SoCalHoops Tournament News
SoCalHoops Tournament News
Torrey Pines HS National Prep
Classic 2000:
Days Four & Five Reports--(Dec. 31, 2000)
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Here's our final day report from our friend Szecho Lin, who covered some of the games for us. Our thanks to Szecho for the great reports. The first report below is actually the last in the sequence, but since it's the finals, and everyone knows by now what happened anyway, we'll get right to it. The finals were all played on Saturday, December 30, 2000:
Championship of the National Divsion
Corona Centennial Huskies 70, Cincinnati Archbishop Moeller 67
The Centennial Huskies took on the Archbishop Moeller Crusaders in the tournament final. The stars of the two teams, Jamaal Williams of Centennial and Matt Sylvester of Moeller, matched up with one another right from the tip. Williams led the Huskies as they built a 12-7 lead in the first quarter. Sylvester responded by scoring 7 of Moeller’s 10 points in a 10-0 run that propelled the Crusaders into the lead. Sylvester scored on a three-pointer and two turnaround jumpers over Williams. Moeller finished the first quarter with a 17-13 lead. The Crusaders were able to find Sylvester for a variety of inside and outside looks as he led them to a 36-29 half-time lead. Sylvester dominated the first half of play with 22 points. Jamaal Williams led Centennial with 11 points at half-time. In the third quarter, Centennial switched their defensive assignments and rotated 6’4" Brian Gonzalez and 6’5" David Sybesma on Sylvester. Sylvester had a much tougher time getting good looks at the basket in the second half, but also missed opportunities when he had them. Still, his steal and breakaway dunk, pushed Moeller’s lead to 48-39. With 3:06 left in the third quarter, and Moeller up 52-39, Sybesma of Centennial picked up his fourth foul. At this point, Centennial went with a bigger line-up featuring Eric Soderberg (6’9"), Lance Soderberg (6’9") and Williams (6’6"). With Sylvester (6’7") and Moeller’s only other big man, Clint Nagel (6’7") occupied with the Soderberg brothers, Williams found himself guarded by one of Moeller’s guards. Williams powered his way to 8 points in the quarter, and Centennial mounted a spirited comeback. Brian Williams of Centennial was fouled on a three-point attempt as the third quarter buzzer sounded. He hit 2 of 3 and Centennial found themselves down just 53-52. Moeller helped Centennial’s run by making sloppy passes that Husky defenders easily picked off. Matt Sylvester’s torrid shooting from the first half did not continue, and the Crusaders found themselves in a tight battle. Sylvester picked up his fourth foul with 7:30 left in the game. Williams sank two free-throws to give Centennial their first lead, since early in the first quarter, at 56-55. Down 58-55, with 7:11 to go in the game, the Crusaders sent Sylvester and Nagel back into the game with four fouls apiece. They went into a zone to try to protect their inside players from anymore fouls. The game was extremely tight down the stretch. The Huskies hurt themselves a great deal by missing six consecutive free-throws, yet were still clinging to a 67-66 lead with 55 seconds left. With 35 seconds left, Crusader guard Scott Byrnes missed a three-point opportunity. Eric Soderberg grabbed the rebound and was fouled by Matt Sylvester. Sylvester left the game with his fifth foul, after leading the Crusaders with 29 points. Eric Soderberg stepped to the line for two shots with 25 seconds left and promptly missed Centennial’s seventh consecutive free-throw attempt. Soderberg hit the second to put Centennial up 68-66. With 11 seconds left, J.R. Reese of Centennial fouled Scott Byrnes. Byrnes made the first, but missed the second and Williams of Centennial grabbed the rebound. However, the Crusaders were able to tie him up and a jump ball was called. The officials awarded possession to the Huskies. J.R. Reese of Centennial was fouled and hit one of two free-throws. Down 69-67 with 8 seconds left, the Crusaders charged down the court. Scott Byrnes of Moeller drove baseline and kicked the ball out to a wide-open three-point shooter. However, the official’s whistle blew, and Byrnes was called for traveling. J.R. Reese again went to the line for two, but missed the second. With only 1 second left on the clock, Moeller was unable to attempt a final shot after Reese’s miss. The Centennial Huskies celebrated a hard-fought 70-67 win over Archbishop Moeller. Jamaal Williams led Centennial with 27 points. David Sybesma added 14. Matt Sylvester led Moeller with 29, while Scott Byrnes added 13. Matt Sylvester was named tournament Most Valuable Player over Williams.
