The 2008 Mission Prep Christmas Classic

Palma 60, St. Joseph 39 

The Chieftans jumped out to 15-point halftime lead with a big game from senior center Clark Fox, who put 30 points (20 in the first half). Guard John Bonano contributed 14 points in the win for Palma. Brandon Adlesh who had 12 points led St. Joseph, who as a team had a difficult time trying to score. There were a total 47 fouls in this game.

Roosevelt 67, Horizon 51

Roosevelt’s strong 3^rd quarter performance led them to a victory over Horizon on Saturday. Led by Glenn Dean with 21 points, Roosevelt outscored Horizon 28-16 in the 3^rd quarter. Also scoring in double figures for the Roughriders were Amin Tufa and Davis Aberg. The Panthers of Horizon were led by Jeff Withey with 28 points, but didn’t have any other scorers over 6 points.

Stoneridge Intl. 67, Summit Prep 59

After trailing at the half, Stoneridge rallied to outscore the Summit Prep Gladiators by 13 points in the 2^nd half. JP Olukemi, who tallied 29 points, and Jeroen Van Der List, who scored 20, led Stoneridge. Nigel Ajere led Summit Prep with 27 points.

After a slow start in the first quarter for both teams, Clovis East turned up the intensity and outscored Van Nuys 65-38 with big performances from John Hedrington (16 points) and Joe Reynaga (12 points). Ken Russell also added 12 of his own. Van Nuys was led Domonique Evans with 14 points. 

Sagemont (FL) 59, Christian Life (TX) 57 (OT)

Adam Bemaniam put up a game high 26 points in this Championship Game win for the Grizzlies. Jensen Moore added 12 points for Mission Hills. Mitch Woolpert led Mission Prep in the loss with 16 points. Bob Mott contributed with 11 points for the Royals. The Grizzlies, with the win, take 1^st place in the Elite Division while Mission Prep takes home 2^nd place.

Rainier Beach (WA) 77, Richwood (LA) 67

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12/21/2007 Updated 7:55 PM- Up to the Minute Scores

Results w/ writeups by Ray Hurwitz and Matt Richman:

Fremont 54, Horizon 46

The Fremont Pathfinders, led by Tony Freeland with 11 points, defeated the Horizon Panthers in game 1 of Day 4 of the Christmas Classic. Fremont established a quick 11-5 lead after the first quarter and fended off two comeback attempts by the Panthers. “We love having this opportunity to play against great teams from other areas Chances like these are just a great part of life” said Coach Sam Sullivan. Horizon, despite strong performances from Atkins and Withey, who added an additional 13 points, found it difficult to penetrate Fremont’s tough defense.

Central 57, Palma 45

Led by Allen Williams, the Central Grizzlies easily defeated the Palma Chieftans. Williams scored 13 points, including four 3 pointers. It was a 5 point game at halftime, but Central turned on the defense and held the Chieftans to 2 points in the 3^rd quarter. John Bonano, who tallied 13 points, led the Palma squad. Said Grizzlies Coach Loren LeBeau, “We came out with more energy and passion and when you come out like that, you get results”.

Summit Prep 91, St. Andrew's 70

In this high scoring affair, the Gladiators of Summit Prep jumped out to a 57-32 first half advantage. Nigel Ajere tallied 20 points, and Stedman Merritt added 19 for Summit. Senior Guard Mike Culpo, put up 20 points, and Michael Accauoi added another 19 for St. Andrew’s. Summit hit a total of 14 three pointers and St. Andrew’s sank 10 three pointers of their own.

Mission Hills 65, Clovis East 53

Will Barton had a big second half for the Eagles with all of his 15 points coming after the break. David Diakite added 10 points himself in the win over fellow prep school Stoneridge International in which the Eagles outscored Stoneridge by 13 points in the second half. Nicola Vucevic had 14 points in the loss for Stoneridge.

Oak Ridge 69, St. Joseph 55

Despite a quick start, St. Joseph’s could not hold on to their lead in this game against Oak Ridge. Ryan Mastella and Colin Johnson, each with 19 points, led the way for the Oak Ridge Torjans. Dominic Brunello and Jeff Blake, each with 10, paced the Knights.

Compton 72, Roosevelt 69

After leading after the first half, Roosevelt’s lead disappeared in the second half. Compton outscored the Roughriders 41-33 in the second half. Demar Derozan led the Compton Tarbabes with 34 points, and Edgar Garibay added another 26. The Roughriders were led by Amin Tufa with 21 points.

Mission Prep 71, Van Nuys 40

Bob Mott and Jerry Casey came up big for the Royals in this Semifinal Game in the Elite Division with 18 and 17 points, respectively. Cameron Broomi led the Wolves with 16 points himself. With the big win in this game Mission Prep advances to play Mission Hills in the Elite Division Championship game.

