Coming off its impressive run to the City of Palms Tournament title, the Chino Hills (Calif.) Huskies know they have a big target on their back in every game the rest of the season. Knocking off the Huskies could also potentially make the season for one of their upcoming opponents. From the looks of things on the first day of the MaxPreps Holiday Classic in Rancho Mirage (Calif.), it's going to a special effort for one of the seven other open division first round winners to knock Lonzo Ball and company off.

Ball, a UCLA recruit and a Mr. Basketball USA candidate, finished with a triple-double of 25 points, 14 assists, 10 steals, plus seven rebounds in Chino Hills' 97-58 first round win over Seattle Prep (Wash.). The Huskies and Seattle Prep were tied at 9-9, then Chino Hills went on a 15-0 run to close out the first quarter and never looked back. As coaches and fans found out in Ft. Myers, Fla., 6-foot-9 freshman Onyeka Okongwu is a huge difference-maker for Chino Hills. He had six blocked shots in the first quarter and finished with eight blocks, eight points and five rebounds.

Here's a quick look at the four quarterfinal matchups scheduled for Rancho Mirage High School on Monday, Dec. 28:

Chino Hills (Calif.) vs. Rufus King (Milwaukee, Wis.), 7:30 pm
Was it a case of Rufus King making Santa Margarita (Rancho SM, Calif.) look bad, or is Rufus King that good? Whatever the case, Santa Margarita didn't impress in a 52-45 loss to the visitors from Wisconsin. Rufus King showed toughness and got after it after trailing early and at halftime 23-21. Rufus King's best player was 6-foot-1 junior Vershon Cotton, a nard-nosed guard who can really fill it up. He scored 18 points, while highly-regarded junior guard Jordan Poole added 13 points. Poole is going to need to have a big game and hit a higher percentage from the outside if Rufus King is to have any chance versus "Run GMZ". The "G" in GMZ, 6-foot-5 junior forward Li'Angelo Ball, led Chino Hills with 29 points. His 14-year old freshman brother, 5-foot-9 La'Melo Ball (The "M" in GMZ), made only 3-of-16 shots and finished with six points. As a trio, the Ball Bros. showed in Ft. Myers, Fla., they can shoot a low percentage from the field and still win games. Will that trend hold up as the pressure begins to mount for Chino Hills in terms of its chances to finish the season with a No. 1 national rating?

Alemany (Mission Hills, Calif.) vs. Jonesboro (Ga.), 3:00 pm
If any result in the open division's first round can qualify as an upset, it was Alemany's 63-60 victory over Moreau Catholic (Hayward, Calif.). Moreau defeated FAB 50-ranked Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) to open the season while Alemany lost to the same club, 76-55. The Mariners were ranked No. 32 in the previous FAB 50, but lost in the title game of the Maui Classic to Lee (Huntsville, Ala.) in its previous game and to a Warriors team on Saturday night that executed better down the stretch. Coach Tray Meeks' club got some excellent individual defense in the closing minutes from 6-foot-4 junior Ernie Sears and 17 points apiece from 5-foot-10 sophomore guard D.J. McDonald and 5-foot-8 senior point guard Shaquille Dawkins in the three point win. Alemany took a 36-25 lead, only to see Moreau Catholic storm back to take a 41-39 lead before the Warriors closed it out in the final minutes behind two key buckets from Sears. Jonesboro began the season nationally-ranked, but close losses to Norcross (Ga.) and Wesleyan Christian Academy (High Point, N.C.) knocked the Cardinals out of the FAB 50. They have since won eight consecutive game, the latest a 67-49 opening round victory over a Windward (Los Angeles) club that simply couldn't keep up in transition. M.J. Walker, an All-American candidate as a junior, took control early, scoring 21 points in the first half and finishing with 25. Jonesboro dealt with a 16-hour travel day and should be ready to go Monday. If both teams play to their potential, it would seem Jonesboro would have more of a chance to upset Chino Hills in a potential semifinal game, but it doesn't mean Jonesboro can be considered a sure-fire favorite versus Alemany.

Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) vs. De La Salle (Concord, Calif.), 4:30 pm
The Gaels of Bishop Gorman simply had too much firepower for Capital Christian (Sacramento, Calif.). Gorman led 12-2 to begin the game and was in control the entire way. Junior forward Charles O'Bannon Jr. continued where he left off at the Tarkanian Classic, leading the way for Gorman with 29 points. Junior guard Christian Popoola Jr. chipped in 18 points. The game versus Capital Christian was ugly at times and Gorman is going to have to clean a few things up if it expects to get by De La Salle. The Spartans impressed in their 64-47 first round victory over Prestonwood Christian Academy (Plano, Texas). De La Salle led 23-8 after one period of play and kept Prestonwood at bay when it tried to gain an advantage inside behind 6-foot-11 senior Schnider Herard. De La Salle has a first-year head coach in A.J. Kuhle, but as long as seniors Jordan Ratinho (19 points) and Nikhil Peters (14 points) are shooting well, the Spartans have a chance against any team on its side of the bracket. De La Salle will need a big game from 6-foot-6 junior Emeka Udenyi down low against Gonzaga-bound 7-footer Zach Collins in order to move on to Tuesday's semifinals.

Redondo Union (Redondo Beach, Calif.) vs. Bentonville (Ark.), 6:00 pm
With Kentucky-bound Malik Monk, FAB 50-ranked Bentonville has more star power, but that doesn't mean the Sea Hawks won't be able to play with the boys from Arkansas. After losing to Bishop Gorman in the second round round of the Tarkanian Classic, Redondo Union lost to Prestonwood Christian Academy in Las Vegas before closing out the tournament with a win. Redondo's 77-59 opening round win over Folsom (Calif.) was never in doubt, as 6-foot-2 junior Ryse Williams led the way with 25 points, while senior guards Morgan means and Leland Green added 14 points each. Bentonville, a team many are pegging as a potential finalist opposite Chino Hills, opened with a 73-70 victory over St. Petersburg (Fla.). Tyler Robinson, a 6-foot-5 forward who loves to attack the rim, led Bentonville with 20 points while Monk added 16. Although Bentonville had four players score in double figures, Monk and company got will have to play better in order to advance against Redondo or harbor any thoughts of leaving California with a tournament title. It let St. Petersburg hang around and got careless at the end of the game. It wouldn't surprise us if that was the wake-up call the visitors from Arkansas needed.

Ronnie Flores is the national Grassroots editor of www.ebooksnet.com. He can be reached at [email protected]. Don't forget to follow him on Twitter: @RonMFlores

The post Chino Hills on to Maxpreps Holiday Classic Quarters! (Video Highlights) appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

Related:?Day One Raw Footage?| Day Two Raw Footage

The City of Palms Classic will feature 10 teams currently ranked in the FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by www.ebooksnet.com. Burlison gives some perspective on the tournament and predicts a Montverde Academy (Fla.) vs. Chaminade (Mo.) championship final. Montverde Academy is the top-ranked team in the FAB 50, while Chaminade checks in at No. 12.

No. 9 Chino Hills (Calif.), which could meet Montverde Academy in the City of Palms quarterfinals, is one of three FAB 50-ranked teams along with three bubble teams participating at the Maxpreps Holiday Classic. It could be a Chino Hills vs. No. 32 Moreau Catholic (Calif.) semifinals in the desert, with the winner potentially taking on No. 22 Bentonville (Ark.) in the open division championship final.

Bentonville lost last week on the road to Chaminade.

Look for exclusive www.ebooksnet.com content and video from both holiday tournaments.

Ronnie Flores is the national Grassroots editor of www.ebooksnet.com. He can be reached at?[email protected]. Don't forget to follow him on Twitter:?@RonMFlores

The post City of Palms & Maxpreps Holiday Classic Preview! appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.

By Ronnie Flores

Just as the ink was drying on last week's FAB 50 National Team Rankings powered by www.ebooksnet.com, newly-crowned No. 1 Montverde Academy (Montverde, Fla.) was preparing to take its home floor versus Huntington Prep (Huntington, W. Va.) in the biggest game of the young season so far.

Had the Eagles lost, it would have opened up the floodgates in terms of deserving teams for the nation's No. 1 ranking. The Fightin' Irish gave Montverde Academy all it could handle before falling, 63-59, in a game televised on ESPN2.

