I saw 15 games over the 2 days I attended the Showcase, and those games featured 25 different teams. Again, I've listed them by their travel team names since the rule is to list them that way. I've also listed the appropriate school in parentheses so you can find what you're looking for. However, these are not official school teams and the players may not end up playing at or even attending the school listed. In any case, here's a game-by-game summary of the games I saw:
Friday, 1 pm: Saratoga 35, Westside 32. It looked like an upset possibility early on with Westside (West LA) jumping out to a 24-14 lead just before halftime. But Saratoga (West Valley), behind the stellar play of SG Robert Powell (16 pts) and some outstanding defense, came back to take the narrow decision. Westside managed just 8 pts in the second half and made just 3 FGs. Other game leaders: C Nick Frye, Saratoga and SG Quinton Crenshaw, Westside, 6 rebs; PG Jesse Cottonham, Saratoga, 4 asts.
2 pm: Walnut 59, San Diego 43. Walnut (Mt. SAC) blew open a close game in the second half by scoring 38 pts after the break. SG Terrance Martin led the way with 17 pts and 6 asts. C Jamaal Smith added 14 pts and grabbed 8 rebs. PG Damon Knight did a good job moving the ball and picked up 4 asts, all after halftime. PG Lawrence Walker led San Diego (Grossmont) with 9 pts and 6 asts. Other game leader: F Adrian Fletcher, Walnut, 8 rebs (tied with Smith).
3 pm: The Buzz 57, CBL 52. The Buzz (Fullerton) overcame the swarming pressure game played by the CBL (San Jose) to post a 5-point victory. SF Allan Purnell led The Buzz with 12 pts and 8 rebs. PG Donyare Mayfield also starred with 11 pts, and C Thomas Diezi scored 4 pts and grabbed 7 rebs. For CBL, PG Ricky Williams led the way with 14 pts and handed out a team-best 3 asts. C Jeff Jones scored 11 pts and grabbed 5 rebs. Other game leader: PF Nathan Dowd, The Buzz, 4 asts.
4 pm: Salvation Army Hoyas 47, The Bolts 35. The SA Hoyas (Alameda) took control early in this one and won impressively over The Bolts (Cypress). SF Avin Curry led all scorers with 13 pts and added 4 rebs. SG Myron Jordan Jr. scored 12 pts, and PG Jason Goodwin dished out 4 asts. The margin of victory might have been higher if not for the Hoyas' 9 missed FTs. The Bolts were led by PG Solomon Brown, who had 9 pts and 5 asts, and C Derrick Franklin, who had 8 pts and 10 rebs. SF Chris Booth also had a strong game with 6 pts, 7 rebs and a pair of asts.
5 pm: San Marcos 63, Hayward 56. San Marcos (Palomar) used a balanced attack to subdue a strong Hayward (Chabot) team and claim a 7-pt victory. I had some problems with identifying some San Marcos players and haven't reached the coaches yet, so you'll have to bear with me a little on this. Reserve C Darren Triba (??) led the way with 14 pts, 5 rebs and 3 asts for the winners. SF Jordan Feramisco scored all 10 of his pts in the first half. F Dennis Dowdy (??) dished out 5 asts though he did not score. For Hayward, elite PG Kameron Gray led the way as usual with 15 pts and 8 asts. He showed once again that he's one of the top PGs in the state. G Matt Andrade tossed in 10 pts in a reserve role, but Hayward was weakened by the early injury to G Anthony Shavies. C Isaiah Buckley was strong in the middle with 6 pts and 9 rebs.
6 pm: Team 605 59, High Desert 56. This is the one that almost got away for Team 605 (Cerritos). After cruising to a commanding 26-point halftime lead, they saw the scrappy High Desert (Victor Valley) squad make things interesting at the end. High Desert actually had a chance to win, trailing by a point with the ball in the game's final minute, but failed to convert on its final chance. For Team 605, PG Matt Reid led the way with 14 pts and 3 asts. PF Malcolm Heron scored 8 pts and grabbed 4 boards. G Tony Roberts scored 10 pts and dished out a pair of assists in a reserve role. PG Joseph Anderson (16 pts, 4 asts) and SG Tarran Turner (13 pts, 3 asts) fueled the comeback by High Desert. C Antoine Russ had a big game inside with a double-double (10 pts, 11 rebs); Russ was the only player to accomplish that feat in the games I saw.
7 pm: Hayward 66, Mojave Green 48. In their second game of the day, Hayward (Chabot) pulled away late from Mojave Green (Barstow) for a win that was closer than the final score might indicate. PG Kameron Gray was again the focal point with 18 pts and 5 asts. SG Matt Andrade had a huge game with 19 pts including 5 3-pointers. C Isaiah Buckley had a strong all-around game with 5 pts, 8 rebs and 3 asts. PF Ahmad Fudge had a similarly strong game with 6 pts, 7 rebs and 3 asts. Hayward had only 7 players available, but all had solid performances. For Mojave Green, G Jay Sherrod scored a team-best 11 pts. PF Seth Jones (??) scored 8 pts and grabbed a team-high 6 rebs. Other leader: G Nick Michels, Chabot, 5 asts.
