Do-everything Archbishop Mitty forward Aaron Gordon registered a third straight double-double, but deferred to his Monarch teammates for much of the scoring duty in a 64-35 rout of Torrey Pines.
Gordon finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Archbishop Mitty wing Thomas Peters added 13 points of his own, and guard Connor Petersen pitched in 11.
The Monarch big man Gordon further demonstrated his Swiss army knife skill set with four assists, and on the defensive end, swooped in from the help side to reject three Falcon shot attempts.
Torrey Pines trailed from tip-to-buzzer, but mounted a second quarter rally to draw within 23-21. From there, it was all Archbishop Mitty. The Monarchs went on a 7-0 run to close the half, extended that run to 12 in the third quarter, and outmuscled the host Falcons 41-14 over the remainder of the game.
Garrett Galvin extended his run of strong, individual performances in the Holiday Classic, leading the Falcons with 13 points. Joe Rahon scored 12.
Otherwise, Torrey Pines struggled to establish an offensive rhythm – particularly in the second half. The host Falcons only managed double digits in the opening quarter. Thereafter, the Falcons went for eight, eight and six.
Archbishop Mitty will face Mayfair in its final Holiday Classic match-up.
Mayfair bounced back from its Wednesday night loss to DeMatha, leading St. Bernard nearly the entire way in a 71-61 victory.
Monsoon forward Dion Wright came out attacking the rim from the opening tip, and the result was a 25-point performance. Wright scored on an array of swoops to the goal and hook shots, taking advantage of the opposing Vikings’ youth on the low blocks.
Swingman Brian Wright dropped in 18 points, and guard Jordan Jefferson added 15. Jefferson scrapped for points and rebounds in the low block, taking advantage of hustle plays to beat Viking opponents to loose balls.
Guard Myles Smith knocked down a pair of 3-pointers en route to eight points for the Monsoons.
St. Bernard hung around with Mayfair, courtesy of Brandon Radolph and Emmani Grant. Each registered 16 points in the loss.
Randolph was successful in creating his own scoring opportunities to help shape the Viking offensive attack.
The final difference was lost for St. Bernard at the free throw line. The Vikings missed 10 of 15 foul shots.
St. Bernard meets Torrey Pines on Friday in each teams’ tournament finale.
Civic Sports is offering a team website