The Charger Summer Showcase took place July 9-10-11 at Cypress College, with 24 teams on hand. I saw 11 games featuring 19 of those teams.
Here is a game-by-game summary of those 11 games:
Friday, July 9:
12:10 pm: Saddleback 50, Chaffey 47
In a rematch between two teams that have met in closely-contested playoff showdowns the last two years, defending state champion Saddleback rallied from a 10-point second-half deficit to come away with the victory over Chaffey.
Just as in both the 2008 regional final and last year's first-round playoff match, the game came down to the final seconds. This time it was SF Myron Green Jr. who came through for the Gauchos, hitting his second 3-pointer of the final minute with 10 seconds left to give Saddleback a 48-47 lead. A 2-pt free throw by PF Mason Jones in the closing seconds made it 50-47 (on the scoreboard anyway - the scoreboard operator missed a first-half Saddleback basket so the stat sheet says the final was 52-47). This one was close from the start, and the score was tied at 22 at halftime. Chaffey led by 10 at 43-33 in the second half and led, 47-42, with under a minute to go. But Green's two 3-pointers, sandwiched around a Chaffey missed free throw, lifted Saddleback to the win.
Green led a balanced Saddleback attack with 13 pts and 6 rebs. Ten different Gauchos scored in the game, and eleven different Gauchos had at least one rebound. SG Erick Ellis of Chaffey led all scorers with 14 pts, and PG Deondre Broadie had 10 pts, 3 asts and 4 steals.
2 pm: Cerritos 67, Rio Hondo 60
Ctr Aaron Hines and SF Anthony Scott had 10 pts each as Cerritos led most of the way in a 67-60 win over Rio Hondo.
Cerritos led by 10 at 31-21 after a 3-pt play by PF Willie Edwards late in the first half. Rio Hondo rallied to within a point at 32-31 early in the second half, but was never able to quite pull even. Cerritos pulled away again late, pushing its lead to 13 at 60-47 after a driving lay-up by PG Nick Sanchez.
Eleven players played and eleven players scored at least one field goal and grabbed at least two rebounds for an incredibly balanced Cerritos team. SF Timmy Wong of Rio Hondo led all scorers with 14 pts for the Roadrunners.
4:10 pm: Santa Monica 88, LA Trade Tech 76
In undoubtedly the most entertaining game of the day, nine players scored in double figures as the teams combined for 164 points and 140 shot attempts in a 12-point Santa Monica win.
Santa Monica jumped out to a 15-4 early lead behind the hot shooting of SG Everett Brown, who hit 3 early threes for the Corsairs. The SMC lead reached 15 points at 27-12 before Trade Tech went on a 10-0 run to cut the deficit to ten points at 27-22.
Santa Monica led, 40-31, at halftime, but Trade Tech rallied to tie the score at 47 and go ahead, 49-47, both on baskets by SF Martin Whitmore. The lead went back and forth for a while after that, with Santa Monica finally pulling away in the final few minutes for the win.
For Santa Monica, Brown had a team-high 14 pts (4 threes) but even more impressive was PG A.J. Harris, who had 13 pts, 9 asts and 8 steals. PF Tabrion Leverett and SF Aaron Fitts also each had 13 pts for the Corsairs, and Ctr Matt Sinclair had 8 pts and a team-high 11 rebs. The Corsairs won despite the absence of San Diego State-bound Ctr Bryant Crowder (already signed - no need for exposure in this event) and starting PF DeShawn Stephens (attending Jerry Mullen's national JUCO camp).
For Trade Tech, SF Tim Johnson had 18 pts on 7-for-11 shooting, but the most impressive Tech players were PF Tyrone Lyons and Ctr Clint Bozner. Lyons finished with 14 pts, 11 rebs, 4 asts and 2 blocks while Bozner had 13 pts and 7 rebs. Whitmore and Ctr Wayne Wiggins also scored 10 pts each.