Saturday, July 13, 2002 – 11 am: Cucamonga 50, Seals 28. This just shows how things work out sometimes. I made a special effort to see Cucamonga (Chaffey), in large part to see their standout PG Sheldon Pace. Then it turned out that Pace had a slight injury and didn't play. But that only allowed Philip Scott, a freshman from St. James Prep in Maryland, to step in and shine. And he did - scoring 13 pts (including 3 threes) and dishing out 8 asts, both of which were game-highs, in a marvelous performance. PF Lionel Davis had a strong game as well for Cucamonga with 12 pts and 6 rebs. SG Jason Harris tossed in 10 pts and grabbed 4 rebs. C Nate Rede led the way for the Seals (Monterey Peninsula) with 7 pts and 6 rebs but this one wasn’t close. Other game leader: Josh Williams, Seals – 8 rebs.
12 noon: Las Vegas 70, The Buzz 55. This was the much-anticipated debut of the new team coached by George Tarkanian. And they didn’t disappoint. This is a very talented team, and they have excellent depth as well. Leading the way was PG Brian Lang, who scored 13 pts and handed out 5 asts. SF/SG Javance Coleman added 10 pts and 3 asts. SG Maurice Thomas scored just 6 pts, but he showed his range by sinking 2 threes. And he handed out 4 asts. C Justin Jefferson scored 10 pts as well. SF Nick Porter came off the bench to add 14 pts and 6 asts. Backup PG Matt Mitchell knocked down 3 threes to help Las Vegas (Southern Nevada) to a commanding 44-21 lead at halftime. The Buzz (Fullerton) continued to play hard and stayed within 10 pts or so but could never get any closer. PF Nathan Dowd scored 13 pts and grabbed 4 rebs, and SG Michael Hubbard scored 7 pts and dished out 4 asts. But the surprise star for The Buzz was SG Justin Allen, the last sub into the game; he scored 11 of his game-high 15 pts in the second half and gave the entire team a boost with his energetic play.
1 pm: South County 80, Las Vegas 71. Due to their travel schedule, Las Vegas (Southern Nevada) was forced to play games back-to-back. The players who had been reserves in the prior game were the starters vs. South County (Saddleback). South County showed some good sportsmanship and started their reserves as well, and Las Vegas sprinted out to an early 17-11 lead. Then the South County starters entered, particularly PG Justin Bell, and things changed. Bell was just marvelous, controlling the pace of the game with his excellent ballhandling and allowing South County to run their halfcourt offense. And he dished out a game-best 9 asts as South County drew close and then took command of the game late. C Andre Hardwick had a huge game with 14 pts and 6 asts. PF Chris Dean, who started the game, scored 10 pts and added 5 boards. And Marques Crane, who has bulked up to 225 lbs (with most of the added weight appearing to be muscle in his shoulders), scored 8 pts. For Las Vegas, SF Nick Porter continued his excellent scoring with 10 pts. And when PG Brian Lang and SG Javance Coleman entered the game, they continued their strong play as well. Lang scored 11 pts and handed out 2 asts. And Coleman really showed his stuff with 13 pts, 6 rebs and 5 asts. But down the stretch, fatigue caught up with Las Vegas. They held a narrow lead through much of the second half, but ran out of steam in the final 7 mins. Coleman hit 3 threes and a couple FTs in the final minutes but it wasn’t enough for the weary Las Vegas team to hold off an excellent South County team.
2 pm: Print Pro 58, The River 38. The River (American River) accomplished one of the most remarkable things I’ve ever seen in a basketball team: they managed to get SEVENTEEN different players into the game in one 20-minute half (with running time)! Not that the efforts were rewarded on the scoreboard; they scored a total 9 pts before the break and were never really in the game. Of course, it might not have mattered what they did once PF Trae Fortier (?) of Print Pro (Antelope Valley) got things going in the 2nd half. For several minutes, it appeared he was incapable of missing a shot: dunks, layups and threes just kept falling. He finished with 23 pts, a remarkable total under this format (and the only player I saw reach 20 pts in a game). PG Mike Webb recognized that Fortier had the hot hand and kept feeding him, amassing a game-high total of 6 asts. SG Idel Dawson knocked down a pair of threes and finished with 8 pts. For The River, SF Glenn Payne led the way with 10 pts and 4 rebs. PG Ronald Spotwood played a strong game, far above what his stats (0 pts, 3 rebs, 2 asts) show. Other game leader: C Brandon Murray, Print Pro – 5 rebs.
