National FAB 50 No. 1 Chino Hills defeated Nevada power Bishop Gorman of Las Vegas on Saturday evening at the 2016 Nike Extravaganza. Host Mater Dei downed FAB 50 No. 32 Foothills Christian after defeating Arizona No. 1 Shadow Mountain on Friday night. Make sure Check out Top 25 player rankings on our sister site GrassrootsHoops.net on Sunday after the event.
(Cal-Hi Sports state rankings are referenced where it applies; Saturday games written up first. New State Top 20 rankings will be released Monday night. It will be a Gold Club post so to get it you will need to be a member. If not and interested, CLICK HERE.)
RELATED: Nike Extravaganza Top 25 Player Rankings
No. 5 Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 61, No. 4 Foothills Christian (El Cajon) 53
The Monarchs jumped out to a 22-11 lead and never looked back, defeating San Diego County’s top-ranked team in a mild upset. Foothills Christian trailed 24-21 at halftime and got within one point (26-25), but Mater Dei (23-3) stretched its lead to 37-27 on a 3-pointer by sophomore guard Spencer Freedman. Mater Dei’s biggest lead of the night was 52-39 and Foothills Christian (17-4) made a few buckets at the end to make it interesting. The Knights, however, couldn’t get over the hump despite a few sloppy possessions late by the Monarchs.
From a ranking standpoint, it was an upset, but Mater Dei has still yet to lose to a California team and Foothills Christian was a major test. Coming into the game, Foothills Christian had two losses to state and FAB 50 No. 1 Chino Hills and a split with state No. 18 Corona Centennial, which showed this week it could be a major factor in the upcoming CIFSS Open Division playoffs. Mater Dei is on the FAB 50 bubble, but wasn’t helped from a national perspective when No. 43 Moeller (Cincinnati, Ohio) lost two games this past week. The Ohio school known for its powerhouse football teams defeated Mater Dei at the Beach Ball Classic in South Carolina earlier in the season. On a local level, if Mater Dei wins the Trinity League with an unbeaten mark, it should earn a top four seed in the CIFSS Open Division playoffs.
In front of his future college coach, Dana Altman at Oregon, M.J. Cage finished with 20 points, seven rebounds and three blocked shots for Mater Dei. No other player hit double figures for the Monarchs. McDonald’s All-American and Mr. Basketball candidate T.J. Leaf finished with 27 points, 14 rebounds, four assists, three blocks, and six steals for Foothills Christian.
Note: Foothills Christian is ranked No. 32 in the FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by Ballislife.com.
No. 1 Chino Hills 98, Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) 81
The Gaels are a talented offensive bunch, and their scoring prowess made for an entertaining game, but they were no match for the nation’s top-ranked team, as Chino Hills (25-0) was in its comfort zone after racing out to a 29-17 lead at the end of the first quarter. Run GMZ scored another 29 points in the second quarter to take a 58-36 halftime lead. The teams continued to trade highlight-type baskets in the second half, but the clostest Gorman got was within 11 points (87-76).
Mr. Basketball USA candidate and Mr. Basketball State POY front-runner Lonzo Ball finished with 27 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists, and five steals. Li’Angelo Ball finished with 22 points, as did junior forward Eli Scott for Chino Hills. Youngest brother La’Melo Ball added 25 and five assists. For Gorman, junior Charles O’Bannon Jr., the son of 1993 Mr. Cal-Hi Sports Mr. Basketball Charles O’Bannon of Lakewood Artesia, had 22 points, nine rebounds and four assists. McDonald’s All-American Zach Collins added 20 points and 12 rebounds.
Chino Hills will close out the regular season this week in Baseline League play versus No. 11 Damien and Etiwanda. Considering the scores of the games in the first round of league play, Chino Hills should enter the CIFSS Open Division playoffs at 27-0 with the No. 1 seed.
Note: Chino Hills is ranked No. 1 in the FAB 50; Bishop Gorman is a bubble club.
No. 18 Centennial (Corona) 50, No. 7 De La Salle (Concord) 46
The Huskies closed out a big week by pulling out a win over NorCal’s No. 2 ranked team. The game was close throughout, as De La Salle (20-2) took a 34-31 lead entering the fourth period on a 3-pointer by Colby Orr. Unfortunately, it was his only field goal make of the night and a microcosm of the Spartans’ shooting down the stretch. De La Salle made only 9-of-36 on 3-point shots, and trailing by three points late in the game, missed five attempts to potentially tie the game. Centennial (19-6) took control with a 12-0 run at the beginning of the fourth quarter and the score was 43-36 at its conclusion. Long Beach State-bound Jordan Griffin, who led all scorers with 20 points, made two free throws with 10 seconds to ice the game. UCLA bound Ike Anigbogu added 11 points and 11 rebounds for the Huskies. USF bound Jordan Ratinho, who made 3-of-15 on 3-pointers, led De La Salle with 17 points. Earlier in the week, Centennial defeated No. 17 Roosevelt of Corona, 73-60, to avenge an earlier league loss.
