2021 Holiday Classic Day 3 recap: Faith Family (Texas) overcomes Richard Isaacs' 38-point performance to defeat Coronado (Nevada)
The third day of the 2021 Holiday Classic presented by SBLive Sports included several 30-point performances including a memorable 38-point effort from Texas Tech-signee Richard Isaacs of Coronado (Nevada) that came up just short against Faith Family Academy (Texas) in the semifinals.
Here’s a game-by-game recap of all the National Division games played at Torrey Pines High School on Wednesday, including statistics and top performances:
(Lead photo by Todd Shurtleff)
GAME 1: Torrey Pines 76 Coronado (San Diego) 38 (Non-bracketed game)
The Falcons and Islanders were tied at six in the early going before the Falcons responded with a 42-11 run to take a 48-17 lead into halftime. The Falcons were able to cruise through the final two quarters for a 76-38 win.
Boston University-bound forward Otto Landrum led Torrey Pines with 20 points and was one of nine Falcons to score.
Tekur Velazquez knocked down three three-pointers, leading the Islanders with 16 pointers.
GAME 2: Campolindo 71 Mira Costa 49 (National Division)
Despite the early start on Wednesday, Campolindo wasted no time finding their offense against Mira Costa. The Cougars hit each of their first six three-point attempts on their way to a 22-12 lead after one quarter.
“We pride ourselves on playing the hardest and coming out from the jump and being ready to play,” senior guard Cade Bennett said.
Bennett knocked down six of his eight three-point attempts in the first half, helping guide the Cougars to a 48-24 halftime lead.
“We knew they were a good help defense team, so we were making the open kickouts and just hitting shots,” Bennett said.
Campolindo scored 23 points in the second half, cruising to a 71-49 win over Mira Costa.
Bennett led the way with a game-high 27 points and was one of four Campolindo guards in double figures.
GAME 3: San Ysidro 88 St. Mary’s (Arizona) 79 (National Division)
San Ysidro and St. Mary’s was a track meet from the start. The two teams went up and down court in a hurry throughout each of the first three quarters with St. Mary’s taking a two-point lead into the final quarter.
The Cougars put together an 11-4 run in the final three minutes of the game to seal the win.
“I was just trying to play hard,” senior guard Sebastian Medina said. “Our coach isn’t here because he got COVID, but we’ve got to play for him, and we did our best.”
The Cougars came up big in the final quarter of play, scoring 29 points while making all 14 free throw attempts over the final eight minutes.
“You just gotta play,” Medina said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re losing, or what quarter it is you’ve just gotta play for that game.”
Medina finished with a tournament-high 38 points while St. Mary’s sophomore point guard Styles Phipps did his best to lead the Knights, finishing with 35 points.
GAME 4: Clayton Valley Charter 57 Hillcrest 44 (National Division)
Dennis Evans and Deshawn Gorey combined for 19 first half points to help give Hillcrest a 27-24 lead at the break. Clayton Valley Charter flipped the switch when they came out in the second half and scored 33 points over the final two quarters while holding Hillcrest to only 17.
Clayton Valley Charter struggled in the first half while dealing with the length and shot blocking ability of Hillcrest junior seven-footer Dennis Evans, who finished with seven blocks. The Ugly Eagles were able to score in transition and get Evans away from the basket in the second half to spur the comeback and churn out a double-digit win.
Senior guard Jeremiah Dargan poured in 23 points for the Ugly Eagles while Dennis Evans and Deshawn Gorey each had 12 for the Trojans.
GAME 5: Lincoln (Stockton) 65 Northgate 57 (National Division)
Northgate opened up an 18-9 lead after the first quarter and led throughout the first three quarters in Wednesday’s consolation bracket game. Lincoln turned around the game at the start of the fourth quarter, beginning the final eight minutes on an 11-2 run to take the lead and didn’t look back.
The Trojans led by as many as 12 points during the final quarter, getting big contributions from Taylor Bryant-Frey, Gavin Martinez and San Diego State-signee Miles Byrd. The trio combined for 25 of Lincoln’s 27 points during the fourth quarter.
Martinez led all scorers with 18 points while Byrd pitched in with 15 points. Thayne Merrill led Northgate with 17 points in the loss.
GAME 6: Faith Family (Texas) 83 Coronado (Nevada) 79 (National Division semifinal game)
Faith Family and Coronado squared off for the second time in 12 days and the game lived up to the hype of a National Division semifinal game.
Faith Family led 44-40 at the halftime break despite allosing Coronado star and Texas Tech-signee Richard Isaacs to break loose for 19 first half points.
“We basically figured out that they’re gonna try and give it to one guy and we gotta try to figure out how to contain him,” Faith Family guard Isaiah Jones said. “We kind of figured out we’re really not gonna contain him, we just have to figure out how to get the win instead.”
Jones and the Eagles did just that.
Isaacs repeated his first half, finishing with 38 points and ten three-pointers in one of the best Holiday Classic individual performances in recent memory, but it was Faith Family that emerged with a four-point win to advance to Thursday’s National Division Championship game.
Coronado cut the lead down to three points in the final quarter but was unable to get any closer. Blake Sullivan’s three-point jumper from the right wing as time expired cut the final deficit to four.
“We really zoned in on (Richard Isaacs) more and didn’t give him as much space, we just tried to frustrate him more, that was about it,” Jones said.
Jones and senior point guard TJ Caldwell each finished with 24 points and were joined in double digits by Jadyn Toppin’s 16 points.
GAME 7: Bishop Gorman (Nevada) 58 Archbishop Mitty 50 (National Division semifinal game)
Bishop Gorman had rolled through their first two games in the Holiday Classic but were put to the test against Archbishop Mitty on Wednesday night. The Gaels led by eight points after one quarter, nine points at the half and extended the lead to 12 heading into the fourth quarter before the scrappy Monarchs mounted their comeback.
Mitty opened the fourth quarter on a 7-0 run to cut the lead to five before sophomore John Mobley Jr. responded with his fifth three-pointer of the game to get the Gaels back on track.
“We were rushing our shots, so we had to calm down a little bit, stay poised and lock in on defense,” Mobley said postgame.
The Monarchs would continue to battle but would get no closer, falling to Bishop Gorman, 58-50, after Mobley’s final two free throws closed it out.
“We stick together as a team and the coaches had a good plan and we we’re able to carry it out,” Mobley said.
He led the Gaels with 22 points while Derek Sangster added 18 to lead Archbishop Mitty.
Bishop Gorman will play Faith Family (Texas) in Thursday night’s National Division Championship game at 8:35pm at Torrey Pines.
Archbishop Mitty will get another chance against a team from Las Vegas when they take on Coronado (Nevada) in the National Division Third Place game at 7:00pm at Torrey Pines.
