High School

De La Salle/MLK Jr. Classic Live Updates: Host Spartans stun national No. 17 West Linn (Ore)

Seventeen points off the bench by Game MVP Leo Ricketts, stellar defense and a near flawless fourth quarter gives De La Salle 63-53 win over previously unbeaten Lions

Mitch Stephens, SBLive Sports

CONCORD, Calif. — Follow Monday for live updates from the 25th De La Salle/Martin Luther King Jr. Classic, presented by SBLive Sports. 

Seven games featuring some of the best players/teams in California along with Oregon power West Linn (13-0), ranked 17th nationally by SBLive, start at 9:30 a.m. all at De La Salle High School (1130 Winton Dr., Concord). 

PREVIEW LINKS

Check back below throughout the day for game summaries, photos, Players of the Game, videos, tweets and more.  

SESSION 2

Time: 4:30 p.m.

Livestream: VIMEO

Inviting the 17th-ranked team in the nation helped packed the gym at De La Salle High School Monday afternoon.

Beating the previously unbeaten Lions (13-1), a team that knocked off Sierra Canyon and then national No. 1 Duncanville on consecutive nights, sent the packed gym rocking. 

The host Spartans (15-4) got down early, caught up, fell behind early in the second half, then kicked kicked it into overdrive, playing a near flawless fourth quarter to pull off one of the best wins in recent school history.

All to the delight of the school's cheering section and raucous home crowd. 

Sharpshooter Leo Ricketts came off the bench to drill four 3-pointers and score a team-high 17 points, leading a balanced scoring.

Alec Blair, a long 6-6 sophomore guard, did a tremendous job covering Oregon-bound point guard Jackson Shelstad, who besides one big flurry midway through the second quarter, was held relatively in check.

Shelstad scored 12 points in just under a four-minute span — he was held scoreless to that point — and finished with 20 points, while teammates Adrian Mosley added 17 and Sam Leavitt 12.

Blair had 14 points and Evan Wells and Billy Haggerty contributed 10 points apiece. De La Salle's long and tenacious defense appeared to give West Linn plenty of problems, though certainly the long travel and a home game for the Spartans didn't help its cause.

The Lions managed just nine points in the fourth quarter, while De La Salle went for 18 to improve to 15-4. Though it has four losses, the Spartans are definitely battle tested playing in probably Northern California's toughest league this season. They also won three of four games at the highly competitive Torrey Pines Holiday Classic to take fifth place.

Leo Rickets (20) swoops in for two. Photo: Dennis Lee / Photo: Dennis Lee

That pales compared to the tournament titles won by West Linn, which captured the Les Schwab Invitational and the Capitol City Classic.

Shelstad was MVP in both of those tournaments. He had 113 points, 18 assists, 16 rebounds and 10 steals at Capitol City in four games and last year averaged 27 points, 5.5 assists, 5.2 rebounds and 4.3 steals per game last season when he was named the Oregon Gatorade Player of the Year.

A 20-point effort was indeed pedestrian.

Tied at 42-42, De La Salle ended the game on a 21-11 run.

"This means a lot to me and our team," said Ricketts. "It shows how much work we put in the offseason. We knew this was a big game and we just tried to trust ourselves and trust our work. It all paid off."

Ricketts believe the victory could vault the Spartans to another level.

"It will give us a lot of confidence, that we're capable of doing in beating a nationally ranked team," he said.

Once Ricketts hit a couple shots early on he said "I don't really remember what happened for there. The energy was great and carried us the rest of the way." 

Every loose ball was highly contested. Photo: Dennis Lee
The packed crowd and student body definitely gave De La Salle a lift. Photo: Dennis Lee

Time: 6 p.m.

Livestream: NFHS

Who needs two super shots when you have one Cole Epperson?

The 6-8 junior forward/center had the biggest game of the day to date with 33 points, seven rebounds and four steals as the Marauders (14-4) pulled a mild upset over one of the Bay Area's top teams.

With Stanford-bound Andrej Stojakovic out with a bum ankle, Epperson more than made up for it with the best one-man performance of the day.

