CaliforniaPreps.com - Boys Battle of the Valley Is A War

May 3, 2009

Dave Rogahn and Dave Keefer
CaliforniaPreps.com Staff

The Valley Sports Foundation's 2009 Battle of the Valley brought out talented high school seniors from all over the San Fernando and surrounding Valleys. In the Boys' game, Prince Obasi scored the winning basket in the final seconds of the second overtime to lift his team to a most dramatic 96-95 victory. We'll have the Girls report next.

Boys: West (Blue) 96, East (Red) 95 (Double Overtime)

By Dave Rogahn

Prince Obasi's putback of a missed shot with 3 seconds left lifted the West to a dramatic 96-95 double-overtime win in the Boys game. That was just the final chapter in a saga that saw the West rally from a 21-point deficit, Michael Williams (Taft) hit a game-tying 3-pointer with 31.2 seconds left in regulation, Ryan Watkins (Reseda) hit a game-tying jumper with 1.2 seconds left in the first overtime and a spectacular overall performance by Cal-bound Bak Bak of Village Christian.

That the game turned out to be so close was remarkable enough after the East jumped out to a 35-14 lead in the first half. But the West rallied to cut the margin to just 9 later in the half, and trailed by just 10 at the break. And a pair of threes by Terran Carter (Taft), playing in his future home gym at CSUN, helped the West cut further into the lead early in the second half.

As the clock wound down, the East's lead continued to shrink, with the West finally tying the score at 79 on a pair of free throws by Obasi with 3:24 remaining. A pair of dunks by Bak Bak put the East back on top, 85-81, and the East still had a 3-point lead until Williams' 3-pointer with 31.2 seconds left made it 86-86. The East still had one last chance to win it in regulation, but Randall Harris' (Reseda) shot was blocked by Justin Hawkins (Taft), one of a series of spectacular defensive plays by the UNLV-bound Hawkins.

In the first overtime, the West took a 2-point lead on a basket by Carter off the tip, and had a 92-88 lead after a clutch 3-pointer by Obasi. But Maverick Ahanmisi (Golden Valley) took a pass from Rasheem Harris (Reseda) and scored to cut the margin to 92-90, and then Watkins hit his 12-foot jumper with 1.2 seconds left to tie the game at 92 and send it to a second overtime.

With the newspaper deadline looming, event organizer Jack Pollon (who was also covering the games for the Daily News) decreed that the second overtime would be just one minute (the first had been two minutes). And when Rasheem Harris hit a 3-pointer to put his East team ahead, 95-92, it looked like the Red team was in good shape.

But with 25.2 seconds left, Carter grabbed a rebound, was fouled and made a pair of free throws to make it 95-94. Then Hawkins stole a pass and sent Carter in for a fast-break opportunity as the clock ticked down inside 10 seconds. Carter missed the shot, but Obasi followed the play and scored on the stickback to give his team a 96-95 lead. The clock kept running, but the officials reset the time to 3 seconds since the East had called timeout after the basket. But the East's last gasp, a half-court pass, was intercepted by Hawkins at midcourt, sealing the win for the West.

Click here for a complete box score for both teams.

For the West, Carter led all scorers with 21 points and 9 rebounds. Future USF Don Michael Williams added 18 points, including 3 threes. Evan Smith (Calabasas) had 15 points and 5 rebounds, and Obasi added 14 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists. And Hawkins had one of the best 0-for-7 games in basketball history with 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 blocks and 4 steals though he had just the 4 points. The West shot just 36% from the floor but cashed in on 22 of 31 free throws, compared to just 5 of 13 for the East.

For the East, Bak Bak had 20 points, 15 rebounds and 4 blocked shots, and at least 5 of his 9 baskets came on thunderous dunks. He would certainly have been named MVP had his team won the game. Watkins also had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Randall Harris had 10 points and 6 assists, while his cousin Rasheem added 6 points and a game-high 7 assists.

MVP: Prince Obasi, Cleveland
3-point Contest Winner: Brad Lewis, Simi Valley
Slam Dunk Contest Winner: Steven Thornton, Golden Valley
Scholarship Awards: Tyler McGrath, Oaks Christian & Bryce Brady, Campbell Hall

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