Nevada state champion Liberty hands Harvard-Westlake its first defeat of the season in the championship game of the Classic at Damien.
There was no stopping defending Nevada state champion Henderson Liberty in its four-game visit to Southern California this week. Dedan Thomas Jr. scored 23 points and came through with clutch shots and clutch free throws in the fourth quarter Friday night to help Liberty hand Harvard-Westlake its first defeat of the season, 59-56, in the Platinum Division championship game of The Classic at Damien.
Thomas was aided by the strong three-point shooting of Angelo Kambala, who made seven threes and had 23 points. Harvard-Westlake fell behind by 16 points in the first half, cut its deficit to seven points at halftime, closed to within 57-56, but that’s when Thomas made two free throws with nine seconds left to secure the championship.Bishop Montgomery 77, Taft 42:
The Knights improved to 16-0 and won the Platinum Division of the SoCal Christmas Classic at South Pasadena. Christian Jones was named tournament MVP. Bishop Montgomery plays Narbonne on Saturday at Lynwood in a tournament game, then Gardena Serra next week in a league opener before taking on Harvard-Westlake at Redondo Union on Jan. 7.The Wildcats will enter 2023 with a 16-1 record after a strong finish at Damien. Isaiah Fields scored 17 points. Curtis Williams scored 19 points for Etiwanda.
AJ Swinton, a 6-6 junior transfer from Va. Oak Hills Academy, is in the Southern Section transfer portal with paper work going to Sierra Canyon. He'd be the fifth transfer for the Trailblazers this school year alone.The Trailblazers won the third-place game at the Les Schwab Invitational in Oregon.