|
Boys Basketball
If any team in the
City Section seems capable of challenging the 'Big Three' of Taft,
Westchester and Fairfax, it is the Dolphins, who have 10 seniors and will
look to improve upon last season's 19-10 mark which saw Palisades fall one
win short of a berth in the state playoffs.
Point guard Taylor
Shipley, a three-year starter, and guard Aaron Hawk-Harris, who made
All-City last year despite missing half the season, will lead a Dolphins'
attack that also features hustling guard Brandon Greer and slick-shooting
forward Irvin Kintaudi.
As always, the
Dolphins face a daunting schedule, beginning with four tough tournaments, Campbell
Hall, Beverly Hills, San
Fernando and Santa Barbara, and
a nonleague game against Washington
thrown in for good measure.
Coach James Paleno, who began his 17th season one victory shy of
300, said the strength of his team is its work ethic and chemistry. His
players have been in the program him for three or four years and know what
to expect.
Palisades is
ranked No. 25 in Southern California in at
least one poll and Paleno said that because of
that other teams will be looking to knock them off. The Dolphins must win
by out-executing and out-smarting their opponents.
Over the summer,
Palisades played and beat perennial powers Fremont and Loyola and lost by
only two points to Westchester. The
Dolphins played Hoover in the first round of the Campbell Hall Tournament
on Wednesday (result unavailable at press time) and play West Adams Prep
tonight at 6 p.m. and Arleta on Monday at 7:30 p.m.
Campbell Hall v. Palisades
�In the much-anticipated
matchup between host Campbell Hall and highly rated Palisades,
it was no contest as the Vikings led by 7 after one quarter, 18 at the
half, and were in control the rest of the way. Tournament
MVP and UCLA-bound Jrue Holiday led the way as
Campbell Hall (4-0) went undefeated in its Coaches vs
Cancer tournament to win the championship.
Holiday scored a game-high 20 points and had
14 rebounds but it was his and the team's defensive effort that was the
difference. He held Palisades standout Aaron
Hawk-Harris to 3 field goals and 8 points and the Viking defense as a whole
displayed excellent on-ball pressure to keep Palisades
from getting many good looks at the basket.
Palisades scored first as both teams sparred
in the early going with great intensity. Holiday
got an early dunk and that only spurred his and the crowd's emotions to a
higher level. It was 6-6 when Campbell Hall began to get separation. Keegan
Hornbuckle and Dallas Rutherford were active on
offense as Hornbuckle's kiss off the glass gave Campbell Hall a 10-6
lead.
Rutherford's three-pointer gave the Vikings a
17-10 lead after the first quarter. Hornbuckle's
trey and subsequent layin made it 22-10 and
Palisades was finding points hard to come by as the half wore on. Irvin Kintaudi finally got a layin
for the Dolphins but when Rutherford scored an easy bucket off an inbounds
play under his own basket, it was 24-12 and Palisades
seemed overmatched.
But Taylor Shipley hit the first of his 3 three-pointers on the night and
got the deficit under double digits at 24-15. However, that was the last Palisades scored for the rest of the second quarter. Rutherford ended the quarter's scoring just as he did
earlier in the first quarter � with a three-pointer and Campbell Hall led
at the break 33-15.
Both teams started off slowly offensively in the third quarter. Neither
team displayed a lot of depth in the game, especially Campbell Hall with
the absence of starter Deuce Johnson due to a minor shoulder injury. Only
four players scored at all for Palisades
and just four players scored more than 2 points for Campbell Hall in the
game.
Shipley finally drove in for a score at the 6:03 mark and Palisades
trailed, 33-17. Campbell Hall came back and took its largest lead to that
point at 38-19. Then Palisades' resolve
paid off. They never gave up in the game and were finally able to put
together a challenge to the Vikings.
First Shipley hit two straight three-pointers, then
Hawk-Harris followed with a free throw and a jumper. All of a sudden it was
38-28 and Palisades had new life. Holiday was fouled with two seconds left in the
quarter and converted both freebies to make it 40-28 going into the final
quarter.
The Hall extended the lead to 42-28 as the fourth quarter got underway. But
Hawk-Harris was still feeling it and hit a three-pointer. He followed that
with a nifty pass to Kintaudi for a layin and the Dolphins now trailed by only 42-33 with
6:50 to play. Then, with 6;32 on the clock,
Garrett Frick went to the line for two free throws and a chance to get Palisades even closer.
But he missed both ends and Campbell Hall quickly shrugged off the comeback
bid by outscoring the Dolphins 20-3 the rest of the way. Holiday
hit a long jumper (initially scored as a three) to make it 47-33 at the
5:15 mark, Austin McBroom nailed a three at the 4:40 mark to make it 50-33.
Holiday added a steal and layup at the
4:15 mark and Hornbuckle's three-point play made
it 55-34 to end all doubt with 3:29 on the clock.
