MidValleySports.Com

By Alex A. Gonzalez

Temple City: The annual Temple City and Duarte Holiday basketball tournament started Thursday as 16 schools across Southern California played at both Temple City and Duarte High School. The four-day event allows all participants to play four guaranteed games. 

Game one: Los Altos 93 Anaheim 44

Los Altos and their press defense was too much for Anaheim as they forced eight turnovers, including six steals right as the ball crossed the half-court line. After the first eight minutes, the Conquerors exploded to a 39-9 lead. The frontcourt of Isaiah Meza, Kevin Keshishyan, and Brandon Bolarios pounded the paint with a flurry of dunks and easy layups. The Conquerors continued the pressure through the second half, walking to an easy 93-44 win over Anaheim. Kesishyan and Kyle Kincy each scored 25 points and will play Santiago tomorrow.  

Game Two: Santiago 70 San Gabriel 40 

San Gabriel could not contain Jayden Baude as the forward led the Santiago Cavaliers to an easy 70-40 win in their first-round match. The Matadors found themselves in a hole quickly in the first four minutes of the game. Baude scored the team’s first 10 points while also forcing San Gabriel to turn the ball over three times. The Matadors couldn’t find their 3-point shot as they relied on it heavily to bring them back into the game. The Cavs maintained a comfortable lead of at least 15 points in the second half. San Gabriel was held to only 12 points for the final 16 minutes of play. 

San Gabriel will play their second game against Anaheim at Temple City, and Santiago will play Los Altos. 

Game Three: California 62 Temple City 56 

The California Condors forced turnovers and hit key free throws as they came back to win in a nail-biter against host Temple City 56-62. Kenny Renfrow was Cal’s top performer, scoring 13 points in the game and grabbing six rebounds. The Rams were able to match the Condors in the first half with their press defense and stay ahead of them after the first half. 

But then, midway through the third quarter, Ram forward Mason Collins had to leave the game due to an apparent eye injury that sidelined him for the remainder of the quarter. That is when Cal made a run and took a 43-38 lead entering the fourth quarter. The Rams did, however, make a comeback of their own and took a 1-point lead with 3:09 left in the fourth quarter. Unfortunately, turnovers derailed Temple City’s momentum, and they lost the lead. Aham Nwosu made all eight free throws down the stretch to seal the win for Cal.

Game Four: Alhambra 82 Mountain View 37 

The Moors wasted no time to force turnovers and capitalize on Mt. Views’ miscues. Alhambra’s Landon Winslow leads all scorers with 30 points as the Moors cruised past Mt. View 82-37. Julian Requena Diaz scored a team-high 10 points in the loss. 

Day One Finals at Duarte High School 

Game One: Burbank 95 Monrovia 51

Game Two: Keppel 84 Jurupa Hills 59 

Game Three: Hawthorne 68 Hoover 58 

Game Four: Canyon 109 Duarte 41 

Day Two matchups at Temple City High School 

Anaheim vs. San Gabriel @ 2:00 PM

Temple City vs. Mt. View @ 3:30 PM

Los Altos vs. Santiago @ 5:00 PM 

California vs. Alhambra @ 6:30 PM 

Day Two Matchups at Duarte High School 

Monrovia vs. Jurupa Hills @ 2:30 PM

Hoover vs. Duarte @ 4:00 PM 

Burbank vs. Keppel @ 5:30 PM

Hawthorne vs. Canyon @ 7:00 PM