Warren Morse Classic: Ygnacio Valley Picks Up Statement Win

A once-forgotten program is on the rise.

Ygnacio Valley head coach Michael Woolridge made an astute observation after his Wolves defeated Moreau Catholic 66-65 in the final game of the 8th Warren Morse Classic.

“That’s the best recruiting you can do, beating the top teams,” Woolridge said.

A team that won just two games in the 2021-22 season has been on a steady rise under Woolridge. Last year’s squad went 21-7, won its first NCS playoff game since 2005 and earned a state tournament appearance. The 2023-24 team is off to a 7-1 start, with Wednesday’s win over the Mariners its biggest yet.

“That’s a really good team over there. Well-coached,” Woolridge said. “I just appreciate the win, man.”

It’s a win that looked like it wasn’t going to materialize, even though the Wolves led for almost the entirety of the game. Star guard Antonio Kellogg Jr. fouled out, and two other starters were playing with four fouls when freshman Isaiah Clendinen’s 3-pointer gave the Mariners a 65-63 lead, their first of the game, with 2:46 to go.

It was the last time Moreau Catholic (5-3) scored. Jalan Cody fed Loyal Morris for a go-ahead and-1 with 57.6 seconds left, and 6-foot-10 center Evan McKnight, who had picked up four fouls and hadn’t scored since the game’s first two baskets, defended a pair of game-winning attempts in the final seconds after the teams traded turnovers.

Morris finished with a team-high 19 points and 10 rebounds. Despite fouling out with 4:28 left in the game, Kellogg registered 12 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Todd Tatom Jr., who also picked up four fouls, had 12 points, six rebounds and five assists, while Cody, only a sophomore, scored seven and ran the offense after Kellogg was disqualified.

“Jalan is the smartest kid on the team,” Woolridge said. “He’s supposed to do that.”

Zaire King scored seven points off the bench. Bishop O’Dowd transfer Cole Loud, playing in his first game for Moreau Catholic, had a game-high 21 points and 12 rebounds.

When Kellogg fouled out, the Wolves were hanging on to a 60-55 lead. They led 63-57 after a Cody 3-pointer, but the Mariners responded with an 8-0 run. Jadon Redd scored his lone points of the game off a Jalen Arnold assist, and Dominic Walker hit a three off a Clendinen assist before returning the favor to put Frank Knight’s team in front.

Chapman, another O’Dowd transfer, finished with seven points and seven rebounds. Freshman Kareem Jackson Jr. had 10 points and seven rebounds, while Clendinen scored nine and 6-foot-6 forward Kingston Gonzalez added eight.

Mt. Eden 49, Logan 47

The Mt. Eden Monarchs entered their own Warren Morse Classic winless, but they finished it on a two-game winning streak.

The hosts beat Irvington on Tuesday night, then eked out a 49-47 win over the Logan Colts on Wednesday as sophomore Denzel Jackson scored the go-ahead and-1 with 38.4 seconds left.

Free throws were an issue for the Monarchs, who went just 9-of-21 from the line, but Jackson sank the shot to give Mt. Eden (2-8) a one-point lead after he was fouled on a drive.

Logan (2-6) had three chances to take the lead in the final 30 seconds, but missed all of them. David Mann, who had eight points and eight rebounds, made one of two free throws with 2.5 seconds left.

The Colts outscored Mt. Eden 13-5 in the third quarter, with Shawn Acosta scoring the final five points to give his team its first lead of the game. His 3-pointer after RJ Campos saved a loose ball from going out of bounds sent Logan to the fourth with a 36-32 lead.

Campos scored seven, including a three-pointer to give the visitors their largest lead at 39-32 early in the fourth. Jayden Smith led the Colts with 14 points, including a pair of threes in the fourth quarter, and Acosta finished with 11.

Jackson scored a game-high 16, while Johnson Tran had 10 points and seven rebounds. The Monarchs also got eight points from sophomore Devin Santos and seven off the bench from Derek Egwuatu.

St. Joseph Notre Dame 77, Irvington 34

The St. Joseph Notre Dame Pilots jumped out to an early 10-0 lead, then outscored the Irvington Vikings 21-2 in the second quarter en route to a running clock victory at the Warren Morse Classic.

Jai Joshi scored 14 of his game-high 16 points in the first half for St. Joseph Notre Dame (7-3). Pilot reserves accounted for 41 of SJND’s 77 points, outscoring Irvington’s entire team. Amari Tolden scored 15, sophomore Camden Jaques added 12 and fellow soph Ariel Garcia had seven points and nine rebounds.

Gabe Enyinwa scored just four points, but racked up seven rebounds and dished out six assists, while sophomore forward Esteban Cuevas scored 10.

Safwan Malik led Irvington (5-4) with 10 points, while Krish Bahel had a game-high 14 rebounds.