Six-foot-6 freshman R.J. Barrett had his national coming out party and helped Montverde Academy retain its No. 1 FAB 50 ranking by nailing four consecutive free throws in the final 16 seconds after Huntington Prep had a chance to tie the game on its possession before Barrett was intentionally sent to the line for first time. The Canadian transplant's first two made the score 61-57 in favor of Montverde Academy before Huntington Prep standout forward Miles Bridges made two of his own with 7.8 seconds remaining. Barett, whom Montverde Academy coach Kevin Boyle was recently quoted as saying is already the program's second or third best player at worst, then sealed the win in the closing seconds. He finished with 18 points and four rebounds.

Had Huntington Prep pulled out the game, the No. 1 rating might have been up for grabs because No. 2 Roman Catholic needed overtime to capture the championship of the Gonzaga D.C. Classic on Sunday at American University. Host Gonzaga (Washington, D.C.) gave the Cahillites all it could handle and tied the game on a tip-in basket by Prentiss Hubb with approximately 20 seconds remaining in regulation.

Roman Catholic was just a bit too strong on the boards and pulled away for a 77-72 victory. Lamar Stevens, headed for Penn State, led the Cahillites with 32 points. In the semifinals, the Cahillites defeated Good Counsel (Onley, Md.), 72-60, and easily knocked off Calvin Coolidge (Washington, D.C.), 90-41, in the opening round, as senior guard Nazeer Bostick, like Stevens headed for Penn State, netted 27 points on 10-of-12 shooting from the field.

Because of the quality of its opponent and its big games coming up, we decided to keep Roman No. 2. As for Gonzaga, it actually moved up four sports in this week's FAB 50 to No. 30.

In another big game over the weekend, the highest-ranked team with one loss, No. 12 Chaminade (St. Louis, Mo.), downed previous No. 16 Bentonville (Bentonville, Ark.), 76-57, in an electric game played at Chaminade's home gym. The game was a battle between two serious Mr. Basketball USA candidates: Duke-bound Jayson Tatum and Kentucky-bound Malik Monk.

After Bentonville won at home last year, Tatum got revenge of sports with a spectacular 40-point, 17-rebound performance that locals will be talking about for years to come. On Friday night, Monk broke his own school scoring record by netting 53 points and finished with 36 points versus Chaminade, including seven 3-pointers.

Chaminade's victory drops Bentonville six spots in this week's FAB 50 to No. 22 and also hurts Mustang (Mustang, Okla.), which lost to Bentonville to open its season. The defending Oklahoma Class 5A state champs drop four spots in the FAB 50 to No. 29 despite not losing last week.

There are five newcomers this week, including No. 47 Lone Peak (Highland, Utah), which won the Freetaxusa.com Shootout in Orem, Utah with a 73-71 win over bubble club Miller Grove (Lithonia, Ga.). Duke-bound Frank Jackson netted 38 points in the victory, while UConn-bound Alterique Gilbert went for 37 points in a losing effort that had the whole gym buzzing. Lone Peak also defeated Fremont (Los Angeles, Calif.) 90-55 and bubble club Wasatch Academy (Mt. Pleasant, Utah) 68-65 earlier in the tournament.

Looking Ahead

Montverde Academy and Chaminade will be among the nine FAB 50-ranked teams participating in the The City of Palms Tournament in Ft. Myers, Fla., Dec. 18-23.

The first round matchups are: The First Academy (Orlando, Fla.) vs. No. 44 High Point Christian (High Point, N.C.); Lehigh Senior (Fla.)-Father Tolton (Mo.) winner vs. No. 16 Westerville South (Westerville, Ohio); Spain Park (Hoover, Ala.) vs. No. 1 Montverde Academy; No. 9 Chino Hills (Chino Hills, Calif.) vs. Thomas Jefferson (Brooklyn, N.Y.); No. 39 Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.) vs. Wesleyan Christian Academy (High Point, N.C.); No. 12 Chaminade vs. Bartow (Bartow, Fla.), No. 38 West Linn (West Linn, Ore.) vs. No. 15 Norland (Miami, Fla.); No. 14 The Patrick School (Elizabeth, N.J.), bye.

The way the bracket is set, Montverde Academy could meet No. 9 Chino Hills in the second round.

