O'Dowd Thanksgiving Showcase: Guards Dominate, Underdogs Prevail
A fight that led to five ejections was part of an action-packed day at the Bishop O'Dowd Thanksgiving Showcase.
Underdogs had a massive day at the 2nd Bishop O’Dowd Thanksgiving Showcase, highlighted by Moreau Catholic’s 56-52 win over Vanden in a game that featured five ejections after a fight in the first quarter.
With Vanden leading 12-6 and throttling the Mariners on the glass, two players got tangled up on a rebound with 33.4 seconds left in the first quarter and started trading shoves on the floor. Two other players quickly joined in and were ejected, as was a third Vanden player for leaving the bench.
An already small Moreau Catholic side got even smaller with the removal of 6-foot-4 forward Dominic Walker and freshman Kareem Jackson Jr., while the Vikings lost Luka Radovanovic, Nate Hibbert and, most notably, Montana commit Tyler Thompson.
Though the Vikings continued to dominate the boards, it was Moreau Catholic (1-0) that ultimately prevailed behind Kevin Chapman II, Tyler Bailey and Spencer Shonnard.
Chapman missed his first four free throws but made his final seven attempts, finishing with 18 points and a team-high six assists. Bailey, a sophomore, scored nine of his 12 points in the second half, while Shonnard, the lone senior on Frank Knight’s roster, scored nine.
“We needed to be the most disciplined team and not let things outside of basketball affect things inside basketball,” Knight said of his team’s response after the dustup.
Ahsan Huff led Vanden (1-1) with 24 points, fueled by a 12-of-13 performance at the charity stripe, and Jayden Robinson went 7-of-8 at the line, finishing with 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Oakland Tech 68, Grant 60
An undersized and inexperienced Bulldogs squad overcame the absence of center Xan Meyer-Plettner to knock off a Sacramento power.
ArDarius Grayson (formerly ArDarius Gates) scored 15 of his 23 in the second half and was a perfect 9-for-9 at the line to lead Oakland Tech (1-0) to a season-opening victory.
Grayson scored seven in a row as part of a 19-6 run in the third quarter to give the Bulldogs a lead they’d never relinquish.
Grant (1-2) trailed by just three midway through the fourth quarter after back-to-back threes by Isaiah Montue and TaiVieon Hopkins, but Grayson scored at the other end and Ahmed Gulaid scored off a Dylan Lucks offense rebound to restore control.
A Montue 3-pointer off an inbound play cut the lead to 61-56, but Ethan Silberzweig hit a three at the other end to respond.
Andre Gomez scored the last of his team-high 22 points to make it 64-60 with 59.6 left, but Grayson made four free throws in the final 50 seconds to ice the game.
Gomez had eight rebounds while Montue threatened for a triple-double, finishing with 15 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists. Hopkins scored 13 and sophomore Demari Hunter had six points, six assists and seven rebounds.
For Oakland Tech, Gulaid finished with 15 points and 10 rebounds, Jerrell Warren scored nine and sophomore Saadiq Alarbesh chipped in eight.
Sheldon 56, Dougherty Valley 46
The defending NCS Open Division champions gave Sheldon a scare, holding the Huskies to just 16 points in the first half, but the combination of Muhammad Singleton and Jaden Spears was too much for the Wildcats to overcome.
Singleton finished with 19 points and seven rebounds while Spears had 14 and eight as Sheldon (1-0) scored 20 points in each of the final two quarters to pull away.
Dougherty Valley (0-1) trailed by just three with 6:03 left after two Andrew Degirolamo free throws, but Spears’ personal 8-2 run restored control for the Huskies.
Sheldon also got 14 points from Tyler Rattler. Degirolamo led the Wildcats with 13 points and 14 rebounds while Jayden Doty chipped in 11 points.