5:30 pm: Team Pirates (Ventura) 84, Mira Costa 64
The newly-revamped Pirates got 19 points from PF James Ennis and 22 pts from their new backcourt combination of PG James Pointer and SG Eric Mitchell and held off a Mira Costa rally midway through the second half to come away with the victory.
The Pirates jumped out to a 25-14 lead midway through the first half, led by nine at 36-27 at halftime, and by sixteen at 43-27 just over a minute into the second half.
Then Mira Costa rallied, chopping the deficit to just two points at 49-47 midway through the second half. But Ventura pulled away again after that, building a commanding 68-54 lead after a 3-pt plaly by Ennis, a steal & basket by Pointer and a reverse jam by Ennis on a breakaway, and the Pirates led handily the rest of the way.
Ennis finished with 19 pts, 4 rebs, 4 asts, 2 blocks and 5 steals, and no turnovers. Pointer had 14 pts, 4 asts and 2 steals while Mitchell had 8 pts, 2 asts and 3 steals; each had just one turnover.
For Mira Costa, SG Tony Cali had 15 pts and Ctr Julien Griffe had 14 pts and 8 rebs, while PF Thomas Nesbitt had 13 pts, 7 rebs and 4 asts.
6:50 pm: LA Pierce 64, LA Harbor 57 (OT)
LA Harbor overcame a 15-point deficit in the final eight minutes to force overtime, but LA Pierce outscored the Seahawks, 7-0, in the extra period to come away with a 64-57 win.
Pierce seemed in complete control of the game, taking a 53-38 lead with less than eight minutes to play. But Harbor rallied furiously, scoring the final 8 points of regulation in the last 2:20 to force overtime, tying the game on a lay-up by Ctr Marlin Ramos with 21.7 seconds left.
In overtime, however, it was all Pierce. SG Tarrance Taylor and PF Hassan Stephens each scored baskets in the first minute, and then SF Jeremy White hit a 3-pointer to clinch the win (the first team to score 5 points in overtime was declared the winner).
Harbor had begun the game with a 13-2 lead, making its first 5 shots of the night, before Pierce rallied to take a 22-21 lead late in the first half. Pierce led, 30-25, at halftime, and gradually increased its lead in the second half, reaching a high-water mark of 15 points before the late Harbor rally.
Stephens and White each led Pierce with 13 pts. Ctr Terran Carter had 6 pts and a team-high 9 rebs. Ramos and PG Lemmie Crockem each had 12 pts to lead Harbor, while PF Kevin Dawson had 10 pts, 5 rebs and 5 asts.
Saturday, July 10:
6 pm: Citrus 85, Orange Coast 43
PF Brandon Parga had 16 pts and SF Sean Boston had 14 as Citrus put on an absolute clinic, shooting nearly 70% from the floor and holding Orange Coast to less than 30% in an 85-43 thrashing.
Citrus began the game on a 14-0 run, led by 24 at 40-16 at halftime, and pushed its lead beyond 40 points early in the second half. All twelve Owls scored at least one field goal, and the Owls shot 68.5% from the floor for the game.
Parga made 7 of 9 shots from the floor for his 16 pts, and Boston added 8 rebs to his 14 pts. SG Donte Archie had 6 pts plus 8 rebs and 6 asts, and PG Nolan Abernathy dished out 8 asts.
SF Cameron Bell led Orange Coast with 13 pts, but he was the only Pirate to score more than 6 points.
7:20 pm: Palomar 57, Santa Barbara 44
PF Jeremy Ford had 10 pts and eleven different Comets scored as Palomar led virtually wire to wire in a 57-44 win over Santa Barbara.
Palomar took a 15-7 lead midway through the first half and pushed that margin to double figures when a 3-point play by Ctr Vuk Ekmecic made it 20-10 late in the half. Santa Barbara got within five points at 26-21 early in the second half, but Palomar pushed the margin back to double digits after a 3-pointer by SF Stephen Caldwell made it 35-24, and led comfortably the rest of the way.