Richwood 87, Christian Life 85

Going into the fourth quarter, Richwood was down 64 to 56. This 8 point deficit remained until the final minute, and then it all fell apart for Christian Life. Richwood outscored Christian life 10 to 2, including a last second 3 point shot from Zamarion Parker. Said Parker “When Storm grabbed that rebound, I wasn’t sure what he would do. He gave me the ball and I took the game into my hands. My team worked really hard to get here, and we’re on a roll.” Richwood will compete in the Championship game tomorrow against the winner of Sagemont and Rainier Beach. Richwood was led by Leslie Davis with 26 points, and Storm Warren with 21 points. Christian Life was led by Chris Turner and Garland Judkins with 23 and 17 points respectively.

Rainier Beach (WA) 61, Sagemont (FL) 47

Michael Ladd tallied 20 points and Reggie Moore put up 13 in Vikings runaway victory over Lions. After the 1^st quarter, The Beach outscored Sagemont, 49-36. Marlin Rivera led the Lions in the loss with 9 points. Rainier will move on to face Richwood in the National Division final, tomorrow.

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12/20/2007 Updated 10:11 PM- Day 3 Scores and Writeups

Results with writeups by Ray Hurwitz and Matt Richman:

Van Nuys 68, Central 65

Van Nuys was able to hold on to a late lead to beat the Cougars. The Van Nuys Wolves needed all 27 points from Dominique Evans to secure the victory. The Wolves also got 20 points from Cameron Broomi. Jared White led Central with 15 points off of 5 three pointers. Van Nuys will play the winner of Mission Prep vs. Palma while Central will face the loser of that game.

Mission Hills 64, Oak Ridge 43

Mission Hills used a 20-6 third quarter to build on their 8-point half time lead. Jensen Moore led Mission Hills with 16 points and Taylor Darby added 14 for the Grizzlies. Colin Johnson had 15 points to lead Oak Ridge. With the win, Mission Hills advances to the semifinals of the elite division.

Rainier Beach 86, Horizon 44

“We wanted to make sure that we came out with a lot of energy. Horizon is a good team,” said Rainier Beach Coach Mike Bethea. The Beach responded with plenty of energy and plenty of dunks in route to a 42-point victory. Michael Ladd (committed to Fresno State) had a game high 23 points for Rainier Beach while Aaron Dotson followed with 20. Jeff Withey was the lone player in double figures for Horizon with 13. Rainier Beach will play in the semifinals of the national division Friday at 7:30.

Christian Life 44, Roosevelt 42

Christian Life was able to survive against the Roughriders of Roosevelt in a 44-42 battle. Roosevelt was unable to convert on their last 4 attempts from the field in the quarterfinal classic. Christian Life was able to capitalize on a fourteen-point performance by Junior Cadougan to get the win. Christian Life from Humble Texas moves on to Friday’s semifinal game of the Christmas Classic national division at 6:00pm.

Summit Prep 65, National Christian (MD) 54

The Gladiators of Summit Prep used big games from Konner Vetteto (20 points) and Nigel Ajere (15 points) in their victory over fellow prep school, the National Christian Eagles. Kyle Barone and Alex Tucker added 10 points apiece for the Gladiators who jumped out to a 10-point halftime lead. The Eagles had 4 players in double digits, headed by Dante Taylor (15 points), in the loss.

Clovis East 68, St. Joseph 53

The Timberwolves made 10 three pointers on their way to victory over the Knights of St. Joseph. Joe Reynaga led all scorers with 28 points (including 8 three pointers himself) and John Hedrington added 12 for Clovis East. Ryan Smalley carried most of the scoring load for the Knights with 15 points. Sam Schur contributed with 12 points of his own.

Sagemont 49, Freemont 45

Marlon Rivera tallied 13 points and Garvin Hunt added 11 points for the Sagemont Lions in their victory over the Fremont Pathfinders. Senior Laron Armstead, who scored 13 points from the field and was 5 for 8 from the line, led the Pathfinders. Sagemont led by 4 at the half, but it was a 1 point game entering the 4^th quarter.

Stoneridge 47, St. Andrew's 32

After being up by only 3 points at the end of the first half, Stoneridge International outscored the Saints of St. Andrew’s 25 to 13 in the second half to win game 7 of day 3 at the MCP Christmas Classic. According to Coach Babacar Sy of Stoneridge “It was a tough game. We played well on offense and even better on defense, and that what won it in the end.” Stoneridge was led by J.P. Olukemi with 17 points, while St. Andrew’s leading scorer was Michael Culpo, who had 16 points.

