St. John’s (Washington, D.C.) captures the Torrey Pines Vacation Event Nationwide Division title with a hard-fought victory over St. Augustine (San Diego, Calif.) and can return to the East Coast unbeaten heading into 2023. St. John’s has loads of incentive and a tough street in entrance of it in convention play. FAB 50 title contenders Duncanville (Texas) and Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.) are upset in West Coast event championship video games.
Groups from the Washington Catholic Athletic Convention (WCAC) had been among the many first to check their wares towards high quality groups from across the nation. DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, Md.) was nationally identified within the Nineteen Seventies for enjoying in high-level tournaments and different groups adopted swimsuit as rankings (each participant and group) made highschool basketball’s greatest gamers and groups nationwide commodities.
It’s taken with no consideration that groups can journey the nation to play in vacation occasions, however with dependable airline journey in peril throughout this vacation season, the out-of-area groups collaborating on the Torrey Pines Vacation Traditional had been greater than grateful to make it and play 4 high quality opponents. For FAB 50 No. 18 St. John’s (Washington, D.C.), making it to Southern California, particularly scenic Del Mar, Calif., was a blessing and having the ability to showcase their tremendous group was a deal with for native followers. The Cadets got here to the occasion unbeaten and the lengthy journey again to the nation’s capital was made simpler when St. John’s got here up with essential defensive stops down the stretch to report a 71-65 Nationwide Division title recreation victory over native membership St. Augustine (San Diego, Calif.), the most effective group from San Diego County.
The competition was within the steadiness with 1:21 to go along with St. John’s main 63-60 when sophomore (2025) guard Pete Newman tried a runner within the lane that was approach off course. However St. John’s ahead Donnie Freeman grabbed the offensive rebound, and in a single movement, banked the ball in whereas being fouled for an enormous typical 3-point play that he transformed. On St. Augustine’s subsequent possession, the Cadets performed nice protection on the perimeter with Saints in search of a top quality shot. Saints ended up with a tricky 3-pointer and the ball went out of bounds on the rebound scrum.
That one possession summed up the Cadets’ total efficiency and their strategy to the sport: good group protection and massive pictures on the offensive finish. The stat line of Freeman, a 6-foot-9 junior and one of many higher 2024 ahead prospects within the nation, displayed his dominance and the distinction within the recreation towards a smaller membership with equal firepower on the perimeter. Freeman completed with 18 factors, 14 rebounds and a handful of essential blocks when Saints offensive gamers drove the lane or grabbed an offensive rebound. He was named the Nick Herrmann Nationwide Division MVP.
“With the sport on the road like that, I wish to make profitable performs,” Freeman mentioned. “It comes down to creating profitable performs.”
Harvard-bound Malik Mack, a 6-foot-2 2023 level guard, added 19 factors for a St. John’s membership that arrived in San Diego on Christmas Day. Six-foot-2 2024 guard Daquan Davis completed with 16 factors. Davis was named all-tournament and was the main scorer within the Cadets’ four-games.
Jurian Dixon, a 6-foot-4 energy guard and simply among the best unsigned senior (2023) prospects on the West Coast, completed with 23 factors for St. Augustine (12-3). Jaden Matingou, a 6-foot-2 2023 guard, added 14 factors whereas Arizona Christian-bound 6-foot-5 ahead Derrius Carter-Hollinger did the soiled work on the inside and completed with 13 factors. Dixon and Carter-Hollinger had been all-tourney choices for coach Mike Haupt’s membership.
St. John’s coach Patrick Behan was glad to make the choice to go away a day early for the event and acknowledged the toughest a part of the journey out was convincing the Cadets’ dad and mom to go away on Christmas Day night. The group’s return journey will clearly be a bit smoother with a event title in tow, however the Cadets’ work has simply begun.
Not solely do they play in historically the hardest convention within the nation, which incorporates present FAB 50 No. 1 Paul VI (Fairfax, Va.), which has misplaced a recreation since our final rankings replace on December 12, and 11-0 and No. 23 Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.), it’s making an attempt to maintain its focus realizing its head coach is coping with one thing a lot larger than a highschool basketball recreation.
Behan was recognized with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), often known as Lou Gehrig’s illness, in early summer season 2022 at age 34. The information of Behan’s ALS clearly hit the St. John’s and better DMV basketball neighborhood arduous. Basketball, and the relationships Behan has cast by the sport, is now a rallying level round his combat with the illness.
On January 3, St. John’s will host the Behan Robust Invitational, a three-game showcase with all proceeds from the occasion going to help Behan in his ALS combat. St. John’s will tackle present FAB 50 No. 3 IMG Academy (Bradenton, Fla.). Paul VI will tackle Ryken (Leonardtown, Md.) and Jackson-Reed (Washington, D.C.) faces Bullis (Potomac, Md.).
After Friday’s title-game victory in San Diego, Behan defined simply what St. John’s basketball and the gamers on the group imply to him whereas he battles ALS.