Ekmecic had 9 points and PG Justin Padilla had 8 pts, 3 asts and 3 steals for Palomar. Ctr Scott Burrows had 9 pts for Santa Barbara; PF Chris Vines had 8 pts and a game-high 8 rebs.
8:40 pm: Fullerton 54, SD Mesa 41
Thirteen different players scored for Fullerton, which jumped out to a 15-point halftime lead and won easily, forcing 24 Mesa turnovers.
Mesa led early on, last holding an 11-10 edge, before Fullerton went on a 13-0 run to take control of the game. The Hornets led, 34-19, at halftime and pushed the margin to 20 at 49-29 with just under ten minutes left in the game.
SF Kunnu Shofu led a balanced Fullerton attack with 8 pts. PG Stevie Newton had 7 pts, 4 ast and 2 of the Hornets' 12 steals. Fullerton used 16 different players in the game.
PF Cliff Adams led Mesa with a game-high 14 pts on 5-for-6 from the floor. Mesa lost despite shooting 56% from the floor, and actually outscored Fullerton, 22-20, in the second half.
Sunday, July 11:
10:30 am: Mira Costa 78, Cypress 67
PF Thomas Nesbitt had a monster game with 19 pts, 15 rebs and 4 asts to lead Mira Costa to an 11-point victory over the host Chargers early Sunday morning.
Cypress began the game well, taking a 6-2 lead in the opening minutes, but then Mira Costa went on a 10-2 spurt to take a 12-8 lead, and led the rest of the way. Nesbitt scored on an inbounds play to push the margin to double digits at 32-21, and Mira Costa led by 13 at halftime, 35-22. The lead never dipped back into single digits again until the final two minutes of the game when Cypress cut the deficit to nine at 76-67, but the Chargers didn't score again.
In addition to Nesbitt, four other Comets scored in double figures: PF Zach Fleichman, SF Steven Hernandez and SG Michael Laird had 11 pts each while Ctr Julien Griffe had 10 pts and 7 rebs. SG Tony Cali had 9 pts.
SG David Gonzalez led Cypress with 13 pts, and super-quick PG Andre Winn had 10 pts and 6 asts. The Chargers were without D-1 bounceback PF Zach Zaragoza and last year's starting SG Reggie Abrams in this game.
11:50 am: LA Harbor 56, Desert 47
LA Harbor held Desert to just 20% shooting in the first half, building a 20-point lead early in the second half and holding on for a 9-point win over the Roadrunners.
Harbor began the game on a 7-0 spurt, built a 20-9 margin midway through the first half and led, 30-13 at the break. At that point, COD was just 5-for-25 from the floor, playing without the late-arriving PF Anthony Gilchrist.
Gilchrist played the entire second half, but the closest Desert got was the final margin of nine points after a 3-pointer by Gilchrist and a steal & basket by PF John Kaker in the final seconds.
Ctr Marlin Ramos led a balanced Harbor offense with 10 pts, while SG Ricardo Lara and SF Danny Morris had 8 pts each. PF Dennis Hardwell had 6 pts and a game-high 7 rebs.
For Desert, PG Chaz Pio had 10 pts and 6 steals. Gilchrist had 7 pts, 3 rebs, 3 asts and 3 blocks.
1:10 pm: Victor Valley 55, SD Mesa 49
Ctr Amos Battle had 16 pts to lead Victor Valley to a 55-49 come-from-behind win over SD Mesa.
Mesa began the game with an 8-2 run, and pushed the margin to nine points at 27-18 after a 3-pointer by Ctr Darren Hugie late in the first half. Mesa also led by nine at 31-22 later in the first half.
Victor Valley scored the final eight points of the half, however, to trail by just a single point at the break, and went ahead on a basket by PF Katrone Fields early in the second half. VVC led the rest of the game, though the Rams never really pulled away from a stubborn Mesa squad.
PG Roland Clark had 11 pts, 4 asts and 3 steals for Victor Valley, and Fields had 4 pts and a game-high 12 rebs. Hugie led Mesa with 13 pts and SG Nick Gerety had 12.
