The title game of the 11th Annual Tarkanian Classic pitted two teams that took different approaches to reaching Thursday afternoon's championship game. St. Pius-St. Matthias (Downey, Calif.) came into the game knowing it could play with Desert Mountain (Scottsdale, Ariz.) and could play from behind, if necessary. The Warriors preferred not to play from behind against a Desert Mountain club that was the Platinum Division's most explosive offensively and an ideal scenario transpired. The Southeast L.A.-based club got off to the fast start it needed and posted a wire-to-wire victory over a youthful club that played with no fear but could never overcome its own rocky start.

Desert Mountain star guard Kaden House, a 6-foot-3 sophomore who came into the title game averaging 34.7 ppg through the tournament's first three games but hurt his hamstring in the 78-65 semifinal victory over Branson (Ross, Calif.), did not start the game. He took some extra time to warm-up behind the bench, but by the time House entered the game with 6:03 remaining in the first period, St. Pius X-St. Matthias was already cooking. The Wolves trailed 8-0 by that time and eventually went down 10-0 and Desert Mountain's slow start was essentially the difference in St. Pius X's 89-79 victory.

With the victory, St. Pius X-St. Matthias (8-1) becomes the sixth program from the massive CIF Southern Section in California to win the event's top bracket. CIFSS teams have now won seven of 11 tournaments, as Stanley Johnson-led Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) captured the first two championships in 2012 and 2013.

Even with House in the game, the Warriors remained hot, particularly senior 6-foot-6 wing Tyrone Riley, one of California's best players whose confident demeanor brings out the best in his teammates. Riley had 10 points in the first period as the Warriors led 27-17 after eight minutes and he was up to 24 points by the time St. Pius X-St. Matthias took a 51-43 halftime lead. He only missed three field goal attempts at that point.

"The energy we had in the locker room...I still felt it during warmups and it carried over to our 10-0 start," said Riley. "After we won our first game, we said to ourselves 'we can win this'. We knew if we could speed them up, they'd get tired."

Desert Mountain (9-2), in reality, never got too tired, House was just somewhat bothered by the hamstring and the Wolves' other shot-makers were harassed by the best and most committed defenders they saw in the tournament, particularly 5-foot-8 senior (2024) David Mack and then 5-foot-8 2025 Saul Anaya off the bench. That defensive duo kept constant pressure on House and his brother Kalek House and the team's third all-tournament player, 6-foot-4 freshman Javon Bardwell.

"We knew it was going to be hard, but that they were going to get tired eventually, said Mack, who was named all-tournament and finished the title game with six points. "It was a hard job, but we stayed with it."

Shots around the rim also didn't fall quite like they did in the first three games for Desert Mountain, thanks to the presence of 2025 forward Doug Langford, who had seven points, five rebounds and three blocked shots in the first half. Langford also forced Desert Mountain to play a big lineup and go just a bit deeper in its bench than it perhaps wanted to.

St. Pius X led 72-59 after three periods, but Desert Mountain wasn't done yet. It eventually cut its deficit to 77-73 as Langford (who finished with 13 points, 10 rebounds and four blocked shots) fouled out with 2:54 remaining. The Wolves, however, could get no closer as St. Pius X hit a few timely shots, continued to keep up the defensive intensity and hit just enough free throws to return to Southern California with its tourney title in tow.

Senior Tylon Williams scored nine points, all in the first half, and senior Dayvon Gates netted 11 points, all in the second half, to provide a big lift for St. Pius X. The unsung play of junior (2025) Tariq Bridges was also key throughout the tourney, and he finished the championship game with 16 points.

Riley scored seven points after intermission to finish with 31 points, but his impact on the game never wavered. He had two key putbacks in the second half, contested shots, jumped passing lanes and battled on the boards to finish with six rebounds, and four steals. The lefty wing was named the Platinum Division's Most Valuable Player, averaging 22 ppg for the tourney.