“I get up with alot of injections, drugs and different issues, however the most effective medication is to be with the fellas within the gymnasium,” Behan mentioned. “Successful actually helps.
“So far as the occasion (on the third), it’s superior to be enjoying with applications and coaches I’ve been hooked up to. They’re nice mates.”
“We wish to make it as stress-less as doable for coach, so profitable is a part of that,” Freeman mentioned.
St. John’s will head into the Behan Robust Invitational 12-0. Behan’s state of affairs and simply the very fact the event’s 5 16-team brackets had been in a position to be performed with none main hitches places issues in perspective.
For out-of-area groups, simply displaying up and having the ability to play on the Torrey Pines Vacation Traditional was an ordeal. Specifically the plight of Nationwide Division comfort champ O’Dea (Seattle, Wash.) deserves point out. The group’s flight to the occasion was cancelled. So the Fightin’ Irish took a 20-hour bus experience so they may present up and take part. Alongside the way in which, the bus dropped off the group at Auburn (Wash.) at The Traditional at Damien (an hour and a half north of Torrey Pines Excessive College on Interstate 5). O’Dea arrived half-hour earlier than its first spherical recreation with Dougherty Valley (San Ramon, Calif.). After that 70-58 setback, O’Dea reeled off three consecutive wins and was visibly happy to take residence the comfort title on Friday afternoon.
St. John’s grow to be the second WCAC membership to win the distinguished nationwide division crown. The primary WCAC membership to win the Vacation Traditional title was DeMatha Catholic (Hyattsville, Md.) in 2011 when it took down Windward (Los Angeles). The Stags completed No. 13 within the remaining 2011-12 FAB 50. The Cadets superior to the title recreation of this event in 2016, falling to Foothills Christian (El Cajon, Calif.) and the new hand of future NBA guard Jaylen Palms. The next yr, WCAC membership Bishop O’Connell (Arlington, Va.) misplaced within the title recreation to Archbishop Stepinac (White Plains, N.Y.).
St. John’s superior to this yr’s Vacation Traditional title recreation with a 73-60 semifinal victory over Eastside Catholic (Sammamish, Wash.). The Cadets jumped out to a 34-11 lead after one quarter and had been in management all through. Davis led the way in which with 23 factors. It was additionally Behan’s a hundredth profession victory.
Saints superior to the title recreation with a 62-58 victory over Dougherty Valley, a membership that simply wouldn’t go away and was a fan favourite all through the occasion. Dougherty Valley had an opportunity to tie with a 3-pointer with beneath 30 seconds remaining, however San Francisco-bound guard Ryan Beasley couldn’t discover the mark. Dixon led Saints with 23 factors.
Dougherty Valley’s Connor Sevilla, a 6-foot 2023 guard who had a terrific event, completed with 24 factors in a shedding effort. Within the third place recreation, Dougherty Valley defeated Eastside Catholic, 75-68, as Beasley had some clutch baskets and completed with 34 factors. In his 4 event video games, the 5-foot-11 Beasley netted 28.5 ppg. Palms netted 180 factors (36 ppg) in 5 event video games in 2016.
At The Traditional at Damien in La Verne, Calif., FAB 50 No. 13 Harvard-Westlake took on Liberty (Henderson, Nev.) and its top-rated junior level guard, Dedan Thomas Jr., within the Platinum Division title recreation. The Wolverines dropped their first recreation of the season, 59-56, to fall to 16-1 to a membership that got here into the title recreation with a 7-5 report. Thomas sank two free throws with 9 seconds remaining to ice the sport, whereas backcourt operating mate Angelo Kambala, a 6-foot Utah Tech commit, completed with 23 factors and was named The Traditional at Damien MVP.
Within the semifinals, Liberty avenged an earlier loss to Rancho Christian (Temecula, Calif.) with a 63-60 victory. The Minutemen misplaced to Rancho Christian, 69-65, at residence on the eve of the Tarkanian Traditional, the place they completed with a 2-2 mark. Thomas scored 10 of his 20 factors within the fourth interval whereas Kambala contributed 17.
One other FAB 50 title contender, No. 6 Duncanville (Texas), additionally misplaced its first recreation of the season on Friday, when the Panthers fell to unranked West Linn (Ore.), 62-50, within the title recreation of the Les Schwab Invitational at Liberty Excessive College (Hillsboro, Ore.). Oregon-bound guard Jackson Shelstad scored 30 factors for West Linn after scoring 38 factors in a 86-69 semifinal victory over Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.). Shelstad averaged 33 ppg on the LSI.
Duncanville entered the West Linn recreation 15-0 and using a 35-game, on-court profitable streak relationship again to precisely the identical day (December 30) in 2021 when the Panthers misplaced to Richardson (Texas) within the title recreation of the Whataburger Event.
With Paul VI, Duncanville and Harvard-Westlake, amongst others, happening over the vacation event season, who deserves to be FAB No. 1 now?
Ronnie Flores is the nationwide Grassroots editor of Ballislife.com. He may be reached at [email protected]. Don’t overlook to comply with him on Twitter: @RonMFlores
