MOUNTAIN VIEW TOURNEY: Buckley tops Agassi Prep in boys basketball tournament
After The Buckley School (Calif.) boys basketball team hit its first three 3-pointers Friday afternoon against Agassi Prep, Stars coach David Claerbaut altered his strategy.
Agassi Prep went into a stall, holding the ball for the final four minutes of the first quarter with Claerbaut’s team behind by four points.
The move wasn’t successful, as the Griffins hit six 3-pointers in the opening half, and the Stars went almost seven minutes without a field goal.
Agassi Prep never recovered, as The Buckley School earned a 52-39 victory in an opening-round game of the fifth annual Vegas Invitational at Mountain View that finished in just 62 minutes.
Two local teams picked up wins in Friday’s opening round, as Shadow Ridge stopped Calvary Chapel 71-55 and Tech notched an 81-40 win over Beatty.
Buckley (8-0) came out firing, as Jake Brodsky and Ryan Norris combined for four 3-pointers early, giving the Griffins the lead.
Claerbaut then took the air out of the game, holding the ball for the first quarter’s final four minutes.
It might have stunned those in attendance, but the slowdown was part of Claerbaut’s plan.
“We had issues with three starters missing,” Claerbaut said. “I wanted to keep the game in the 50s, so slowing the game down and keeping the ball out of (Buckley School’s Andrew) Farhadi’s hands would give us a chance.”
Farhadi was held in check for most of the game but scored 10 of his 13 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Griffins.
Following the stall, Buckley opened the second quarter with three straight hoops, giving the Griffins a 18-7 lead. Agassi Prep (2-3) didn’t get closer than eight points the rest of they way.
“I’ve never seen a stall for that long in my life,” Buckley School coach Mike Hamilton said. “Yes, we have won eight straight games, but with just one senior, we aren’t imtimidating by any imagination.”
Norris added 12 points for Buckley School.
Areontay Shepherd led the Stars with 22 points. Quincy Brown, who made the all-tournament team a year ago as a freshman, added 10 points for Agassi.
“Our only chance tonight was to spread the floor and let Shepherd and Brown get some looks,” Claerbaut said. “I’m proud of the effort the kids gave, especially being short-handed.
“We will come Saturday and fight as hard as we can in the consolation round.”
Shadow Ridge 71, Calvary Chapel 55 — Zach Hafen had 31 points as the Mustangs turned back the Lions.
Shadow Ridge used a 22-8 second-quarter push to take over the game.
Steve Leary added 13 points and Joseph Pearson 12 for the Mustangs.
Juliene Mejia led the Lions with 13 points. Justin Cox and Tyler Moore each scored 10 for Calvary Chapel, which had trouble at the foul line, making just 9 of 20 attempts.
Tech 81, Beatty 40 — Brandon Tiffany hit four 3-pointers and totaled 22 points to lead the Roadrunners.
Michael Johnson, Josh Sarabia and Fernando Lopez each added 10 points for Tech.
Anthony Regalado had 13 points for the Hornets.
Needles 78, Pahrump Valley 45 — Senior Stevie Kidd had 27 points, seven rebounds and five assists as the Mustangs rolled to a win.
Darra Russell added 18 points, 15 rebounds and seven assists, and teammate Aaron Burns had 10 boards for Needles.
Needles led 35-20 at halftime, and the Trojans never threatened again.
Marvin Weekly led Pahrump with 12 points, and Alex Anderson scored 10.
Brethren Christian (Calif.) 63, Trinity 33 — Trinity’s Budweiser Hawkins led all scorers with 19 points in a losing effort.
Brethren Christian led 20-4 after the opening quarter and never looked back.
Austin Wenger led the Warriors with 16 points.
Clovis North (Calif.) 61, Spring Mountain 19 — Ethan Lennox had 20 points as the Broncos routed the Golden Eagles.
Bishop’s (Calif.) 67, Mountain View 32 — David Stotelmyre had 19 pionts and Malik Love 14 to lead the Knights past the Saints.