Student Sports FAB 50-ranked Loyola (Los Angeles) escapes with 64-63 victory over talented Compton (Compton, Calif.) at inaugural Take Flight Challenge in Redondo Beach, Calif. Loyola’s victory assures Cubs of top 20 ranking in the upcoming FAB 50.
Loyola (Los Angeles) 64, Compton (Compton, Calif.) 63
There is no question the team at Compton is one of the most talented clubs on the West Coast, with three D1 bound seniors and a plethora of rim-level athletes. For the Tarbabes, it’s just been a matter of putting it all together against other talented teams. Compton came into its game against the No. 21 ranked team in the Student Sports FAB 50 focused and ready to take on the challenge.
The Tarbabes matched the Cubs shot for shot, but in the end it was two missed free throws with one second remaining that proved to be the difference in the marquee game of the Take Flight Challenge. With the win, Loyola moved to 13-0 and will likely move near the upper echelon (top 15) of the FAB 50 this upcoming week. For Compton (11-3), a victory over the previously unbeaten Cubs would have been a huge confidence builder going into Moore League play against teams such as Poly (Long Beach, Calif.) and Millikan (Long Beach, Calif.).
With less than 15 seconds remaining, Compton’s Robert Lewis missed the front end of a 1-and-1 free throw situation with the Tarbabes leading 63-62. Loyola came down and took a shot around the rim that was off, but UCLA-bound senior center Tommie Welsh cleaned up the miss for the game-winning basket with approximately seven seconds remaining.
After the basket, Compton’s Kyron Cartwright, a LMU-bound point guard, raced upcourt and then was fouled in the act of shooting. He missed to the left on the first free throw and the second rimmed out as Loyola’s bench rushed the court to celebrate the victory as the ball fell to the hardwood.
Welsh paced Loyola with 16 points and 11 rebounds and made clutch plays when Loyola needed them. He continues to play like a bonafide All-American candidate. Junior guard Max Hazzard, the MVP of the UA Holiday Classic, added 17 points and three assists. Arizona-bound point guard Parker Jackson-Cartwright added 10 points and six assists.
Loyola scored final seven points of the first half to trim Compton’s lead to 30-28.
Lewis finished with 16 points and six rebounds. Compton Fresno St.-bound wing Isaiah Bailey had a big game (18 points, 10 rebounds) and continues to show that perhaps bigger schools missed on him. Cartwright finished with eight points six rebounds and six assists.
Redondo Union (Redondo Beach, Calif.) 69, Alemany (Mission Hills, Calif.) 58
The Sea Hawks used a strong finish to defeat an upset-minded Alemany team that was outscored 21-12 in the final period. Alemany (10-5) used a strong performance from unsigned Gary Chivichyan to stay within striking range. The 6-foot-4 senior wing scored a game-high 26 points, making seven 3-pointers in the process. Chivichyan, however, didn’t get many clean looks in the closing minutes of the game.
Redondo Union (12-3) got another strong performance from unsigned senior center Terrell Carter. The 6-foot-8, 250-pounder netted 16 points in the second half and his two-handed dunk with 49 seconds remaining sealed the victory. Carter finished with 24 points and eight rebounds.
Also filling up the box score for the Sea Hawks was sophomore off-guard Leland Green. He made all three of his 3-point attempts and finished with 17 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.
Senior Brandon Boyd was Alemany’s other double-digit scorer with 14 points and three assists.
Mayfair (Lakewood, Calif.) 59, Etiwanda (Etiwanda, Calif.) 58
Etiwanda was rolling along unbeaten and at No. 7 in the Student Sports FAB 50 — until USC bound point guard Jordan McLaughlin suffered a shoulder injury at the Maxpreps Holiday Classic. The Eagles lost two games at that post-Christmas holiday tournament and dropped their first game of 2014 to a scrappy club that refused to go away.
Junior Kameron Edwards (game highs 21 points and 10 rebounds) gave Etiwanda (13-3) a 58-57 led with a conventional 3-point play with 26.6 seconds left in the game. Junior guard Kendall Small of Mayfair (9-5) had just converted a conventional 3-point play moments earlier and looked to take the last shot for the Monsoons.
