Running Diary: Rolling Hills Prep State Preview Classic

Chino Hills 106, Mt. Pleasant (UT) Wasatch Academy 80

The lights shined on the marquee game of the 2017 Rolling Hills Prep State Preview Classic between Chino Hills and Wasatch Academy didn't stay on very long.

The Huskies let the Tigers hang around for the first couple of minutes, but closed out the first quarter with an 8-0 run to take a 27-15 lead after one.

Chino Hills (23-0) then opened the second with an 11-4 run, taking a 38-19 lead midway through the second.

The Huskies cruised from that point forward, winning their 58th straight game with the 26-point decision over Wasatch Academy (18-4).

Sophomore guard LaMelo Ball led all scorers with 33 points, including nine 3-pointers, and also dished out 15 assists.

The majority of Melo's dimes were to older brother LiAngelo Ball who finished with 32 points even though the sonar on his deep jump shot was a wee-bit off.

Beastly junior forward Eli Scott, who is bound for LMU next fall, contributed 26 points and 16 rebounds, while sophomore center Onyeka Okongwu added 10 points, eight rebounds and eight blocked shots.

Josip Vrankic finished with 28 points and 11 rebounds for Wasatch. Highly-regarded recruit Emmanuel Akot added 17 points and six rebounds.

Bishop Montgomery 79, Fairfax 55

Even if Fairfax was at full strength, it was bound to be in for a long night against state No. 3 Bishop Montgomery.

And once you remove star 2019 point guard Ethan Anderson from the Lions equation, you knew it was going to be tough for Fax to keep pace.

Bishop Montgomery (20-2) jumped out to a quick 14-2 advantage over the first four minutes of the game and carried that momentum throughout.

The Knights were led by their version of a "big three" in Ethan Thompson (26 points and eight rebounds), David Singleton (17 points and nine rebounds) and Jordan Schakel (16 points).

Fairfax point guard Jamal Hartwell, a junior, attempted to will the Lions back into contention, scoring 14 of his team-high 24 points in the third quarter, but the balanced Bishop Montgomery attack was too much.

Kirk Smith added 13 points for Fairfax (19-2)

Santa Margarita 52, Corona Centennial 51

We're gonna need the mixtape men to run that one back.

Centennial's Gio Nelson hit what everyone in the building thought to be a game-typing corner three-pointer with 1.9 seconds left, but the officials ruled he had a foot on the line, giving the Eagles a one-point victory.

Santa Margarita (17-5) trailed by nine at half, but got a spark from senior guard Kaden Rasheed in the third as he scored 10 points in quarter to put the Eagles in front by three, 42-39, heading into the fourth.

Centennial (17-7) got a much-needed spark from its senior big man Jalen Hill in the fourth.

The UCLA-bound forward dunked home a two-handed jam off of a lob pass from Isom Butler to cut the Santa Margarita lead to two, 49-47, with 1:26 to play.

The Huskies fouled then fouled Jordan Guest and he split a pair of free throws, giving the Eagles a 50-47 lead with 24.4 seconds left.

Centennial responded with a bucket from Nelson, cutting the lead down to one, 50-49, with 11 seconds to go.

Rasheed was fouled on the ensuing inbounds and contacted on two clutch free throws with 10 seconds remaining.

The Huskies found Hill for a game-tying 3-point attempt, but it was blocked out of bounds by Jake Kyman with 1.9 seconds left, setting up what most thought to be Nelson's game-tying corner 3-pointer.

Rasheed scored all 15 of his points in the second half for Santa Margarita. Kyman added 12 points and Pearson Parker finished with nine points.

Hill paced Centennial with 15 points and 13 rebounds. Nelson, who is signed with UC Davis, added 15 points.

Alemany 85, Santa Monica 65

Sometimes a 10-0 run to open a game isn't symbolic of how said game plays out.

In the case of Alemany and Santa Monica, the Warriors dominate first few minutes translated throughout as unsigned senior Ernie Sears led all scorers with 25 points, while grabbing eight rebounds in the easy 20-point victory over the Vikings.

Alemany (19-3) benefitted from the contributions of junior guard DJ McDonald (21 points), UC Santa Barbara-bound guard Brandon Davis (15 points) and 6-foot-10 junior center Fred Odihambo (11 points, 11 rebounds and 7 blocks).

De'sean Allen-Eikens seemed to be the only player in an offensive flow for Santa Monica (15-7). The junior forward finished with 24 points and six rebounds in the losing effort. Junior guard Payton Moore added 12 points for SaMo.

Sacramento Sheldon 64, Orange Lutheran 63

Elishja Duplechan's layup with 15.2 seconds to play capped the Huskies comeback victory over the Lancers.

Duplechan finished with a game-high 20 points as Sheldon (19-2) battled back from a 16-point third quarter deficit to earn the victory.

Orange Lutheran's Chris Williams, who finished with a team-high 19 points, sank two free throws with 37 seconds to play, giving the Lancers (11-13) a 63-62 advantage before the game deciding bucket.

Cade Potter missed a fadeaway 15-footer at the buzzer.

L.J. Williams, Drew Cobb and Isaiah Duplechan rounded out the scoring for Sheldon with 14, 11 and 11 points, respectively.

Isaiah Pope finished with 13 points and Josh Griffin added 12 for the Lancers.

Maranatha 64, Las Vegas Durango 58

The Minutemen needed every one of Sean Espinosa's 25 points to pull out the victory.

Espinosa iced the contest with a rebound and two free throws with 3.2 seconds left, ending a furious Blazers comeback attempt.

Durango, which trailed by double-digits late in the fourth quarter, rallied behind freshman guard Anthony Hunter to cut its deficit to three, 61-58, with under 30 seconds to play.

Maranatha (12-7) was able to tighten up its ball security and close out the win from the free throw line.

Durango (8-9) had three players score in double figures, led by Hunter's 18 points. Demetrius Valdez added 17 and Zyare Ruffin chipped in 10.

Jesse Elrod finished with 12 points for Maranatha

Gardena Serra 66, Loyola 59

Junior wing Kobe Smith and sophomore guard E.J. Jackson scored 15 points apiece as the Cavaliers won their sixth straight contest.

Serra (12-10) and Loyola (12-8) were tied at 31 at half and again at 47 after three, but the Cavaliers took control in the fourth with its pressure defense which created a handful of Cubs turnovers and easy baskets.

Loyola's Neil Owens led all scorers with 16 points.

Rolling Hills Prep 67, Brentwood 45

The Huskies turned in dominant second half performances on the offensive and defensive ends, outscoring the Eagles 36-18 over the final 16 minutes to earn their 15th win of the season.

Rolling Hills Prep (15-1) led by four at half, 31-27, but opened the third quarter with a 13-0 run to take command of the game and never looked back.

Huskies sophomore Chris Koon led all scorers with 23 points, while juniors Colin Au and Alex Garcia added 16 and 11 points, respectively.

Brentwood (15-8) didn't have a player score in double-figures. Brett Polson led the Eagles with nine points.