Five Takeaways: Day 2 at the BattleZONE
Corona, Ca. — BattleZONE pool play continued Tuesday at Corona Centennial high school with more impressive individual performances from the likes of Evan Mobley, Marcus Bagley, Yassine Gharram, Luke Turner and Paris Dawson. Below are the results and Five Takeaways…
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Continue ReadingCorona, Ca. — BattleZONE pool play continued Tuesday at Corona Centennial high school with more impressive individual performances from the likes of Evan Mobley, Marcus Bagley, Yassine Gharram, Luke Turner and Paris Dawson. Below are the results and Five Takeaways from the four-game slate.
Tuesday Results
Sheldon 68, Hillcrest 57
Foothills Christian 82, Temecula Valley 56
Rancho Christian 97, Westminster 29
Corona Centennial 89, San Ysidro 48
Five Takeaways
Still early, but Corona Centennial looks fine after transfers
The Huskies lost three returning starters to transfer – Jaylen Clark to Etiwanda, D.J. Davis to Riverside Poly and Dennis Cash to Trinity International Prep – but look just fine so far this season. Centennial beat JSerra in a non-league game last week and blew out San Ysidro Tuesday night behind a balanced effort. Paris Dawson leads the way, but fellow senior Mason Machado, along with sophomore’s Ramsey Huff, Payden White, Donovan Dent and freshmen Jared McCain and Aaron McBride give the Huskies a chance to be good this year and for the foreseeable future.
Paris Dawson poised for a big season
The senior guard has inherited increased roles not only on the court, but also in the form of leading a young group of teammates. By all accounts, Dawson has lived up to the lofty expectations so far this season. On the floor, Dawson has hit 14 3-pointers in two games – both wins – and is averaging 25.5 points a game. Off the court, Dawson’s coaches are raving about his leadership and the example he is setting for a team loaded with talented underclassmen.
Foothills Christian among San Diego’s four-best
This isn’t some kind of revelation because the Knights’ have been considered one of San Diego’s best programs for the last seven or eight years. This year will be no different as coach Brad Leaf has a solid starting five led by seniors Yassine Gharram and Jalai O’Keith. How far the Knights advance in the San Diego Section Open Division playoffs will depend on the performance of the supporting cast. Sophomore wing Derrien Carter-Hollinger and junior guard Nico Meza are both capable of having big games when needed.
Hillcrest battled in loss to NorCal’s best
Coach Jackson Wood and his Trojans have one of the more underrated programs in the Southland. The team gets the most out of what it has and works very well together as a unit on both ends of the floor. All of that was on display Tuesday when Hillcrest gave NorCal’s No. 1 team Sheldon of Sacramento all it could handle for four quarters. The Trojans played the Huskies to a tie through three before Sheldon pulled away down the stretch in the fourth.
Rancho Christian needs a confident Luke Turner
Luke Turner is an important piece for the Eagles because of his ability to spread the floor for Evan Mobley with his 3-point shooting. When the 6-foot-6 wing is hitting perimeter shots at a high clip, it opens the paint for Mobley and driving lanes for guards Bryson Stephens and Jaden Byers.