Because that tournament overlaps two weeks and because the major post-Christmas tournaments will begin on a Saturday, our next FAB 50 installment will be the first Monday of calendar year 2016.

Updated FAB 50 National Team Rankings
Powered by www.ebooksnet.com

(Second poll of the 2015-16 regular season; Through games played on Sunday, December 13; Last week's ranking in parentheses; *Indicates forfeit wins, forfeit losses not included)

Dropped Out: Previous No. 19 Oldsmar Christian (Oldsmar, Fla.), No. 30 Westfield (Chantilly, Va.), No. 37 Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.); No. 38 Advanced Prep International (Dallas, Texas), No. 41 Lincoln (Brooklyn, N.Y.).

Bubble Teams: Advanced Prep International (Dallas, Texas) 8-4; American Fork (American Fork, Utah) 4-0; Beecher (Flint, Mich.) 3-1; Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.) 4-1; Bowling Green (Bowling Green, Ky.) 5-0; Cape Henry Collegiate (Virginia Beach, Va.) 3-0; Centennial (Corona, Calif.) 4-1; Centennial (Las Vegas, Nev.) 6-1; Columbus (Columbus, Miss.) 7-2; Corona Del Sol (Tempe, Ariz.) 3-1; Davis (Houston, Texas) 13-0; De La Salle (Concord, Calif.) 3-0; DeSoto (DeSoto, Texas) 11-1; East English Village Prep (Detroit, Mich.) 1-1; Edmond North (Edmond, Okla.) 5-0; Evelyn Mack (Charlotte, N.C.) 11-2; Fenwick (Fenwick, Ill.) 7-0; Folsom (Folsom, Calif.) 5-0; Garfield Heights (Garfield Heights, Ohio) 4-0; Hamilton Heights Christian Academy (Chattanooga, Tenn.) 10-2; Hammond (Columbia, S.C.) 6-0; Iona Prep (New Rochelle, N.Y.) 4-1; Iowa City West (Iowa City, Iowa) 3-1; J.O. Johnson (Huntsville, Ala.) 8-2; Lancaster (Lancaster, Texas) 8-2; Lincoln (Brooklyn, N.Y.) 4-1; Meridian (Meridian, Miss.) 10-1; Merrillville (Merrillville, Ind.) 4-0; Mesa (Mesa, Ariz.) 8-0; Miller Grove (Lithonia, Ga.) 7-2; Mt. Vernon (Mt. Vernon, N.Y.) 1-0; National Christian Academy (Ft. Washington, Md.) 4-0; Norcross (Norcross, Ga.) 6-1; Norman North (Norman, Okla.) 4-1; North Crowley (Fort Worth, Texas) 10-1; Oldsmar Christian (Oldsmar, Fla.) 6-2; Omaha South (Omaha, Neb.) 4-0; Overland (Aurora, Colo.) 3-0; Paul VI (Fairfax, Va.) 4-2; Queens High School of Teaching (Queens, N.Y.) 5-1; Redondo Union (Redondo Beach, Calif.) 5-0; Scotlandville (Baton Rouge, La.) 8-0; St. Raymond's (Bronx, N.Y.) 4-1; St. Vincent-St. Mary (Akron, Ohio) 1-1; Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, Kan.) 5-2; Thomas Jefferson (Brooklyn, N.Y.) 7-1; Wasatch Academy (Mt. Pleasant, Utah) 9-1; Wesleyan Christian Academy (High Point, N.C.) 8-1; Westfield (Chantilly, Va.) 1-2; West Oaks Academy (Orlando, Fla.) 6-1; Wise (Upper Marlboro, Md.) 1-1.

Note: The FAB 50 powered by www.ebooksnet.com is a continuation of the National Sports News Service ratings that began in 1952. These were the first national high school rankings and the late Art Johlfs of Minnesota compiled them. They were compiled for many years by the late Barry Sollenberger of Phoenix, who merged them into the FAB 50 16 years ago.

Ronnie Flores is the national Grassroots editor of www.ebooksnet.com. He can be reached at [email protected]. Don't forget to follow him on Twitter: @RonMFlores

The post NEW FAB 50 National Rankings appeared first on www.ebooksnet.com.