By Kevin Askeland
MaxPreps.com
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. - Weather prediction for the National Division finals of the Mission Prep Classic in San Luis Obispo - there will be a Storm at The Beach.
The Richwood Rams of Monroe, La., led by LSU signee Storm Warren, will take on the Ranier Beach Vikings of Washington in the finals Saturday after each won their semifinal matchup. The Vikings proved too athletic for the Sagemont Lions of Westmont, Fla., winning 61-47, while the Rams won in spectacular fashion, 87-85, on a buzzer-beating shot by Zamarion Parker.
Richwood looked beaten when midway through the fourth quarter, Christian Life of Humble, Texas, took a 79-66 lead on a breakaway dunk by Ronnie Moss. But Richwood coach Terry Martin had confidence in his team.
"We knew coming in that they would be a tough team," said Martin. "We knew that we would have to elevate our game if we were going to compete with them, and that's what we did."
After having trouble getting the ball to post players Warren and Leslie Davis during a 10-minute stretch in the second half, the Rams began to feed the pair in the final five minutes. Davis, who finished with 26 points, scored eight points down the stretch while Warren added four.
Warren also had the basket that brought Richwood within two points at 11.6 seconds and then had the rebound and outlet pass to Parker following a missed free throw with 3.9 seconds left.
"We didn't have a timeout to call a play, but we have a set play for that situation and Storm got the ball to the right person," said Martin.
Parker grabbed the pass at midcourt and had just one thought in mind - shoot to win.
"I was running up the court and I could see the clock going down, 3, 2, 1, so I shot the three-pointer," said Parker. "I didn't hear people telling me what to do, my mind was just in a whole other world."
Parker's high-arching shot swished through the net and pandemonium ensued.
The last-second shot ended an otherwise fine effort by the Cougars, who turned a 26-18 second-quarter deficit into a 40-35 halftime lead. Chris Turner proved to be unstoppable from behind the arc or driving to the hoop. He hit three 3-pointers and a dunk to end the quarter. He then added two more dunks and two more 3's, including one from 25 feet, to put Christian Life ahead 77-66 and set up Moss's dunk.
Turner finished with 25 points for the Cougars while Junior Cadougan had 18. Warren had 21 for the Rams.
Ranier Beach, using a disciplined offense and a stifling defense, held a seven-point lead at halftime, 23-16, but quickly pulled away in the second half. The Vikings went on a 19-5 run to start the third period and build a 42-21 lead.
Sagemont got back on track near the end of the third period, but by then the damage was done. The Lions never got closer than the final 14-point margin.
The Vikings had a balanced attack, led by sophomore guard Robert Harris with 16 points and senior guard Reggie More with 15 points.
Three California teams were shut out of the National Division semifinals after Compton, Fremont and Horizon all lost in the first round. The Roosevelt Roughriders of Seattle, Wash., also lost in the first round.
Compton, led by USC signee DeMar Derozan, fell to Richwood 65-46 in the first round with Derozan scoring 18 points.
Meanwhile Horizon of San Diego had no answer for Ranier Beach in the first round, falling 86-44. Mike Ladd had 20 points for the Vikings while 7-0 center Jeff Withey had 13 points for the Panthers.
Fremont of Los Angeles lost to Sagemont 49-45 with Laron Armstead scoring 18 points for the Pathfinders.
Compton advanced to the third-place game with a 71-69 win over Roosevelt on Friday. Derozan had 24 points and Edgar Garibay, the Tarbabes' 6-10 center, had 26. Compton will play Fremont, a 56-46 winner over Horizon in the other consolation semifinal game Friday.
In the Elite Division, host Mission Prep advanced to the championship game with a 71-40 win over Van Nuys. The Royals hit nine 3-pointers in the contest, including four each by Bob Mott and Mitchell Woolper. Mott finished with 18 points and Woolpert had 16. Jerry Casey added 17 for the Royals.
The Royals play Mission Hills of San Marcos, a 65-53 winner over Clovis East. Adam Bemaniam and Taylor Darby each had 20 points for the Grizzlies.
Action continues in the National Division with the fifth-place game between Fremont and Compton at 2:30 p.m. at Mission Prep High School followed by the third-place game between Christian Life and Sagemont at 4 p.m. Mission Prep and Mission Hills meet in the championship of the Elite Division at 5:30 p.m. and Richwood and Ranier Beach meet in the National Division finals at 8:30 p.m.
At 7 p.m., Campbell Hall takes on St. Andrews of Rhode Island in an exhibition game. Campbell Hall, led by UCLA signee J'rue Holliday, lost to just one team last year - St. Andrews of Rhode Island.
