Westchester captures 66th Pac Shores Championship
Redondo Beach, Ca. — Two perennial powers from the CIF Southern Section and City Section met in Saturday’s title game at the 66th annual Ryse Williams Pac Shores Tournament.
Though it got off to a promising start, Santa Margarita couldn’t overcome the speed, quickness and athleticism of Westchester as the Comets sprinted by the Eagles, 64-49.
Junior guard Jordan Brinson scored 19 points and garnered tournament MVP honors in the process. Six-foot-6 forward Kaelen Allen added 17 points for the Comets. Allen was named to the Pac Shores All-Tournament team.
Westchester guard Jordan Brinson earned MVP honors at the 66th annual Ryse Williams Pac Shores tournament.Senior forward Jordan Guest paced Santa Margarita with 19 points and earned the tournament’s “Most Outstanding Player” award in the process. Junior forward Max Agbonkpolo was the other Eagles player recognized to the All-Tournament team.
Santa Margarita was flowing on offense and stout on defense to open the game, jumping out to a quick 11-4 lead midway through the first quarter and held a 15-10 lead after the first eight minutes of play.
The momentum changed dramatically after Weschester coach Ed Azzam laid into his team during the break between the first and second quarters.
The Comets came out in the second period with a renewed sense of urgency as evidenced by a sequence from Allen who nailed two free throws, scored on a rumbling driving layup over two shot blockers and capped off by a save of a ball going out of bounds which led to a transition bucket from Brinson.
Westchester took a 24-22 lead after that series of events and closed out the half with a 29-24 advantage over Santa Margarita.
The Comets began to distance themselves in the third quarter, taking a 47-39 lead into the fourth, and extending the lead to 13, 54-41, on a corner 3-pointer from Zellie Hudson and layup from Jeremiah Turley with 4:47 to go.
In other Pac Shores action:
Redondo Union 69, Narbonne 67
Quinn Collins scored a team-high 18 points, Zekiah Lovett added 14 and Jayden Winfrey provided a huge spark off the bench on both ends as the Sea Hawks wrapped up a third-place finish as the host team.
Narbonne’s Kendall Frey finished with a game-high 22 points. Malik Muhammad added 15 and Jordan Griffin scored 12.
St. Anthony 60, Oak Park 59
The Saints picked up one of the biggest upset wins of the tournaments in dramatic fashion. Cacoa Chatman’s step-back 3-pointer with 1.6 seconds left propelled St. Anthony past an Oak Park side that is considered an Open Division contender. Juniors Joshua Belvin and Frank Staine had strong tournament performances for the Saints.
Riley Battin turned in a huge performance as he normally does, posting 30 points and 14 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the upstart St. Anthony team.
Windward 66, Birmingham 47
Jules Bernard vs. Devonaire Doutrive was one of the more intriguing head-to-head matchups of the tournament, and while the UCLA-bound Bernard finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds, it was guys like Corey Silverman-Lloyd, Jared Barnett and Marcus Joseph who made the biggest difference for the Wildcats in their Consolation Championship win.
Doutrive showcased his high-scoring power, scoring 34 of his team’s 47 points, but he didn’t have much help Saturday.
Mayfair 89, Dominguez 75
Monsoons senior Caleb Christopher turned in one of the most explosive efforts of the tournament, scoring 36 points and dishing out 10 assists in the victory. Sophomore Joshua Christopher added 21 points, seven rebounds and five assists.
Senior guard Brenton Woods scored a team-high 27 points, including 25 in an impressive second half performance. Wayne Arnold, who shot the lights out all week long, scored 15 points.
Serra 57, Gahr 40
Junior wing Doctor Bradley had an impressive all-around floor game in the Cavaliers big win over the Gladiators, scoring 12 points with eight rebounds, four assists and three steals. Sophomore Amir Kirkwood.
Inglewood 78, Lynwood 65
Junior guard Kendall Collins nailed seven 3-pointers, while senior guard Scooter Smith added 20 points of his own for the Sentinels. Junior center Carl Lewis led Lynwood with 27 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out midway through the fourth quarter.
Long Beach Millikan 75, Rancho Dominguez 57
Zack Weber led the Rams with 18 points and nine rebounds. Ireke Udeagha paced the Lobos with 31 points and 10 rebounds.
All Pac Shores Teams
First Team
G Jordan Brinson, Junior, Westchester
G Wayne Arnold, Senior, Dominguez
F Jordan Guest, Senior, Santa Margarita
F Riley Battin, Senior, Oak Park
C Kaelen Allen, Senior, Westchester
Second Team
G Joshua Belvin, Junior, St. Anthony
G Kendall Frey, Senior, Narbonne
G Zekiah Lovett, Senior, Redondo
G/F Jules Bernard, Senior, Windward
F Max Agbonkpolo, Junior, Santa Margarita
Third Team
G Caleb Christopher, Senior, Mayfair
G Joshua Christopher, Sophomore, Mayfair
G/F Devonaire Doutrive, Senior, Birmingham
F Quinn Collins, Senior, Redondo
F Frank Staine, St. Anthony
Fourth Team
G Brenton Woods, Senior, Dominguez
G Doctor Bradley, Junior, Serra
G Jordan Griffin, Senior, Narbonne
F Malik Muhammad, Senior, Narbonne
F Maurice Tutt, Senior, Westchester
Fifth Team
G Cacoa Chatman, Senior, St. Anthony
G Jeremiah Turley, Junior, Westchester
G Sean Harlston, Junior, Dominguez
F Jake Kyman, Junior, Santa Margarita
F Marcus Joseph, Sophomore, Windward