Tarkanian Classic: Our Savior New American stuns No. 3 Prime Prep

LAS VEGAS – The coaching staff at Our Savior New American (Centereach, N.Y.) hasn't been shy about touting this year's Pioneers as a candidate for a spot in the national rankings.

If only we had listened a little more carefully.

OSNA stunned No. 3 Prime Prep (Dallas) 69-58 Thursday night, capping an eventful day at the Tarkanian Classic at Bishop Gorman High School.

"We've been around for a while and had a lot of great wins but this is one of them," Our Savior New American head coach Rev. Ron Stelzer said.

The key sequence in the game came with just under eight minutes remaining. Five-star 2015 recruit Cheick Diallo, a 6-foot-8 native of Mali, sparked the Pioneers with a forceful dunk that put them ahead 43-41.

Senior guard Kobie Eubanks added to the lead with a big 3-pointer less than a minute later. Two buckets by junior guard Djibril Diallo (no relation to Cheick) extended the lead to 50-41 and Our Savior held on from there.

Perhaps most impressively, OSNA limited star Prime Prep guard Emmanuel Mudiay to just 12 points.

Eubanks paced the Pioneers (7-0) with 19 points while Damon Wilson added 16. Djibril Diallo scored 15 and Cheick Diallo contributed 12 along with a number of blocked shots and quality work on the glass.

"We are blessed with a lot of talent," Stelzer said. "We have big guys, shooters, guys that can drive the ball and good athletes. At six positions we have mid-to-high major Division I players so we are just blessed. They seem to be getting to know each other better so hopefully the chemistry will continue to improve."

The win is sure to gain the attention of national pollsters. OSNA has additional opportunities to build its resume this weekend in Las Vegas with games against Montrose Christian (Rockville, Md.) and Trinity International (Las Vegas).

For Prime Prep (8-1), the loss takes a little luster off of tomorrow night's CBS Sports Network-televised showdown with No. 5 Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.). The setback is just the third in program history after going 37-2 in a successful inaugural campaign a year ago.

Our Savior New American and Prime Prep are participating in the Prep Division (non-bracketed) of the Tarkanian Classic.

Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) 72, Clark (Las Vegas) 58

Tournament organizers didn't do defending champ and national No. 2 Mater Dei any favors by lining up a talented and upset-minded Clark program for the Monarchs in the first round.

"Clark was a very good opponent," Mater Dei head coach Gary McKnight said. "They were very athletic and from what I understand they are one of the better schools up here and might be the best public school. They were well coached and did all the things they needed to do. Everybody gets up to play us and they did a good job."

Clark looked poised to pull off a surprise with a 42-41 lead at the 10-minute mark of the second half.

But a big run gave the Monarchs the breathing room they needed to move on to Friday's quarterfinals.

Junior Rex Pflueger got things started with a basket that put Mater Dei up one point. Moments later La'vette Parker added a 3-pointer to make it 46-42.

Following a foul, 6-9 sophomore M.J. Cage hit his first free throw attempt but missed the second. Reigning tournament MVP Stanley Johnson grabbed the rebound and put it in.

Johnson, who scored 42 points in a play-in game Wednesday night, put the exclamation point on the decisive run by hitting a 3-pointer to make it 52-42. The future Arizona Wildcat finished with 34 points, 11 rebounds and three steals against Clark.

Cage added 11 points for the Monarchs.

Despite Mater Dei's glossy 7-0 record, McKnight is still tinkering with his roster loaded with young contributors.

"We are still a work in progress," McKnight said. "We are still making adjustments to personnel, still not set on a starting lineup. A lot of them are inexperienced so just trying to put it all together. It's going to be a slow process but Stanley makes us competitive no matter who we are playing."

Junior point guard Colby Jackson notched a team-high 21 points for Clark while sharpshooter Carter Olsen added 14.

Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) 65, Sheldon (Sacramento, Calif.) 49

Like Mater Dei, host Bishop Gorman was tested deep into the second half by a rebuilding Sheldon outfit.

The Sacramento squad came out firing and held a 24-16 lead after the first eight minutes (16-minute halves being used in event).

But the Gaels controlled the final 24 minutes and closed the contest on a 16-2 run after taking the lead for good at the 10:10 mark of the second half.

Gorman put the trio of 6-10 Stephen Zimmerman, 6-9 Chase Jeter and 6-8 Zack Collins on the floor at the same time often in the second half and that size helped wear down a Sheldon team that lacked a player taller than 6-5.

Wing Nick Blair and guard Noah Robotham led the Gaels in the scoring column with 12 points apiece. Jeter added 11 while Zimmerman finished with 10.

More Platinum Division scores
Lone Peak (Highland, Utah) 70, Modesto Christian (Modesto, Calif.) 54
Valor Christian (Highlands Ranch, Colo.) 67, Long Beach Poly (Long Beach, Calif.) 65
Bishop O'Dowd (Oakland, Calif.) 78, Durango (Las Vegas) 34
El Camino Real (Woodland Hills, Calif.) 58, Bountiful (Utah) 55
Redondo Union (Redondo Beach, Calif.) 63, Central Catholic (Portland, Ore.) 46
Constitution (Philadelphia) 58, Pinnacle (Phoenix) 45

Friday's schedule
Platinum Division quarterfinals
10 a.m. – Bishop Gorman vs. Valor Christian
11:20 a.m. – Bishop O'Dowd vs. El Camino Real
12:40 p.m. – Mater Dei vs. Constitution
2 p.m. – Lone Peak vs. Redondo
Platinum Division semifinals (at Orleans Arena)
7 p.m. – Gorman/Valor winner vs. O'Dowd/El Camino Real winner
9 p.m. – Mater Dei/Pinnacle winner vs. Lone Peak/Redondo winner
Prep Division (non-bracketed)
At Bishop Gorman
3:20 p.m. – La Lumiere (LaPorte, Ind.) vs. Trinity International
4:40 p.m. – Faith Baptist Christian Academy (Ludowici, Ga.) vs. South Australia
At Orleans Arena
3:20 p.m. – Montrose Christian vs. Our Savior New American
4:40 p.m. – Findlay Prep vs. Prime Prep