4 pm: North Bay 46, The Cats 41. North Bay (Sequoias) used their considerable depth to edge The Cats (Canyons) in the first of three extremely compelling games in “The Box” (court 3). PF Hardy Asprilla led the way with 7 pts, 5 rebs and 4 asts but the North Bay rotation went 12-deep with everybody contributing. The last man off the bench, PG Gentry Goode, dished out 3 asts while everyone else scored at least 2 pts. PF Spencer Foster grabbed 6 boards and scored 4 pts and provided toughness inside. And C Matthew Misko tallied 8 pts plus 3 rebs. For The Cats, SG Matt Nelsen led all scorers with 10 pts. C David Hungerford, who looked much-improved since last season, scored 4 pts and also had 3 rebs and 3 asts. PG Mike Morales scored 6 pts and handed out 5 asts. And SG Jamaal Lee scored 4 pts and grabbed a game-high 7 rebs. One stat spelled doom for The Cats: an awful 2-for-10 day at the FT line.
5 pm: The Knights 47, San Diego 45. This one was close all the way. The hero was reserve SF Ryan Stephens. He not only scored the winning bucket + FT (taking the score from 44-45 to 47-45) with 14 secs left, but he also grabbed the rebound of San Diego’s last-second attempted three at the buzzer. Those were his only pts of the game though he tied for team honors with 5 rebs. The Knights (Shasta) were led by PF Odell Qualls’ 13 pts. PG Ryan Miller scored 5 pts and handed out 6 asts. SG Stevie Johnson scored 10 pts and grabbed 4 rebs. And SF Tuggi Smith scored 8 pts and grabbed 5 rebs. For San Diego (Grossmont) it was a balanced attack with PG Lawrence Walker, C Mike Mauger and PF Phil Strocco tying for team high with 7 pts each. Reserve PG Scott Carr had an especially effective game pushing the pace and handing out 4 asts. PF Justin Vanderweff grabbed 6 rebs to claim game honors.
6 pm: Hooptown Sherman Oaks 67, Valley Blue 65. This was the best-played and most compelling game I saw of the 15. Hooptown SO (LA Valley) won the game when PG Carlos Rivers knocked down a FT with 22 secs left, but both teams played well enough to win. Rivers finished with 11 pts, 5 rebs and 2 asts but he was just one of several standouts for Hooptown. SF DaShawn Strong led the way with 15 pts and 6 rebs in an especially impressive performance. And reserve G Alex Cabagnot may be a little streaky, but when he has it going there are few better in the transition game. He dished out 6 of his game-high 7 asts during a 7-minute span in the first half. Reserve big men PF Midwin Francis (9 pts and 4 rebs) and C Vincent Cofield (12 pts) added big contributions for the winners. But Valley Blue (Irvine Valley) has their share of standouts as well, including two D-1 bouncebacks. It all starts with (UNLV refugee) PG Steve Scoggin, who scored 12 pts and handed out 5 asts in this game. He’s one of the best floor leaders around. PF Danny Lambert scored 13 pts and grabbed 5 rebs even though he didn’t start this game. And PF/C Andrew Zahn (formerly with Arizona) scored 5 pts in a reserve role. But perhaps the key to this team is C Micah Lombard, who may be the most-improved player I saw this weekend. He had 18 pts and 9 rebs and dominated play, especially early in the game. His combination of size (6-7), athleticism and skill (he nailed a pair of three-pointers) is rare, even if it wasn’t quite enough to give his team the win in this battle of two very good teams.
7 pm: Vaqueros 59, High Desert 50. In the nightcap, the Vaqueros (Santa Barbara) used some excellent guard play to outlast a stubborn High Desert (Victor Valley) squad. PG Jonathan Pickert scored 16 pts for the winners, and SG Omar Cowen added 8 pts, 3 rebs and 2 asts. F LeBoise Gladden chipped in with 9 pts. For High Desert, SF Jamal Washington led the way with 15 pts, 4 rebs and 2 asts. SG Tarran Turner added 10 pts and C Antoine Russ grabbed 9 rebs. PG Joseph Anderson scored 8 pts and dished out a game-best 4 asts.
Key to abbreviations: pts = points. rebs = rebounds. asts = assists.
FT = free throw. mins = minutes. secs = seconds.
? means I think I know who the player is, but I might be wrong.
?? means I’m guessing, but it’s probably a good guess.
??? means it’s a total guess (I just used this in box scores).
Box Scores
Saratoga 35, Westside 32
Walnut 59, San Diego 43
The Buzz 57, CBL 52
S.A. Hoyas 47, The Bolts 35
San Marcos 63, Hayward 56
Team 605 59, High Desert 56
Hayward 66, Mojave Green 48
Cucamonga 50, The Seals 28
Las Vegas 70, The Buzz 55
South County 80, Las Vegas 71
Print Pro 58, The River 38
North Bay 46, The Cats 41
The Knights 47, San Diego 45
Hooptown SO 67, Valley Blue 65
Vaqueros 59, High Desert 50
