The First Annual California Classic

Gerry Freitas' First Annual California Classic proved to be quite success ful and here are the outcomes involving northern California teams:

1st Annual California Classic Schedule
January 2, 2010 at Cerritos College

Newark Memorial 58, Campbell Hall (North Hollywood) 52

Leading Scorers: NM - Khion Sankey 19, Kendall Andrews 15/CH - James Johnson 18
Leading Rebounder: NM - Kendall Andrews 9/CH - James Johnson 8
Player of the Game: Khion Sankey of Newark Memorial

Per Ronnie Flores at CalHiSports:

The team that was a surprise finalist at the Torrey Pines Holiday Classic used a 16-0 run at the end of the second quarter and the beginning of the third quarter to spark a victory over a scrappy Campbell Hall team.

Unlike Sacramento High, which stayed in the SoCal area on New Years Eve and Day after playing in a local post-Christmas Holiday tourney, Newark Memorial was home to ring in the New Year. The Cougars drove down to Cerritos College on Saturday morning and the long drive may have led to some early rust versus Campbell Hall (10-4).

Trailing 22-17, they used two inside baskets from junior forward Kendall Andrews to turn the game around. With the Vikings leading 22-21 after Andrews' inside buckets, a 3-pointer by stocky point guard Isaiah Clark that would have gave Newark Memorial (10-2) the lead rimmed in and out with under ten seconds remaining. On the other end, the Vikings' Austin McBroom had his 3-pointer at the halftime buzzer rim out, but the message had already been communicated.

Newark Memorial had come to play hard, and to win.

"At the beginning of the game, we couldn't get anything going," said Newark Memorial head coach Craig Ashmore. "Sometimes success creates energy. But there are no excuses, I thought Campbell Hall played well."

Ashmore's club scored the first 12 points, mostly underneath, of the third period to complete the run and take a 33-22 lead. The carnage ended when Campbell Hall's Zack Klein made a free throw with 3:07 remaining in the third quarter. Campbell Hall recovered at the end of the third period and trialed 35-30 entering the final period, but the Vikings could never get over the hump.

They cut Newark Memorial's lead on one occasion to two points (37-35), but the Cougars' Casey Norris answered right back with a 3-pointer. Campbell Hall shot a higher percentage from the field, 54 to 40 percent, but Newark Memorial got up 17 more shot attempts, and many of them were from point blank range by the Cougars' muscular scorers.

Andrews finished with 15 points and nine rebounds while running mate Khion Sankey scored a game-high 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds. James "Deuce" Johnson led Campbell Hall with 18 points, eight rebounds and five blocked shots. He made eight of nine field goal attempts, but had to work hard to just get in position for a field goal attempt against the undersized bruisers of Newark Memorial.

"There is a nice chemistry between the two," Ashmore said of Sankey and Andrews. "Against a zone, we got the ball in position to score with our inside-outside game. We expect more games like that the rest of the way. People are going to be coming at us, but I like the effort we bring."

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Compton 65, Sacramento 58

Leading Scorers: C - Anthony January 22, Allen Guei 15/S - Josiah Turner 20, Will Davis 13
Leading Rebounder: C - Anthony January 10/S - Will Davis 12
Player of the Game: Anthony January of Compton

Per Ronnie Flores at CalHiSports:

The Dragons were in Southern California all week and after a solid performance at the Oaks Christian Tournament, they simply didn't have enough in the tank to defeat Compton. Both teams did not shoot well from the field, but Compton (4-8) was quicker to the loose balls and converted easier shots from the field. Sacramento (7-4) played at a much slower pace than head coach Derek Swafford would have liked, as they had only 24 total points (35-24) with 3:45 remaining in the third quarter.

Even though Compton had a comfortable lead (43-31) entering the fourth quarter, the Tarbabes could not put away the Dragons. They cut the lead to six points on a jumper by junior Josiah Turner with 41 seconds remaining, but could not catch any other breaks the rest of the way.

Turner's performance mirrored that of his team. After a memorable 48-point performance against Pasadena at the Oaks Christian in which he hit a three-pointer to give the Dragons a 71-70 victory, Turner visibly struggled in this game. He led Sacramento with 20 points, but he made only eight of 25 shots from the field for a team that shot 35 percent (20/57) as a unit.

"We played five games in six days, so we knew we were going to come out flat," Swafford said. "We just didn't think it would be like that. Josiah has been sick with the flu. As far as how he compares to Chase Tapley as this stage, Josiah is unselfish, but he's still figuring out how to work with his teammates."

Compton's Anthony January Jr. continued to show why he's one of California's better tenth-graders. He used his length, athleticism and improving jumper to score a game-high 22 points and grab 10 rebounds. Senior Cliff Sims Jr. (12 points) and junior point Allan Guei (15 points, 7 assists) also played well for coach Tony Thomas' club, which is more formidable than its won-loss record indicates.

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Orange Lutheran 73, Oakland 63

Leading Scorers: OL - Tyler Funk 21, Gabe York 19/O - T.J. Taylor 21, Dominique Taplin 14
Leading Rebounder: OL- Scott Barton 6/O - Dominique Taplin 9
Player of the Game: Tyler Funk of Orange Lutheran

Per Ronnie Flores at CalHiSports:

The Lancers from Orange Lutheran used a decisive second quarter to defeat the Wildcats in the event's first game. Orange Lutheran (10-4) outscored Oakland 22-6 to take a 36-25 halftime lead. Leading the way for the Lancers was the duo of senior Tyler Funk and sophomore Gabe York.

Funk scored a team-high 21 points and made four of six 3-point shots. He also made seven of eight free throws and dished out six assists. York, last year's CalHiSports.com state freshman of the year, added 19 points. T. J. Taylor led three players in double-figures for Oakland (6-8) with 21 points, but made only three of 10 3-point attempts.