SoCalHoops Tournament News
SoCalHoops Tournament News
TPHS National Prep Classic 2000
Day 1: 2 Bracket & 2 Non-Bracket Games--(Dec. 26, 2000)
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We weren't there yesterday for the first round of play, but our correspondent, Szecho Lin was, and there's a little bit of good news-bad news going on at the TPHS National Prep Classic this year. . . it seems the basketball is still the same, but due to budget cuts this year (Nike did pull out as ths sponsor, after all, and while they've been able to get other money from smaller sponsors, no doubt the organizers have been feeling the pinch), there are no official stats being distributed to the media. . . so, our fearless correspondent was actually the guy who wound up giving out stats to some of the television media. . . but on to the games. Here's Szecho Lin's first day report:
TPHS National Prep Classic 2000 First Day Report
by Szecho Lin
Exclusive to SoCalHoops
Escondido Cougars 69, El Capitan Vaqueros 64
El Capitan faced Escondido in the first game of the Mayor’s Cup Bracket. Both teams are expected to contend for their respective league titles. Escondido led El Capitan 54-46 at the end of the third quarter. Even though Escondido had no starter taller than 6’3", and faced a front-line from El Capitan that, at times, stood 6-10, 6-7, 6-4, the Cougars held their own on the boards, and passed well enough to beat the Vaquero defense for lay-ups.
Trailing 66-54 with 2 minutes left, El Capitan went to a smaller line-up, hoping to force turnovers with a full-court press. Escondido missed several free-throws allowing the Vaqueros to make things a little more interesting. They eventually cut the lead down to 67-61 with 28 seconds left, but Escondido finally put the game away at the free-throw line. Final score, Escondido 69, El Capitan 63.
El Camino Wildcats 80, University of San Diego Dons 57
This was the second game of the Mayor’s Cup Bracket. For the first time in many years, no one named Walton plays for University. Now that all of Bill’s sons (and one nephew) have graduated, University is sporting a much smaller line-up than previous years. El Camino also featured a small line-up (average height of the starting five was 6’0"), but countered with a running/pressing attack. El Camino’s Mikel Watson, a 5-10 point-guard, scored 10 points in the first quarter on a pair of three-pointers and two slashing moves into the lane, to pace El Camino to a 19-9 lead in the first quarter. With Watson penetrating at will, El Camino pushed their lead to 27-14, before Anthony Stabile of University helped pull the Dons back to within 30-20, with 11 of his points in the first half. However, El Camino regained control and continued to pressure the Dons into turnovers and bad shots. The half-time score was El Camino 36, University 22.
University tried to counter El Camino’s pressure by starting the second half in a full-court press. Four quick points by El Camino stretched the lead to 40-22. Stabile’s 8 points in the third period help the Dons creep back into the game, and a three-pointer by Paul Cervantes of University cut the lead to 54-41 with 2:45 left in the quarter. However, the Wildcats scored the last 7 points of the period of the third quarter, and stretched the lead to 20 points, 61-41. El Camino scored the first 4 points of the fourth quarter to enjoy their biggest lead of the game at 65-41, with 6:38 left.
The final two games of the evening were non-bracket games, but featured excellent match-ups between four of San Diego’s best teams.
Torrey Pines Falcons 64, La Costa Canyon Mavericks 50
This game featured two highly regarded local teams, as La Costa Canyon made the short drive to play the Falcons at Torrey Pines High. The Mavericks were looking for the upset as they nailed 4 three-pointers in the first quarter (3 of them by Robbie Delany), and pulled out to a 22-9 lead. The Falcons closed out the quarter with a three-pointer of their own, and a tip-in basket to make the score La Costa Canyon 22, Torrey Pines 14. After Delany started the second quarter with another basket, Rick McDonald of Torrey Pines hit a three-pointer. Then, La Costa Canyon was hit with a technical foul for an illegal substitution. After one made free-throw, Torrey Pines got the ball back and Josh Krammer of Torrey Pines scored to cut the Maverick lead to 24-20. Back to back three-pointers by Avi Fogel of Torrey Pines pulled the teams even at 26. This really got the home-crowd going. Torrey Pines kept the momentum and forged ahead. Another three-pointer by Fogel gave Torrey Pines their biggest lead at 32-26. Robbie Delany of La Costa Canyon hit his fourth three-pointer of the first half to cut the Torrey Pines’ lead down to 34-32 at half-time. The defense of the Falcons helped them hold La Costa Canyon to just 10 points in the second quarter.
Torrey Pines continued their aggressive man-to-man defense in the second half as they pushed their lead to 44-35 with 3:40 left in the third. The score at the end of the third quarter was Torrey Pines 44, La Costa Canyon 38. Delany’s fifth three-pointer of the game came at 5:28 of the fourth quarter, cutting the lead to 48-43. The Falcons scored the next four points forcing, a time-out by La Costa Canyon with 3:48 left in the game. Torrey Pines did not break their huddle soon enough after the time-out, and the ball was put into play with the Falcon players scrambling to get back onto the court. Joe Toledo, a 6’6’’ 280 lineman, playing basketball (Julius Peppers anyone?) put in a lay-up to make it 52-45 Falcons. From there, the Falcons played keep-away and sealed the game at the free-throw line. Final score was Torrey Pines 64, La Costa Canyon 50.
Carlsbad Lancers 70, Christian (El Cajon) Patriots 46
The Lancers return four starters from last year’s San Diego Division I Championship team, but welcome new head coach Scott Ogden, who replaces Tom Tarantino. Coach Tarantino moved onto The Bishop’s School in La Jolla, after a very brief, but successful run at Carlsbad. The Christian Patriots return 10 players from a team that reached the Southern California Regional Final last year.
Moulaye Niang, Christian’s 6’10" center, tried to set the tone early with two emphatic blocks. The Patriots blazed out of the gate and Michael Jackson’s jumper from the baseline put the Christian up 13-4. Carlsbad repeatedly missed outside shots, but a tip by 6’5" junior, Derek Stockalper, at the buzzer made the first quarter score 17-9 in favor of Christian. Stockalper scored the first five points of the second quarter to pull Carlsbad within 17-16. A three-pointer by Greg Nelson, put Carlsbad up for the first time at 19-17. With 2:15 left in the half, the Lancer lead had ballooned to 30-20. The shots that didn’t fall for Carlsbad in the first quarter, started falling in the second quarter. That, along with their increased defensive intensity, and strong bench play led by Travis Jasmer, helped them regain control of the game. Niang tried to keep things close with several soft jumpers and put-backs, but Carlsbad led at half-time 35-28.
Carlsbad’s defense really picked up in the third quarter and forced Christian into numerous turnovers and poor shots. Carlsbad held Christian to 5 points in the quarter. The Lancer offense in the third quarter, with 5 points by Nelson and another 6 by Stockalper, left the score at the end of the third period 52-33. Christian was unable to mount a comeback in the fourth quarter and fell to Carlsbad 70-46.
A special thanks goes out to the students from Carlsbad High for their help.
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