Here are some other results:
National Division Third Place Game
Mesa (AZ) Dobson 72, Concord De La Salle 53
Leading Scorers: Joe See 15 (De La Salle), Justin Legge 25 (Dobson)
American Division Championship Game
Huntington Beach Ocean View 75, Chatsworth 68
Leading Scorers: Shayne Berry 30 (Chatsworth), Steve Clarke 24 (Ocean View)
Torin Beeler and Marques Crane of Ocean View were named Co-MVPs of the American Division
Governor’s Cup Championship Game
Mission Viejo Capistrano Valley 75, La Jolla Bishop’s 59
Leading Scorers: Jaris Cole 24 (Bishop’s), Jake Franzen 28 (Capo Valley)
Mayor’s Cup Championship Game
Oceanside El Camino 75, Escondido 67
Leading Scorers: Jamal Brathwaite 21 (El Camino), Justin Bell 30 (Escondido)
And here's Szecho Lin's Day Four report (the semifinals)--These games were played Friday, 12/29/00
Results from the "American" Division Semi-Finals:
Ocean View 49, Long Beach Jordan 47
Leading Scorers: Marques Crane (Ocean View) 20, Rashawn Childs (Jordan) 18
Chatsworth 71, Pine View 67
Leading Scorers: Brandon Robinson (Chatsworth) 19, Jeff Madsen (Pine View) 14
Results from the "National" Division Semi-Finals:
Archbishop Moeller (Cincinnati) 75, De La Salle (Concord) 56
Yes, that score is correct. The Archbishop Moeller Crusaders took on the De La Salle Spartans in the first semi-final. The Crusaders and their huge contingent of fans did not know what to expect from nationally ranked De La Salle. Matt Sylvester of Moeller (6’7") and Joe See (6’0") of De La Salle immediately showed that they were the stars of their respective teams. With 5:42 to go in the first period, it was Matt Sylvester 9, Joe See 6, as no other players scored. Led by Sylvester’s 11 points in the quarter, Moeller led 20-19. De La Salle was unable to score inside, but their outside shots fell in the first period. A balanced attack for the Crusaders helped Moeller pull out to a 34-23 lead. Charles Brown of De La Salle, who is scheduled to attend Loyola Marymount next season, left the game in the second period with a sprained ankle. He did not return and finished with 9 points. The Crusaders finished the first half with a 37-29 lead. With Brown out, and starting center Rekalin Sims (6’7") in foul trouble, the Crusaders dominated inside play on both ends of the court. The Spartan forwards were consistently caught with their heads turned the wrong way, as the Crusaders hit cutters through the lanes for easy baskets. The Spartans relied heavily on three-point shooting as Moeller controlled the interior. When the shooters went cold in the second and third quarters, Moeller pulled away. The Crusaders dominated the third quarter and led 58-39 after three. Sylvester’s only highlight reel dunk of the night did not count as a foul had already been called. Sylvester poured in another 10 in the third quarter on his way to 29 for the game. The Crusaders pushed their lead to 63-40 with 5:50 left in the game, when Joe See tried to lead a comeback for the Spartans. He poured in 15 in the fourth quarter on his way to a game-high 30, but it was too little, too late. See was unable to get his teammates involved, as he accounted for more than half his team’s total. The front-line of Moeller controlled the boards and negated any interior offense from De La Salle. The guards for Moeller kept De La Salle from dribble penetration much of the game. The Spartans only weapon during the game was the three-point shot, which they could not consistently hit. The final score was a stunning 75-56 victory for Archbishop Moeller. The Crusaders advance to play in the championship game at 7:00.
Centennial (Corona) 71, Dobson (Mesa, AZ) 66
The somewhat surprising run of the Mustangs from Dobson, came to an end tonight as they lost a tough game to the Centennial Huskies. Jamaal Williams picked up two quick fouls in the first period and Dobson surged out to a 20-12 lead after one quarter of play. The Mustangs used a balanced attack of solid post play and three-point shooting. The two teams battled evenly in a high scoring second quarter. David Sybesma led Centennial with 9 points in the second quarter. Williams also had 9 at half-time and was able to avoid foul-trouble the rest of the game. The inside duo of Jordan Legge (6’8") and Nick Dewitz (6’7") led the Mustangs with 11 and 9 respectively. Dobson led at half-time, 40-33. The highlight of the third quarter was Dewitz’s ferocious dunk over two Centennial defenders. The two teams again played evenly, but Centennial inched closer. Dobson led 51-46 after three quarters of play. The Huskies greater depth may have helped them a great deal in this one. The Mustangs’ two big men became visibly fatigued, and Centennial came at them with fresh players. Dewitz also became saddled with foul trouble, and had to back off several inside attempts by Centennial players. Jamaal Williams’ inside basket with 5:52 left tied the game at 55. With Centennial up 63-62, Eric Soderberg scored a lay-up on Dewitz, who had to back-off or risk picking up his fifth foul. Williams followed that with a steal and a breakaway lay-up that put Centennial up 67-62 with only 1:54 to play. The Mustangs came down, but were unable to get the ball into the post for Dewitz or Legge. The Mustangs missed on several open three-pointers and allowed the Huskies to run precious time off the clock. With the score still 67-62 with 48 seconds left, Williams blocked Nick Walker’s three-point attempt. The Huskies regained control of the ball and sealed the win at the free-throw line. Final score 71-66. Jamaal Williams led Centennial with 23 points. David Sybesma added 13. Nick Dewitz led Dobson with 18, and Jordan Legge chipped in 17. The Huskies advance on to play Archbishop Moeller at 7:00.
See you next year.
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