Small drove to the basket with approximately 12 seconds left. He missed a lay-up, but 6-foot-1 senior Martae Coleman cleaned up the miss and put the ball right back in the basket to give Mayfair the victory. Early in the season at the Pac Shores Tournament, Mayfair took down FAB 50-ranked St. John Bosco (Bellflower, Calif.) and Compton before a mixed bag of results the rest of calendar 2013.
Small continued to show why he’s one of the best 2015 guards on the West Coast, finishing with a game high 25 points. The 5-foot-11 Small also had five rebounds and four assists. Talented senior guard Michael Nwabuzor added 15 points for Mayfair.
The second double-digit scorer for Etiwanda was senior Kenny Barnes. He finished with 17 points and nine rebounds.
Cantwell Sacred Heart (Montebello, Calif.) 69, Lawndale (Lawndale, Calif.) 57
In a matchup of Cardinals, it was the ones from Los Angeles’ Eastside that came out on top behind another outstanding backcourt performance. Cantwell Sacred Heart (11-2) jumped all over Lawndale early, 23-3, and led 25-8 at the end of the first quarter.
Guard Joey Covarrubias of Cantwell continues to show why he’s one of the better unsigned guards in California. He scored a game-high 20 points, had nine rebounds and dished off seven assists. Cantwell also got a big lift from off-guard Emiliano Meija. The 5-foot-8 senior made all five of his 3-point attempts and finished with 15 points.
Lawndale (7-7) got back into the game after Cantwell center Gligorije Rakopcevic got in foul trouble. With fellow 2015 big man Balsa Dragovich not playing (blisters), it allowed Lawndale to get easy looks around the basket. Lawndale threatened in the 3rd period and went on a 14-2 run to get back in the game.
Six-foot-9 2015 prospect Chimezie Metu led Lawndale with 14 points, 14 rebounds and seven blocked shots. He made only 4-of-17 field goals, however, as Lawndale shot 32 percent (19/60) from the field.
Cantwell has only lost to Student Sports FAB 50 ranked and unbeaten Loyola (Los Angeles) and Centennial (Corona, Calif.). The Huskies have only lost to a full-strength Etiwanda (Etiwanda, Calif.) and Loyola in the finals of the UA Holiday Classic, so those results bode well for Cantwell Sacred Heart.
Sheldon (Sacramento, Calif.) 59, Santa Monica (Santa Monica, Calif.) 56
A Sheldon team made primarily of tenth and ninth graders has took its lumps against a tough schedule, but the Huskies finally got off the schneid by defeating SaMoHi, another relatively young team.
Sheldon (4-7) had four players in double figures, led by freshman Elishja Duplechan. The guard had his coming out party with 16 points, three assists and some explosive blow-bys. A trio of sophomores also hit double figures for Sheldon: highly-regarded Ian Miller (12 points), Matt Manning (13) and Isaiah Brooks (11).
Santa Monica (7-6) was by sophomore off-guard Jonah Mathews, the younger brother of CAL freshman guard Jordan Mathews. He made 9-of-16 field goal attempts to finish with 23 points. He also had a game-high 12 rebounds and three assists.
King (Riverside, Calif.) 44, Saint Anthony (Long Beach, Calif.) 34
In a low-scoring affair, St. Anthony (3-6) trailed King 21-9 at halftime before outscoring King 13-3 to get back in the game. King (12-2) regrouped in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach.
Senior guard Chris Lott of King was the game’s most impressive player. He scored 22 points on a variety of backdoor lay-ups and also knocked down two 3-pointers. Six-foot-4 senior Maurice Jones was the other player in double figures for King with 13 points.
Senior guard Justin Frazier led St. Anthony with 11 points.
Canyon (Anaheim, Calif.) 55, Brentwood (Los Angeles) 54
Four players hit in double figures to lead Canyon (13-2) past Brentwood (10-3). Guard Anthony Ballastero, a 5-foot-8 senior, made three 3-pointers and finished with team highs in points (14) and rebounds (9) for Canyon.
Canyon had to overcome the performance of Arizona St.-bound guard Tra Holder of Brentwood. He made 11-of-14 shots from the field and 10-of-12 three throws for 25 points. With six seconds remaining in the game, Holder drove the length of the floor, but his potential game-winning runner was off-target.
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