Recap: Final day of Culver City Summer Take Flight Challenge
CULVER CITY, Ca. – Los Angeles Westchester rallied from a 10-point deficit at intermission Sunday afternoon at Culver City High to knock off Bellflower St. John Bosco, 66-61, in the championship game of the first-ever Summer Take Flight Challenge.
The Braves took their 35-25 advantage at the via sizzling play of sophomore-to-be point guard Josh Camper (who scored 10 of his 15 points before intermission) and 6-foot-4, senior-to-be Alpha Okoli who scored eight points.
The strong post play of seniors-to-be Kaelin Allen and Maurice Tutt kept the Comets reasonably close to the Braves in the first half and helped them chip into their deficit after intermission while combining for 34 points for the game.
Jordan Brinson directed the Comets’ attack nearly flawlessly in the second half while scoring nine of his 11 points.
Brinson also set up a 2020 “sleeper”, Kymani Pollard, for two critical 3-pointers over the final two minutes and then sank a couple of insurance free throws with seven seconds to go to secure the victory.
Jordan Brown, another quality prospect in the class of 2020 for SJB Coach Matt Dunn, swished five 3s while finishing with a team-high 18 points.
The 6-4, 240-pound Allen, a transfer from AB Miller High in Fontana, scored 18 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in the final to earn Most Outstanding Player honors for the event.
Here are my “all Summer Take Challenge” teams, headed by Allen. Selections are based on three-day performances and not just on “college potential” or current rankings:
Most Outstanding Player:
Kaelin Allen dominated low-post play in each of the four games Westchester played.
First Team
Jordan Brinson (Westchester/Class of 2019): He demonstrated why he’s one of the very best point guards from SoCal in this class.
Kihei Clark (Woodland Hills Taft/2018): The future UC Davis Aggie is on a very short list of the strongest candidates for L.A. City Player of the Year honors in 2018.
Truman Gettings (Harvard-Westlake/2021): Considering his age, the 6-7 Gettings’ feel for post play is remarkable.
Gianni Hunt (Torrance Bishop Montgomery/2019): Hunt is No. 9 in Prep Hoops So-Cal’s class rankings and, based on his weekend performance, that ranking could climb before too deep in his junior season.
Alpha Okoli (St. John Bosco/2018): His strong inside-outside player was a big part of his team’s upset of defending State Open champion Bishop Montgomery Saturday night.
Second Team
Wayne Arnold (Compton Dominguez/2018): His shot is still streaky but the range on his jump shot is remarkable.
Demetrius Calip (Taft/2020): The left-handed son of the former University of Michigan guard is one of the elite jump shooters in this class, anywhere.
Josh Christopher (Lakewood Mayfair/2020): He and senior-to-be brother Caleb Christopher missed the Monsoons’ Saturday game against Sierra Canyon because they were in Santa Barbara for their sister’s wedding. He’s as explosive an athlete as there is in his SoCal class.
D.J. Houston (Santa Monica Crossroads/2018): He’ll run the show from the point as a senior for a team that will have nice targets to throw to in Arizona-bound Shareef O’Neal and 6-7 on-the-rise senior-to-be Jay Davis.
Cyrus Johnson (Culver City/2018): The son of former UCLA and NBA great Marques Johnson is destined to have a strong senior season after transferring from Bishop Montgomery for Culver City’s new head coach, Reggie Morris Jr. He was a forceful rebounder all weekend and his jump shot is much improved, as well.
Third Team
Amound Anderson (Lawndale Leuzinger/2020): The left hander, who is No. 4 in the Prep Hoop So-Cal’s class ratings, is deceptively quick and quite smooth on his finishes in and around the lane. And he’s 3-point range is impressive, as well.
Nick Bowden (Playa del Rey St. Bernard/2019): He hit a half-dozen 3s in his team’s upset of Sierra Canyon Sunday afternoon.
Will Crawford (Bishop Montgomery/2019): Crawford has been a key rebounder and post defender during his first two seasons for the Knight. His jump-shooting performance over the weekend, especially during the Sunday morning game vs. Beverly Hills, showed his offensive productivity good take a big step as a junior.
Terren Frank (Chatsworth Sierra Canyon/2020): The 6-7 transfer from Harvard-Westlake was the only Trailblazer to play well during the loss to St. Bernard Sunday. Fellow transfers Cassius Stanley and K.J. Martin, two of the west’s best in 2019, had strong moments on Saturday.
Daniel Zahbian (Beverly Hills/2018): The underrated point guard had an impressive couple of weeks with strong efforts during tournament at Pasadena Maranatha, L.A. Fairfax and Culver City.