Mission Prep 60, Palma 53

After halftime the Royals outscored the Palma Chieftans 38-24 and used big performances by Mitch Woolpert (17 points), Bob Mott (12 points), and Jerry Casey (11 points). The Chieftans’ top scorer was John Bonano who tallied 20 points. Clark Fox also added 12 points for Palma. Mission Prep put up 10 points in the overtime period to Palma’s 3. The Royals hit 7 three pointers and had crucial defensive stops (especially at the end of regulation) in this classic comeback overtime win.Said Coach Harris "I was proud of the way we played and we stuck with it to the end".

Richwood 65,  Compton 46

The Richwood Rams jumped out to an early 19-5 lead over Compton and never looked back. Led by Senior Forward Storm Warren, Richwood outscored Compton in 3 quarters. Said Warren, "I knew Demar and the Compton team, so we knew tonight was going to be a hard game, but we came prepared and dominated on defense." "We stepped up to the challenge and really played well tonight" added Head Coach Terry Martin. Warren tallied 19 points for Richwood, and Richard Wilson added an additional 11. Demar Derozan and Edgar Garibay led the Tarbabes with 18 and 11 points respectively.

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12/19/2007 Updated 8:41 AM- Day 2 Scores and Writeups

Results with writeups by Ray Hurwitz and Matt Richman

Christian Life 83, Van Nuys 34

With a well-balanced scoring attack (5 players in double digits) and superior athleticism, the Cougars jumped out to a 29-2 First Quarter lead. Garland Judkins led the way for Christian Life with 18 points. Junior Cadougan and Chris Turner added 17 and 16 points, respectively, for the Cougars. Cameron Broomi and Domonique Evans who scored 10 points each paced Van Nuys.

Richwood 57, Central 40

Storm Warren willed the Rams to a victory over the Central Grizzlies with a tournament high 30 point performance. Richard Wilson, Keldric Martin, and Leslie Davis added 7 points each for Richwood who outscored Central by 10 points in the second half. The Grizzlies were led by Amit Singh (9 points) and RC Davis (8 points).

Compton 59, Mission Hills 58

Demar Derozan (24 points) nailed a baseline jumper with 18 seconds left in the game to give the Tarbabes a victory over the Mission Hills Grizzlies. Sophomore Cliff Sims added 21 points for Compton. Mission Hills, who led for most of game, was piloted by seniors Adam Bemenian, with 22 points, and Taylor Darby with 20 points.

Roosevelt 56, St. Joseph 41

Amin Tufa, with 11 points, and Glenn Dean, with 13 points, guided the Roughriders to the victory over the Knights. Kai Hoyt also added 9 points for Roosevelt who jumped out to an 11 point 1^st quarter lead. Vincent Brunello and Jacob Cano were the leaders for the knights with 14 points and 9 points, respectively.

Horizon 55, Mission Prep 37

With 4 players in double figures, the Panthers defeated the Royals. Tim Atkins (15 points) and Jeff Withey (13 points) led the way for Horizon. The Royals, who were outscored 20-9 in the 1^st quarter, were paced by Mitch Woolpert, with 12 points, and Macain Weipert, with 9 points.

Sagemont 73, Clovis East 63

The Sagemont Lions had 4 players in double figures, led by Marlin Rivera (20 points) and Raymond Higgs Jr. (16 points), in their victory over the Timberwolves of Clovis East. Drazen Zlovaric also added 14 points for the Lions who outscored Clovis East by 11 points in the second half. The Timberwolves had 5 players in double digits, headed by Alex Cha (16 points) and Joe Reynaga (15 points).


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12/18/2007 Updated 11:00 PM- Day 1 Scores and Writeups

The first day of the Christmas Classic was a great success, including a charged and stand-packed game between State-ranked Compton and the Mission Prep Royals.

Results with writeups by Ray Hurwitz

Horizon 59, Central 37

Jeff Withey led the way for Horizon with 23 points, 15 blocks, and 10 rebounds. Richard Walker added 15 points for the
Panthers who used their height advantage to jump out to an 18-4 first quarter lead. Senior guard Lamar Wyatt, who scored 7 points, paced the Central Grizzlies.

Richwood 73, Clovis East 57

Storm Warren guided the Rams to victory with his 23 points, 10 rebounds, and 9 blocks. LeDon Carter also contributed for Richwood by putting up 18 points himself. The Rams pulled away in the fourth quarter, outscoring the Clovis East Timberwolves 24-12. John Hedrington and Kevin Russell, who scored 12 points each, led Clovis East.

St. Joseph 48, Van Nuys 40

Ryan Smalley paced the Knights with 10 points. Vincent Brunello, Jeff Blake, and Sam Schur added 8, 7, and 7 points respectively. St. Joseph outscored the Van Nuys Wolves, who were led by Nick Ng, who scored 8 points, and Cameron Broomi with 7. 28-18 in the second half.