Tarkanian Classic: Bishop O'Dowd, Mater Dei punch tickets to final in impressive fashion

LAS VEGAS – After a marathon day of competition at the Tarkanian Classic, Saturday's final is set

Ivan Rabb and Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland, Calif.) will tangle with Stanley Johnson and Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) in a 7:30 p.m. tip at Bishop Gorman High School.

Rabb and Johnson are the only options for most valuable player honors at this point in the event and both delivered prime time performances Friday – twice.

Bishop O'Dowd snuck past El Camino Real (Woodland Hills, Calif.) 63-60 in a 10 a.m. quarterfinal behind 27 points from Rabb, then knocked off host Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) impressively 68-54 behind 24 more from the 6-foot-9 junior power forward. The latter was played at Orleans Arena just off the Vegas Strip.

Mater Dei will be looking to make it two-for-two at the second-year tournament after winning it all last year. The Monarchs punched their ticket with a pair of blowouts, thrashing Constitution (Philadelphia) 71-37 in the early afternoon and defending California Division II state champ Redondo Union (Redondo Beach, Calif.) 84-38 in the nightcap.

Johnson, a 6-6 senior guard and the 2013 Tarkanian MVP, put up 21 points and seven boards against Constitution and added 28 more against Redondo Union. The future Arizona Wildcat poured in 42 points Wednesday night in the opener against Foothills Christian (El Cajon, Calif.).

The Monarchs went on runs of 34-3 in the first half and 27-0 in the second to record a surprisingly lopsided victory over Redondo. Senior guard La'vette Parker was a big part of those outbursts, knocking down six 3-pointers.

"We played very well today. Both games today we played about as good as we can play," Mater Dei head coach Gary McKnight said. "We shot the ball well, shared the ball well and the intensity was there."

The O'Dowd-Mater Dei final will be a rematch of a quarterfinal game at last year's Tarkanian Classic won by the Monarchs 67-46. Both teams enter the showdown unbeaten and McKnight expects a much more formidable challenge this time around.

"They are very well coached. The big kid (Rabb) is extremely talented," McKnight said.

Prime Prep guts it out against Findlay Prep

In a battle between teams ranked in the top five of this week's MaxPreps Xcellent 25, No. 3 Prime Prep (Dallas) overcame a 13-point deficit in the first half to knock off No. 5 Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.) as part of the evening slate at Orleans Arena.

With school namesake Deion Sanders in attendance, five-star senior guard Emmanuel Mudiay scored 24 points and handed out three assists as Prime Prep bounced back from a disappointing Thursday loss to Our Savior New American (Centereach, N.Y.).

"We had a talk today about having a pit bull mentality," Prime Prep head coach Ray Forsett said. "The pit bull mentality came in full. My freshman P.J. Washington stepped up, Emmanuel Mudiay was special, Micah Seaborn had a great second half and De'Shawn Williams shot the hell out of the ball. We just kept at it and were able to get stops at the end of the game. We had to bounce back."

Williams was more than just a sidekick to Mudiay against Findlay. The sophomore guard got Prime Prep back in the game after being down 20-7 in the second quarter with a barrage of 3-pointers, finishing with a game-high 26 points.

"It's a special group. I love 'em," Forsett said.

Friday's Platinum Division scores
Quarterfinals
Bishop Gorman 63, Valor Christian (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) 53
Redondo Union 67, Lone Peak (Highland, Utah) 63
Consolation games
Long Beach Poly (Long Beach, Calif.) 70, Sheldon (Sacramento, Calif.) 53
Bountiful (Utah) 92, Durango (Las Vegas) 58
Pinnacle (Phoenix) 67, Clark (Las Vegas) 63
Modesto Christian (Modesto, Calif.) 50, Central Catholic (Portland, Ore.) 49
El Camino Real 67, Valor Christian 59
Bountiful 62, Long Beach Poly 59
Pinnacle 48, Modesto Christian 45
Lone Peak 62, Constitution 50
Sheldon 64, Durango 62
Central Catholic 68, Clark 58

Saturday's Platinum Division schedule
8:30 a.m. – Clark vs. Durango
9:50 a.m. – Central Catholic vs. Sheldon
11:10 a.m. – Lone Peak vs. El Camino Real (fifth place)
11:10 a.m. – Long Beach Poly vs. Modesto Christian
12:30 p.m. – Constitution vs. Valor Christian
12:30 p.m. – Bountiful vs. Pinnacle (consolation championship)
4:30 p.m. – Bishop Gorman vs. Redondo Union (third place)
7:30 p.m. – Mater Dei vs. Bishop O'Dowd (championship)

Friday's Prep Division scores
Our Savior New American 60, Montrose Christian (Rockville, Md.) 57

Saturday's Prep Division schedule
3:10 p.m. – La Lumiere (LaPorte, Ind.) vs. Prime Prep
4:30 p.m. – Faith Baptist Christian Academy (Ludowici, Ga.) vs. Our Savior New American
6 p.m. – Findlay Prep vs. Montrose Christian