Epperson showed off all his skills, scoring at all three levels, including five 3-pointers. He got help from Ahjani Lewis, who scored 16 points to offset the balance scoring of Riordan (11-3), which got 13 points by Jasir Rencher, 10 by freshman Andrew Hilman and nine by junior Kaia Berridge.

The game was tight for the first three quarters, until a 20-10 run in the fourth quarter lifted the Marauders to victory.

Epperson, see interview below, had 13 points in the first quarter, 10 in the final stanza and 10 in the middle two quarters. 

Time: 7:30 p.m.

Livestream: NFHS

As is the case often in the De La Salle MLK Classic, the best game arrived at the finish — with most of the big crowd long gone.

Modesto Christian (15-4), the defending Northern California Open Division champion, got a monster 38-point outing from San Diego State-bound point guard BJ Davis, who tallied 19 in the fourth quarter.

The Crusaders needed every last point — and play — because the St. Joseph is loaded with talent from every angle, especially the wing and down low where 6-foot-7 Tounde Yessoufou roams.

One of the best sophomores in the country, Yessoufou lived up to all billing with 29 points, but it wasn't enough to deter the Crusaders, who trailed close to double digits in the fourth quarter.

That's when Davis absolutely took over, scoring at will on drives, mid-range pull-ups and 3-pointers. His floater in the lane with 50 seconds left put Modesto Christian up 68-67, its first lead of the second half.

Asked if it was his best game ever (see entire interview below), Davis said: "It was on the good side, but I don't know if it was my best ever," he said., noting a 49-point effort on Dec. 19 in a 74-71 win over John Paul II at the Capital City Classic in Oregon.

With the sudden and jarring transfer of Jamari Phillips, one of the top juniors in the state, during the winter break, Davis' scoring roll has increased significantly. Phillips was the team's leading scorer last season at 23.3 per game.

Davis entered the game averaging 17.8 per game and other than a 26-point explosion in a 67-52 win over St. Mary's-Stockton, he had averaged just more than 10 points per game in his previous five contests.

Monday, in a big showdown with Yessouufou, who came in averaging 26.7 points in 17 games, Davis looked like a man possessed.

"There's an offensive gap missing with (Phillips missing)," Davis said. "But I got great guys behind and around me to help me out with that."

Asked about playing against Yessouufou and if that added motivation, Davis said: "I've never played against him, He's a greal good player though. I love playing against great players. It's fun, you know?"

SESSION 1 

Time: 9:30 a.m.

Livestream: NFHS

Campolindo senior 6-foot-3 guard Shane O'Reilly missed the last two games with a head injury, one a 74-66 loss to Clayton Valley Charter. 

"He makes a difference," Campolindo coach Steven Dyer said. "A big difference." 

PHOTO GALLERY — Campolindo vs. Oakland Tech

He was largely THE difference in Monday's MLK Opener with 20 points, 10 rebounds and a block as the Cougars (12-5) never trailed in a spirited albeit not pretty game. 

Shane O'Reilly, Campolindo. Photo: Todd Shurtleff 

O'Reilly, a four-year letterman, had seven points in the first quarter, four in the second and seven more in the third. His only points of the fourth, two free throws, sealed it.

Omar Staples, a fantastic 6-3, 225-pound post who has signed a football scholarship to Stanford, led Oakland Tech (9-9) with 13 points and eight rebounds, while Ahmaree Muhammad added 12 points and five steals. 

The Cougars seemed in control throughout, but Tech kept fighting back, largely behind a ball-hawking defense that led to 10 steals, and the offensive rebounding from Staples. 

Shane O'Reilly (5), Campolindo. Photo: Dennis Lee

Up 47-31 heading into the fourth, Campolindo watched Tech score six straight on a bucket and two free throws from Asher Kramer and putback by Staples.

A steal and layup from Dylan Mansour (12 points) and tough runner by Clay Naffffziger (eight points in second half), kept Campolindo in control. Tech closed all the way to 51-46, but a driving layup and 3-point play by Logan Robeson gave the Cougars control. He finished with eight. 