Note: De La Salle is a FAB 50 bubble club.
No. 10 Westchester (Los Angeles) 70, Orange Lutheran 50
The Comets got a great team effort and physically dominated Orange Lutheran (20-5), the second place team in the Trinity League a game behind unbeaten Mater Dei. A 16-0 run to begin the second quarter was the key, as Westchester went into the half leading 35-19 and was in control throughout the second half. San Jose State bound Keith Fisher led the way for Westchester with 13 points and six rebounds. Junior Chris Williams led OLu with 13 points. Westchester (22-5) defeated No. 13 Fairfax in the first round of Western League play and closes out the regular season with the Lions. The rematch winner will likely be the top seed in the CIF L.A. City Section playoffs.
No. 13 Fairfax (Los Angeles) 65, Los Alamitos 56
The big difference in the game was the Lions’ depth and the sensational play of freshmen guards Ethan Anderson and Robert McRae off the bench. The duo combined for 30 points, as Fairfax (24-3) got 38 bench points while Los Alamitos (21-4) got three. Anderson had 15, and McRae had 15 with Army-bound Babacar Thiombane adding 10 points. All-state guard Eyassu Worku led the Griffins with 27 points, making 7-of-21 field goals. Pepe Garcia added 10 for Los Alamitos, which remains in the CIFSS Open Division bubble and definitely would be behind No. 19 Ayala in the public school pecking order.
Santa Margarita (Rancho SM) 60, Etiwanda 45
Kaden Rasheed (Santa Margarita) 15 pts, Noah Rasheed (Santa Margarita) 12 pts; Miles Oliver (Etiwanda) 13 pts.
No. 19 Ayala (Chino Hills) 62, Servite (Anaheim) 33
John Edgar (Ayala) 25 pts, 11 rbs, Austen Awosika (Ayala) 13 pts, 6 abs, 5 stls; Miles President (Servite) 13 pts.
Palm Desert 43, Santiago (Corona) 32
Gabe Martinez (Palm Desert) 10 pts, 10 rbs, 3 blks; Tayvon Latten (Santiago) 6 pts, 11 rbs.
Sonora (La Habra) 73, Colony (Ontario) 66
Austin Carter (Sonora) 25 pts, 6 rbs, 2 blks; Christian Sellers (Colony) 20 pts.
Friday Night Specials
Mater Dei (Santa Ana) 79, Shadow Mountain (Phoenix, Ariz.) 72
The visitors from Phoenix came out swinging, in particular Mike Bibby Jr., the son of 1996 Mr. Basketball USA Mike Bibby, who now coaches at his alma mater. Bibby Jr. scored 11 of Shadow Mountain’s 13 first quarter points and 14 of its first 16, but after falling behind early, Mater Dei took control behind the shooting and passing of sophomore guard Spencer Freedman. After leading 14-13 at the end of the first period, Mater Dei scored 29 points in the second quarter to take a 40-34 halftime lead.
Shadow Mountain went cold in the third quarter, scoring only seven points, and Bibby Jr. didn’t score again until the game was basically decided. Shadow Mountain, the top-ranked team in Arizona, made some late steals and buckets to make it interesting, but Mater Dei was in complete control down the stretch. Freedman finished with 19 points and five assists, including three alley-oops to leading scorer M.J. Cage. Cage, a Oregon commit, led Mater Dei with 22 points. J.J. Rhymes, a D1 wing prospect, led all scorers with 23 points.
Note: Mater Dei and Shadow Mountain are FAB 50 bubble clubs
St. John Bosco (Bellflower) 50, Village Christian (Sun Valley) 47
J.J. Watson (St. John Bosco) 19 pts, 7 rbs; Issac Etter (Village Christian) 10 pts.
JSerra (Rancho Santa Margarita) 83, Windward (Los Angeles) 58
Sebastian Much (JSerra) 24 pts, 15 rbs, Alex Hickman (JSerra) 27 pts; Jules Bernard 28 pts, 20 rbs.
For Top 25 player rankings from the event, visit GrassrootsHoops.net on Sunday.
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