No Consolation Prize for Pali High Boys Basketball

Trailing by three points with 7.4 seconds left and the consolation title on the line Saturday night at the Beverly Hills Invitational, the Palisades High boys basketball team had one last chance for a three-pointer to force overtime.

Will Johnson inbounded the ball to point guard Shane Williams, who dribbled across halfcourt, put a move on Eagles defender Josh Davis and launched a shot from behind the arc. The ball bounced off the rim and into the arms of George Brown, who banked it off the glass and in as time expired, but Brentwood escaped with a 65-64 win in a game both coaches described as “ugly.”

“I’ll take an ugly win any day,” Brentwood Coach Ryan Bailey said after matching wits with his former UCLA teammate and friend Kris Johnson, one of the Dolphins’ assistant coaches.

The respect was mutual, as Johnson praised Bailey and his team: “Great job by them. They were prepared and executed on both ends. They flat-out beat us.”

Joe Robinson led the Dolphins (6-3) with 17 points and four assists, including a three-pointer to tie the game 41-41 with three minutes left. Will Johnson added 10 points and five assists, Ron Artest had 10 rebounds and Brown added six points and 12 rebounds on his way to earning All-Tournament honors.

“Both teams played terribly − the game of basketball deserves a better performance,” Pali High head coach Vejas Anaya quipped.  “We had 20 missed layups, I was unhappy with our communication from the bench to the floor and we didn’t get the shot that we wanted at the end.”

Early on it seemed as if there was a lid on the basket, as neither team could buy a bucket. Chris Kurihara finally broke the ice with a three-pointer from the corner with 2:14 left in the first quarter. Will Johnson fed Robinson for a transition layup and Kurihara drained another three-pointer to give the Dolphins an 8-2 lead after the first eight minutes.

Brentwood got back into the game thanks to freshman point guard and Palisadian Charley Wadler, who hit three long-range jumpers in the second quarter to ignite a 14-5 run that gave the Eagles a 20-15 lead at halftime. Wadler finished with nine points.

Ountae Campbell led Brentwood (7-1) with 18 points. Adding seven points and eight rebounds was senior forward Maxwell Kupchak, son of Los Angeles Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak, who was in the stands at the Swim Gym rooting the Eagles on.

Palisades opened the second half on a 5-0 run to tie it but the Eagles responded with a 7-0 run of their own and took a 33-25 lead into the fourth quarter.

After Robinson’s three-pointer was long, Brown swooped in  for the rebound and scored to pull the Dolphins within a point with 12.7 seconds left. Campbell was intentionally fouled and made the first of two foul shots, but he got his own rebound on the second and was fouled again. He again made one of two, putting Brentwood up by three and setting the stage for Williams’ game-tying three-point attempt.

After opening the tournament with a 49-44 loss to Cantwell-Sacred Heart last Monday, the Dolphins bounced back the next day with a 66-42 win against Torrance. Robinson scored 16 points, Michael Fry added 10 points and eight rebounds, Christian Hodge had seven points, 11 rebounds and three blocks and Williams dished out eight assists for the Dolphins.

Johnson led the way with 14 points, including two three-pointers, Artest had 14 points, nine rebounds, two assists and two blocks and Robinson added 10 points in Friday’s 58-45 triumph  over Lawndale Leuzinger.

After building a 34-18 halftime lead Palisades quelled the Olympians’ third-quarter surge with a 6-0 run, capped by Artest’s rebound and dunk.

“At 6-8, Ron can affect the game in so many ways and you have to let him do it,” Anaya said.

Loyola rallied in the fourth quarter to edge Long Beach Poly  63-59 in the championship game.

Palisades has won the tournament seven times: 1986, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999, 2000 and 2008. The Dolphins will return to action Dec. 27 at the La Salle Tournament in Pasadena.