St. Pius-St. Matthias head coach Donte Archie flashed a proud grin for Riley for the showing his star senior had at Tarkanian after a somewhat injury plagued summer. "It's nice to see him bounce back after his injuries, as some people wrote him off," Archie said. "I'm especially happy for Tyrone because I know how good he is."

Sophomore Kalek House (17.3 ppg in four tourney games) led Desert Mountain 24 points. Bardwell (15 ppg) finished with 13 points. Before fouling out with 35.5 seconds remaining, Kaden House finished with 16 points, four rebounds and three assists. For the tournament, he averaged 30 ppg and was one of two serpentine sophomore guards among the Tarkanian Classic's scoring leaders. The other superb tenth-grader, Jason Crowe of Lynwood (Calif.) actually did lead the tourney in scoring competing in the Ball Dawgs Division. He had two 50-point performances to finish with an event record 157 points, while averaging 39.3 ppg.

Desert Mountain will get some much-needed rest before playing in the VisitMesa.com Tournament in Arizona after the holiday. As for the Warriors, they are in the Gold Division at The Classic at Damien and now are the prohibitive favorites to win that tourney's second division.

St. Augustine (Calif.) coach Mike Haupt is known as one of the best coaches in the CIF ranks and that point was reiterated when he coached up his undersized club to a third place finish in Tark's top division, recording a 56-55 victory over The Branson School.

St. Augustine (10-2) led 33-22 at halftime, but Branson (which fell to eventual runner-up Desert Mountain in the semis) kept chipping away. Branson (7-3) even took a 34-33 lead with 3:44 remaining in the third period after trailing 31-17 late in the second period. The game went back-and-fourth from there, with the Bulls in position to tie the game on their last possession with a 3-pointer. After a 3-point miss in the closing seconds, all Branson could muster with a two-point field at the buzzer.

Branson's Semetri Carr, a 6-foot-1 junior guard who finished with 11 points, was joined on the 2023 Platinum Division All-Tournament team by Illinois-bound teammate Jase Butler, who finished the third place contest with 21 points. For St. Augustine, Cal-St. Fullerton-bound LoLo Rudolph (six points) made all-tourney for the second consecutive year. He was joined by sophomore Jaden Bailes, who had a breakout tournament and netted 20 points in the third place victory.

The following is the complete all-tournament team in the top division.

2023 Tarkanian Platinum Division All-Tournament Team

MVP: Tyrone Riley, St. Pius-St. Matthias (Calif.) 6-6 2024 G (USF) 22.0 ppg

Doug Langford, St. Pius-St. Matthias (Calif.) 6-8 2025 PF (15 ppg)
David Mack, St. Pius-St. Matthias (Calif.) 5-8 2024 G
Javon Bardwell, Desert Mountain (Ariz.) 6-3 2027 G (15 ppg)
Kaden House, Desert Mountain (Ariz.) 6-3 2026 G (30 ppg)
Kalek House, Desert Mountain (Ariz.) 6-2 2026 G (17.3 ppg)
Jase Butler, Branson School (Calif.) 6-4 2024 G (Illinois) 22.3 ppg
Semetri Carr, Branson School (Calif.) 6-1 2025 G
Jaden Bailes, St. Augustine (Calif.) 6-2 2026 G (19 ppg)
LoLo Rudolph, St. Augustine (Calif.) 6-2 2026 G
Shon Abaev, Calvary Christian (Fla.) 6-8 2025 PF (18.8 ppg)
Pharaoh Compton, Arbor View (Nevada.) 6-7 2024 PF (San Diego St.) 16 ppg
Josiah Cunningham, Coronado (Nev.) 6-3 2024 G (18 ppg)
Eric Freeny, Centennial (Calif.) 6-4 2024 G (UCLA) 18.5 ppg
Aliaun Iscandari, Campbell Hall (Calif.) 6-4 2024 G (20 ppg)
Nick Jefferson, Bishop Gorman (Nevada.) 6-1 2025 G (20.3 ppg)
Jaxon Johnson, Alta (Utah) 6-8 2024 F (Utah) 19.8 ppg
Jordyn Kee, Sagemont Prep (Fla.) 6-4 2024 G
Christian Reid, Mater Lakes (Fla.) 6-5 F (Southern Miss)
Kendyl Sanders, St. Bernard (Calif.) 6-6 2024 F (16 ppg)
D.J. Stickman, Clovis West (Calif.) 6-1 2024 G (11.7 ppg)
Bryson Tucker, O’Connell (Va.) 6-7 2024 G (24.5 ppg)