It's clear that coach Terry Kelly's emphasis on conditioning will help make
up for any depth problems his team might have in the upcoming season.
Campbell Hall passed this test and will get another on Thursday when they
take on St. Edward (in Ohio)
on ESPN2.
Campbell Hall (62): Max Rose 2, Farmon Rahimi 2, Austin McBroom 7 (1 three), Jrue Holiday 20, Bryce Brady 2, Keegan Hornbuckle 17 (1), Dallas Rutherford 12 (2).
Palisades (36): Taylor Shipley 15 (3 threes),
Irvin Kintaudi 8, Josh Gilmore 5, Aaron
Hawk-Harris 8 (1).
Holiday puts on show for Campbell Hall fans
 UCLA-bound
Jrue Holiday, pictured, was selected the
tournament most valuable player in leading North Hollywood Campbell Hall,
ranked No.
7 by The Times, to a 62-36 victory over No. 25 Palisades
Saturday night in the championship game of the Campbell Hall basketball tournament.
Holiday scored 20 points and had 14 rebounds in the final,
but what was memorable was how he found ways to contribute despite a poor
shooting night. His smothering defense on Palisades All-City forward Aaron
Hawk-Harris left the Dolphins falling behind by 18 points at halftime.
Hawk-Harris was limited to eight points.
Holiday
made only five of 16 shots, but he got fired up by a small but vocal Palisades crowd, giving them a playful glare after
drilling a three-pointer in the fourth quarter. Keegan Hornbuckle,
a 6-foot-7 junior, had 17 points for the Vikings and made all-tournament.
Campbell
Hall (4-0) will be on ESPN2 on Thursday night at 6 p.m. when it plays St.
Edward in Lakewood, Ohio.
--
Eric Sondheimer
|
|
|
|
Where does Palisades fit in?
Early in the
City boys' basketball season the main talk has surrounded three teams --
Fairfax, Taft and Westchester.
Palisades, sporting a 7-1 record entering tonight's game against St. Bonaventure,
would like to be included in the conversation.
So far the
Dolphins' lone loss was to Campbell Hall. Led by seniors Aaron Hawk-Harris,
Brandon Greer and Irvin Kintaudi, the Dolphins depend
on defense and depth for a winning formula.
"Overall
you have to be happy starting 7-1," Palisades Coach James Paleno said. "But we have to excel at defense and
intensity ... we don't have the high-profile name players, but we think if we
play a near-perfect game we can compete with all those teams."
December 05, 2007
Steve Galluzzo ,
Sports Editor
The Palisades High boys varsity basketball team could not have picked a better
place to try to bounce back from its first loss of the season.
The Dolphins did just
that Monday afternoon in the opening round of the Beverly Hills Tournament,
routing Antelope Valley 65-31 on the same floor on which they have hoisted the
winner's trophy six times. The easy victory restored some of the confidence Palisades lost in a 62-36 defeat at the hands of Campbell
Hall in the championship game of the Vikings' tournament on Saturday.
"We won our first
three games so easily that maybe we started thinking we were better than we
are," said Dolphins' Coach James Paleno, who
earned his 300th coaching victory last Wednesday in Pali's
season opener. "They jumped on us early and we just couldn't make a
basket. We shot 28 percent, had eight assists and 25 turnovers. That tells you all you need to know."
In its prior two games,
Palisades led West Adams Prep, 26-0, after the first quarter and led Canoga
Park, 48-0, after the first quarter on the way to blowout wins.
Monday's game was more of
the same, as the Dolphins raced to a 37-16 halftime lead and cruised from
there. All-City guard Aaron Hawk-Harris led the way with 17 points,
slick-shooting forward Irvin Kintaudi added 10 points
and Aaron Fitts, Garrett Frick and Josh Gilmore each
added eight for Palisades (4-1).
"We've had success
here," said Paleno, who has witnessed every one
of Palisades' wins at the tournament, either
as a head coach or an assistant. "During one stretch we won it five times
in six years."
Point guard Taylor
Shipley had seven points, Bruce Sarmento scored four
and Brandon Greer added three.
After Palisades'
post-game talk, Paleno watched the next game between View Park
and Crossroads closely, knowing the Dolphins would play the winner in the
quarterfinals Wednesday (result undetermined at press time). Saturday night's
final could match the second-seeded Dolphins against highly-ranked and
top-seeded Long Beach Poly.
December 12, 2007
Steve Galluzzo ,
Sports Editor
Whatever the reason, the
Palisades High boys varsity basketball team always seems
to bring its 'A' game to the Beverly Hills Tournament. That could be why the
Dolphins have won there seven times since 1986.
The latest trophy was
hoisted Saturday night after Palisades' 53-35
victory over Long Beach Poly in the championship game. The game was tied 20-20
at halftime and the Dolphins clung to a 32-31 lead after three quarters before
closing out the game on a 21-4 run.
