Isaiah Mobley leads Rancho Christian in NorCal
NEWARK, Ca. – Some of the better teams from Northern and Southern California hooked up in the final two clashes of the seven-game 11th Nor Cal Tip-Off Classic Saturday at Newark Memorial High.
The SoCal rep (Temecula Rancho Christian) turned in a superb second half to prevail over Sacramento Capital Christian, 84-61, in Game 6 in the Gerry Freitas-fronted event.
And then it was the team that could prove to be NorCal’s best, Oakland Bishop O’Dowd, coming away with the W when it edged L.A. Fairfax, 58-56, in a down-to-the-wire affair.
In Game 7, the Dragons – behind Pac 12 Conference-bound guards Elijah Hardy (Washington) and Naseem Gaskin (Utah) burst out to a 10-point advantage after the first quarter.
The Lions were playing without their head coach, Steve Baik, who remained in Southern California for his sister’s wedding.
But, with Jamal Hartwell Sr. calling the shots from the sideline in Baik’s absence, Fairfax’s own tenacious backcourt play and the rebounding of Kirk Smith held the Lions move in front by four points at intermission.
But the Dragons of Coach Lou Richie – who stunned eventual State Open Division champion Torrance Bishop Montgomery in the same event a year ago – were in front for pretty much the entirety of the second half before barely holding on to prevail as Jamal Hartwell Jr. missed what would have being a score-tying 15-footer in the closing seconds.
Hartwell scored a game-high 22 points (including buzzer-beating 3s in the second and third quarters) while fellow senior Smith grabbed 13 rebounds to go with nine points and juniors Robert McRae (11) and Ethan Anderson (10) combined for 21 points.
Gaskin led Bishop O’Dowd with 20 points and five rebounds while Hardy chipped in with 12 points and team-highs with seven rebounds and four assists.
In Game 6, the Eagles trailed by four points at intermission as Capital Christian guards Zachary Chappell and Trey Jones combined for 26 of their team’s 36 points.
Chappell still sizzled in the third quarter – hitting all four shots, two of those 3s – but junior Isaiah Mobley seized control of action at both ends of the floor the rest of the way.
Isaiah scored 15 of his game-high 28 points after intermission and grabbed nine of his event-high 18 rebounds over the final two quarters. He also blocked five shots and was credited with three assists.
With performances like that, he will remain a strong contender to be California’s Junior of the Year in March.
His sophomore brother, Evan Mobley, added 23 points and nine rebounds with four assists and two blocked shots.
Coach Ray Barefield’s team also got strong efforts from guards K.J. Redfield, Jordan Montgomery, Isaiah Knox and Stephen Park.
Chappell, one of the better unsigned seniors in the state, scored 24 points but cooled off in the fourth quarter, missing all four of his shots from the field.