MORE TOURNEY TILE GAME ROUNDUPS

BallDawgs Division Championship:
Liberty Magnet (Baton Rouge, La.) 59, Weston Ranch (Stockton, Calif.) 49
The Patriots did a great job defensively and broke the game open in the second quarter, outscoring Weston Ranch 17-4 in that stanza to take a 33-19 halftime lead. Weston Ranch got within 49-42, but two missed free throws followed by a Liberty Magnet 3-pointer set forth in motion the Patriots' victory. Jaylen Peters, a 6-foot-6 forward was a big difference all tourney for Liberty Magnet (13-2), earning division MVP honors and finishing the title game with 11 points. The Louisiana club also limited Cornell-bound sharp-shooter Mateen Rafiq of Weston Ranch (6-2) to eight points and two 3-pointers. He finished the tournament with 20 made 3-pointers and averaged 20 ppg.

Spalding Division:
Carlsbad (Calif.) 53, Poly (Riverside, Calif.) 50
In one of the best championship games at Bishop Gorman, it was a nip-and-tuck affair in the second half after Carlsbad led by two points (39-37) at halftime. Carlsbad (10-1) led 48-45 with 30 seconds remaining when Poly's J-Rob Croy (19 points) made a twisting lay-up to cut its deficit to one. Carlsbad's Jordan Garner then made two free throws, but with seven seconds remaining, Croy tied the game for Poly (10-4) at 50-50 on his fifth 3-pointer. The Lancers' Tony Duckett, however, answered right back by hitting a straight-away 3-pointer at the buzzer to give his team the title. Duckett, an unsigned senior who helped himself tremendously at Tarkanian, was name division MVP after scoring 21 points.

Orleans Division:
Brentwood (Los Angeles) 71, Higley (Gilbert, Ariz.) 58
Jordan Houegban, a 6-foot-3 senior, had a terrific performance when his team needed it the most, knocking down six 3-pointers and finishing with 38 points. Houegban is one of California's best shooters. The Eagles start two freshmen and play three extensively.

BallerTV Division:
Vista Murrieta (Calif.) 81, Desert Oasis (Las Vegas, Nv.) 40
The Broncos moved to 13-1 with a romp of a local club. The division MVP was 6-foot-6 senior Donovan Ford, who netted nine points in the title game but was steady all tournament long. Nine players scored in the easy victory for the Broncos. The key win was their 68-46 semifinal win over previously unbeaten Pasadena (Calif.), a team that came into the game ranked No. 22 in California, according to Cal-Hi Sports.

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

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Tarkanian Classic Platinum Division Final (12/21, PST)
St. Pius-St. Matthias (Calif.) 7-1 vs. Desert Mountain (Ariz.) 9-1, 4:30 pm
Tarkanian Classic Ball Dawgs Division Final (12/21, PST)
Weston Ranch (Stockton, Calif.) 6-1 vs. Liberty Magnet (Baton Rouge, La.) 12-2, 1:30 pm
Tarkanian Classic Spalding Division Final (12/21, PST)
Poly (Riverside, Calif.) 10-3 vs. Carlsbad (Calif.) 9-1, 12 pm

St. Pius-St. Matthias (Downey, Calif.) doesn't always win pretty and tends to start slow, but if it wins and advances, the players don't care. That team-first philosophy had produced results at the 11th annual Tarkanian Classic and has put the Warriors in position to play for the Platinum Division championship.

The Warriors took on St. Augustine (9-2) and the CIF San Diego Section power led 36-32 at halftime in the semifinal contest. Saints was seemingly in control until St. Pius-St. Matthias (7-1) picked up the defense and started making timely buckets to post a 62-50 victory to advance to Thursday's 4:30 pm (PT) championship game.