Irvin Kintaudi,
Aaron Hawk-Harris and Josh Gilmore each scored 10 points and Garrett Frick had
eight and Brandon Greer added seven for Palisades
(7-1), which has won four straight games since losing in the finals of the
Campbell Hall Tournament.
Against the Jackrabbits,
Hawk-Harris pulled down nine rebounds and dished out five assists, Kintaudi made six steals and Taylor Shipley had five steals
and three assists
Palisades plays St.
Bonaventure in the San Fernando Invitational next Monday.
On the way to Saturday's
final the Dolphins beat Antelope
Valley (65-31),
Crossroads (59-47) and West Ranch (57-53).
Hawks shut
down in loss
GRANADA HILLS -
Playing their third consecutive game to start the week, and seventh over the
last nine days, the Hawks finally showed some wear.
The Knight High School
boys basketball team led Palisades
by three points after the first quarter, but couldn't sustain it over the next
three, as the Hawks fell to the Dolphins 66-53 Wednesday night at Granada Hills
High.
The Hawks are
now moved to the consolation bracket at the San Fernando Valley Invitational, a
tournament they won a year ago.
"This team
is young," senior Paul George said. "We've still got to get a win
tomorrow. This is not just a loss, it's something we can learn from and use to
help us."
George, who scored
17 points in the second half, matched Palisades'
Aaron Hawk-Harris with a game-high 23 points.
Hawk-Harris was
too tough, though. The 6-foot-5 guard hurt Knight with his offense, but he also
rebounded the ball and played ferocious defense on the
other end of the court.
"He's a
strong player," Knight coach Tom Hegre said. "He plays with a lot of energy. We had too
many turnovers tonight, too. You're not going to beat a team like Palisades when you do that."
The Hawks (7-4)
shot well in the first quarter and led 19-16 after one. The game went back and
forth in the second quarter until Palisades
seized command just before halftime. The Dolphins (10-1) took a 33-27 lead into
the break and never relinquished it in the second half.
George had all
of Knight's third quarter field goals and 12 of the team's 13 points. He had
four 3-pointers that helped keep Knight within striking distance until late in
the game.
Palisades led 52-40 at the end of the third quarter and went up by as many
as 16 points in the fourth.
"There was
just too much defensive pressure," George said.
Kyree
Jackson scored 14 points for the Hawks, while Chris Shaw added 11. Knight got
no points from its bench in the loss.
For Palisades, Josh Gilmore scored 16 points and Irvin Kintaudi had 10. It was the Dolphins' second win in as many
days over an Antelope
Valley opponent. Palisades beat AV 57-25 on Tuesday and will play in the
semifinals tonight.
Palisades 66, Knight 53: Knight of
Palmdale raced out to a 8-0 lead behind two 3-pointers
from Paul George but little else went right for the Hawks (7-4) as they dropped
a quarterfinal game to Palisades at the
Granada Hills regional of the San Fernando Valley Invitational tournament.
"This was a game of runs,"
Knight head coach Tom Hegre
said. "I told our guys during the pre-game speech to not get too high or
too low. We would get ours and they would get theirs. The last minute of the
first half really hurt us."
Knight was nursing a one-point lead, but
surrendered seven straight points to close out the half. The run included two
baskets by Aaron Hawk-Harris, who scored 11 points in the second quarter for
the Dolphins (10-1).
George finished with 23 points and eight
rebounds for Knight.
Kyree Jackson and Chris Shaw added 14 and 11
points respectively.
Hawk-Harris finished with 22 points, 11 in
each half for the Dolphins.
Hart shoots
poorly in loss
Article Last
Updated: 12/20/2007 10:41:25 PM PST
Hart High of Newhall did a good job Thursday holding
down Palisades' Aaron Hawk-Harris - one of the
City Section's top boys' basketball prospects who scored just six points and
had six turnovers.
But not much else went right in a 64-47
semifinal loss at the third annual San Fernando Valley
tournament at Alemany High in Mission Hills.
Hart (8-3) shot 26.5 percent (13 of 49)
and committed 25 turnovers, as leading scorer Mike Montgomery, coming off a
25-point performance, was limited to nine points on 3-for-12 shooting.
The loss broke a four-game winning streak
and was Hart's most one-sided defeat since a 31-point loss to Burroughs of
Burbank on Jan. 11, 2005.
"We had the intensity in the first
half, but in the second half (Palisades)
picked up the intensity and we didn't match it," Hart guard Levi Wenrich said. "They were bigger, stronger and faster,
so if you don't match the intensity against a team like that, you're going to
get blown out."
Wenrich scored 12 points with five rebounds, and
Marcus Moloznik scored 12 points.
Palisades (11-1), coming off a first-place
finish at the Beverly Hills tournament, has lost only to defending CIF State
Div. IV champion Campbell Hall of North Hollywood. The Dolphins face Beverly Hills in the
tournament championship at 8 p.m. at Alemany.
Palisades' Irvin Kintaudi
scored 24 points with seven rebounds, and Josh Gilmore scored 13.
