Akeemis Williams leads Agassi Prep boys over Mountain View with 19 points

Even the best basketball shooters are prone to an off night. Agassi Prep’s Akeemis Williams found that out Friday when he made only 2 of 15 attempts and scored six points against The Meadows.

The 5-foot-8-inch junior made sure there wouldn’t be a repeat performance Saturday.

Williams made four 3-pointers and finished with a team-high 19 points, and the Stars scored the first 19 points en route to a 70-34 home victory over Mountain View in a Class 2A Southern League matchup.

“Akeemis came to the gym today at 9 a.m.,” said Agassi Prep coach Trevor Diggs, whose team didn’t tip off until 3 p.m. “It happens — shooters have off nights. But that’s how you get back on track.”

It didn’t take long for Williams to regain his touch. Just seconds after the Stars won the tip, the left-handed sharpshooter took two dribbles on the left wing before hitting a contested 3-pointer. The pregame shootaround proved beneficial, as Williams was 7 of 10 from the field, including 4 of 6 on 3s.

“It’s confidence,” Williams said. “I just shoot and practice all the time. I think I did better moving without the ball today.”

Williams, who sat most of the fourth quarter with his team leading by double digits, also had four assists for the Stars, who led 24-7 after the first quarter. Tyrell Brooks scored Mountain View’s first field goal on a fadeaway jumper with 1:39 left in the first quarter.

Williams was one of 11 scorers for Agassi Prep (6-3, 5-0 Southern), which led 40-16 at halftime and shot 51.9 percent from the field for the game. Allen Merritt had 14 points and seven rebounds, and Miles Mixon added six points, 10 boards and two blocks for the Stars, who imposed the running clock with four minutes left in the third quarter.

“It was a good win for us,” Diggs said. “Especially after the tough (win) we had against (The) Meadows yesterday. It’s good for my team’s confidence. We have a couple kids out, but this was a good team win.

“Everybody that played contributed. That’s big for us. Because a lot of the guys don’t get a chance to play every game. That’s just the nature of the beast. But when guys practice hard every day, and I ask a lot from them, it’s good to see everybody get in the game and contribute. It makes a coach proud and makes the team proud.”

Terrence Brooks had 19 points and six rebounds for Mountain View (3-13, 0-6), and Tyrell Brooks had 14 points and six rebounds.

Bishop Gorman 67, Cantwell-Sacred Heart of Mary (Calif.) 48 — At Chatsworth, California, Jamal Bey led the way with 19 points and five rebounds in the Gaels’ victory over the Cardinals.

Chuck O’Bannon added 15 points and five rebounds for the Gaels, who led 40-13 at halftime. Ryan Kiley had 12 points.

Laughlin 68, Lincoln County 59 — At Laughlin, Jermarion Hickman scored 35 points and had 10 rebounds to lead the Cougars to a 68-59 win against the Lynx.

Corey Anderson had 19 points for the Cougars.

Justin Barton led Lincoln County with 23 points, and Noah Smith scored 11.

Virgin Valley 42, Pahranagat Valley 33 — At Mesquite, Hogan Fowles’ 12 points lifted the Bulldogs over the Panthers.

Pahranagat Valley’s Culen Highbe had 20 points to lead all scorers.

Valley 61, Aussie Travelers (Australia) 25 — At Valley, Tommy Anderson had 13 points to lead the Vikings over Aussie Travelers.

Bryce Jones had 11 points for the Vikings.

Coronado 68, Cathedral Catholic (Calif.) 53 — At San Diego, Kennedy Koehler led the Cougars with 27 points and 13 rebounds as they defeated the Dons.

Will Weems had 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Cougars, and Trey Hurlburt had 15 points.

La Lumiere (Ind.) 69, Findlay Prep 54 — At Wheeling, West Virginia, Michigan State signee Jaren Jackson had 24 points and 17 rebounds to help the Lakers top the Pilots in a battle of nationally ranked teams in the Cancer Research Classic.

Brian Bowen added 15 points for La Lumiere (16-0), which is ranked No. 1 in the country by USA Today.

La Lumiere led only 34-28 at the half, but started the second half on a 16-5 run to take a 50-33 lead. Findlay Prep (16-1) was just 20 of 61 shooting in the game (32.8 percent) and made only 4 of 18 3-point tries.

Justin Roberts and P.J. Washington each had 16 points, and Lamine Diane scored 12 for Findlay Prep, which played without second-leading scorer Donnie Tillman. Tillman suffered a knee injury in the Pilots’ win over First Love Christian (Pa.) on Friday. Findlay Prep is ranked No. 8 nationally by USA Today.