leandro had little trouble with tournament host Gridley, jumping out to a 53-21 halftime lead and cruising to a 91-43 victory.
San Leandro, which lost in the finals last year to Newark Memorial, got a big second quarter from Jared Cunningham, who scored 13 points in the period and finished the game with 19. Travis Sims helped out with 16 points while Nick Armas had 11.
Kristofer Dirks topped the Bulldogs with eight points.
Will C. Wood 70, Salesian 57
In the final game of the night, Will C. Wood pulled away in the final period with a 22-point outburst fueled by Carson Bruce, who had nine of his team-high 21 points in the quarter.
Will C. Wood nailed nine three-pointers in the game, including five by Jonathan Terrazas. All 15 of Terrazas’ points came from behind the arc. Donovan Basley added 14 points and Mick McChristian had 12.
The Chieftans relied on the production of Desmond Simmons and Jabari Brown. The tandem combined for 45 points on the night with Brown leading the team with 23 points, 17 in the second half.