St. Pius, which lone loss this season is to California No. 1 and FAB 50 No. 9 Harvard-Westlake (North Hollywood, Calif.) by one point in a road game, led 48-45 at the end of the third period, but Saint's first field goal of the final period came with just four minutes remaining in the eight minute stanza. St. Augustine finished with 14 points after intermission. Jaden Bailes, a sophomore guard and Saints' leading scorer in their first two tourney games, had 14 points, but only two after halftime.

St. Augustine had trouble slowing down Pius X big man Doug Langford, who forced double teams inside, created lanes for teammates and worked the offensive glass. The highly-recruited 2025 power forward finished with 20 points and seven rebounds.

San Francisco-bound wing Tyrone Riley of St. Pius-St. Matthias is similar to all-time great middleweight boxing champ Marvin Hager; he can be a slow starter but is a productive and championship player. Riley's mere presence is a threat to foes and he came up with timely shots and clutch rebounds in the second half vs. St. Augustine to finish with eight points.

"We came into the tournament with the mindset to win it (the title)," Riley said.

The Warriors are a scrappy bunch that never get too high or too low on themselves and received some timely second half shots from 6-foot-2 2024 (senior) Tylon Williams. Five-foot-8 2024 David Mack, the unsung hero of Tuesday's quarterfinal victory over FAB 50 No. 44 Alta (Sandy, Utah) with 20 points, came through again late vs. Saints for his team, which trailed by nine points in the second half in its first round win over Coronado (Henderson, Nev.) and by as much as 16 points in the second quarter in the big win over Alta. With 1:21 to go and St. Pius holding on to a 56-50 lead, Mack's slicing lay-up was a big moment and on the other end on Saints' next possession, he came up with a big rebound to put his team firmly in control.

"I just do whatever is needed for us to win," said Mack, a transfer from L.A. Fairfax. "We're just focused on winning."

The Warriors know how to come from behind to win and win in a variety of ways, but they probably can't afford too much of a slow start against their foe in the Platinum Division championship game. That's because Desert Mountain, a young outfit from Scottsdale, Ariz., that starts a pair of brothers who are sophomores and freshmen, have jumped all over teams and kept up the offensive pressure for 32 minutes in its first three victories.

The Wolves' 78-65 semifinal victory over Branson (Ross, Calif.) was no different, as they got it going early to move to 9-1 on the season and handed the Bulls their second loss (7-2 overall). All five of Desert Mountain's starters scored in the first period, as the Wolves led 17-10 after eight minutes.

All four of the Wolves' young perimeter players can burst by defenders, stop on a dime and pop the jumper or whip a pass, but their best player, 6-foot-3 sophomore Kaden House, simply does those things on another level than his peers in the national 2026 class. He is putting forth a show-stopping performance in Sin City and was already up to 20 points at halftime as his team led Branson, 40-30.

Junior guard Semetri Carr (24 points), a blur of a ball-handler himself, kept the Bulls in the game but they couldn't get over the hump dispite a 15-2 run that put Branson (which also got 23 points from Illinois-bound senior guard Jase Butler) within a point at 47-46 after trialing 45-31. The Branson run was stopped by a timely bucket by freshman (2027) guard Jabron Bardwell. From there Desert Mountain, which lost its only game of the season on a buzzer-beating shot by Pinnacle of Arizona, led 58-48 at the end of the third period with House up to 34 points.

In the end, the sophomore sensation was the difference in the game, as he once again nailed his free throws and sliced through the defense to the tune of 43 points and also had nine rebounds. Through three Platinum Division games, he's scored 104 points, good for a 34.7 ppg. One will be hard pressed to find a hotter player in the country or a better all-around guard in the West Region.

A star has been born in a city that has produced many of them over the years in scholastic and grassroots basketball, but the job is not done yet. St. Pius-St. Matthias may not have the same type of flash, but all it does is do its job and close out games.

The contrasting styles will make for quite the interesting Tarkanian Classic championship game.

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

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