Time: 11 a.m.

Livestream: NFHS

Salesian attacks in waves, with players and shooters. It was all in play during Game 2 of the De La Salle MLK Classic. 

PHOTO GALLERY: Salesian vs. Capital Christian

The Pride (13-6), deep and balanced, kept spurting to double digit leads and Capital Christian (13-6) kept battling back behind Jayden Teat (15 points), Gavin Sykes (11) and Micah Hobson (10). 

But Salesian just had too much depth and too much shooting, shown late with a trio of 3-pointers on three straight possessions — one each by Amani Johnson (10 points), Alvin Loving (13) and Isaiah Davis to put the game away. The made 10 3-pointers in the game. 

Back-to-back layups by Johnson cemented things away in the final minute. 

Aaron Claytor was the game's MVP with 13 points and seven assists. The 6-3 junior guard is super clever and confident with the ball. See what he had to say after the game below. 

  

Time: 12:30 p.m.

Livestream: NFHS

San Joaquin Memorial's Mike Davis Jr. had plenty lot of inspiration heading into the third game of the De La Salle/MLK Jr. Classic. 

One, his Panthers were coming to the Bay Area, a new place to show off his improving skills. "I was always the biggest kid growing up so I've had to improve other parts of my game," said the 6-7 senior. 

PHOTO GALLERY: San Joaquin Memorial vs. Moreau Catholic

Two, Davis had heard about Moreau Catholic's highly-touted wing, 6-7 sophomore Kellen Hampton. And lastly, Davis is hoping to secure a college scholarship. 

"Nothing yet, but I'm getting a lot of interest," Davis said. (See entire interview below)

He should even more after dominating play with 25 points, seven rebounds and four steals in the convincing win. 

Davis scored inside, from the midrange and went outside on a couple of occasions. He was particularly good in transition. 

The Panthers (12-7) — how did this team lose seven games — had plenty of balance with 11 from Gerald Perry Jr., nine by Julius Olanrewaju and eight each from Abram Potts and Amari Carraway. 

Hampton and Spencer Shonnard had 16 points apiece for the Mariners, who were missing two starters due to injury. 

 GAME 4 Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland 65, Taft-Woodland Hills 62

Time: 2 p.m.

Livestream: NFHS

In a crazy back-and-forth sequence late, Bishop O'Dowd and Amos Hodgson got the last big punch. 

Hodgson hit six 3-pointers and tallied a game-high 22 points to earn Game MVP honors. The victory upped O'Dowd to 7-9, while Taft, which got 22 points by Keyon Kensie Jr, and 11 from Derrick Hill, fell to 10-9. 

Behind Hodgson (see video below), the Dragons raced to a 12-point lead, but it all disappeared due to constant and effective full court pressure by Taft, the Toreadors finally took the lead 55-54 on a baseline jumper by Kensie. After a free throw tied it, Hill made old-fashioned three-point play to go up. 58-55. 

But Mike Burrows (nine) drilled a 3-pointer to tie at 58-58, Hill gave Taft a 60-58 with a layup before Josh Green (10 points) put the Dragons up for good with a 3-pointer. 

A steal and dunk by Miles Dixon all but sealed it for the Dragons, who could have made it easier on themselves but made just 4-of-11 free throws in the fourth quarter. 

 

MC 15-4, SJ 13-5

Published
Mitch Stephens, SBLive Sports
MITCH STEPHENS, SBLIVE SPORTS

Mitch Stephens is a senior editor at SBLive Sports for California, a state he's covered high school sports since 1984. He won multiple CNPA and CPSWA writing awards with the Contra Costa Times, San Francisco Chronicle and MaxPreps.com before joining the SBLive staff in 2022. He's covered the beat nationally since 2007, profiling such athletes as Derrick Henry, Paige Bueckers, Patrick Mahomes, Sabrina Ionescu, Jayson Tatum, Chiney Ogwumike, Jeremy Lin and Najee Harris as preps. You can reach him at mitch@scorebooklive.com.

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