NEWARK, CA – The way the marquee game of the 10th annual Nor Cal Tip-Off Classic started out it looked like the battle of the Bishops was going to see Bishop O’Dowd-Oakland blown out by Bishop Montgomery-Torrance.
Instead, in a roller coaster affair that saw O’Dowd overcome a 17-1 first quarter deficit and then almost blow a 60-41 lead, the Dragons held on down the stretch to prevail in a thrilling 70-63 upset victory over a Bishop Montgomery team that came into the game as the preseason Ballislife.com FAB 50 No. 7 team in the nation and the Cal-Hi Sports top team in its pre-season rankings.
What made the game a true Dragons fan’s delight was how O’Dowd (1-0) outscored a nationally ranked team by 35 points between their largest deficit and largest lead, and the grit they showed in the waning moments against a short-handed but still very talented Knights squad that came alive big-time after falling behind by 19-points twice in the early fourth quarter.
Still, the thing that will make this game one to remember was O’Dowd overcoming the 16-point first quarter deficit.
“O’Dowd just totally turned the game around, and at this level of legitimate, nationally-ranked teams you don’t see that very often,” said Ronnie Flores, a highly-respected analyst and the person that does both the Ballislife.com and Cal-Hi Sports rankings.
Part of the reason for the early deficit was the shot selection of O’Dowd was dreadful.
“Stop taking jump shots,” O’Dowd Coach Lou Richie said he told his players at a timeout with the team trailing by 16 points. “I told Elijah Hardy if he took another jump shot I was taking him out even if he made it. There was a reason we were down 17-1.”
“We started 2-of-13 from the 3-point line, but made 11-of-13 free throws," Richie continued. "I told them, ‘Hey guys, guess what’s going to work?”
Once the young Dragons realized they were an equal to the Knights athletically and in many ways in physicality as well, was when the worm began to turn.
“We didn’t believe we could get by them even though coach told us we could until the first time we did it,” said O’Dowd guard Naseem Gaskin who finished with 21 points and seven rebounds.
His fellow junior backcourt mate Elijah Hardy was the most effective at going to the basket and also played solid defense. He tied for game high with 29 points and added four rebounds, three assists and three steals. For his efforts Hardy was named the Player of the Game.
Once Hardy and Gaskin knew they could effectively blow by off the dribble, the confidence of an O’Dowd group that is inexperienced at the national level, grew as did the possibility of O’Dowd pulling off the comeback, upset win. There was a late lapse, but the Dragons sealed the game when 6-10 sophomore power forward Raymond Hawkins hit an off-balance half hook shot to give his team a 69-61 lead with 34 seconds remaining. He also hit two clutch free throws with just under a minute remaining and threw down the dunk of the event, a coast-to-coast one-handed throw down that sparked O’Dowd in the second quarter after its slow start.
A case could be made for a Bishop Montgomery team that was on the road in Northern California and playing in a packed house of raucous O’Dowd and NorCal hoops fans in general, and with injuries to boot.
Bishop Montgomery (0-1) was missing one of its best players, junior guard David Singleton. He was out because of a lingering foot injury. San Diego State-bound Jordan Schakel was limited by a knee injury that made him a game-time decision.
Schakel did play off the bench and finished with 11 points but he was one of only two Knights players to score in double figures. The other player was Oregon State-bound guard Ethan Thompson. The 6-5 senior guard tied Hardy with a game-high 29 points, and added nine rebounds and three assists, but his efforts down the stretch could not propel the Knights past the 19-point fourth quarter deficit.
Bishop O’Dowd’s victory was its second in three years in the marquee game of the Nor Cal Tip-Off Classic.. Two years ago when the Dragons had Cal standout Ivan Rabb, they defeated national power Bishop Gorman of Las Vegas en route to a CIF Open Division state title and a wire-to-wire state No. 1 run. Last season, Moreau Catholic of Hayward defeated a talented Sierra Canyon-Chatsworth team that was preseason No. 2 in the state and No. 1 in the country by at least one national poll.
The big win by Cal-Hi Sports pre-season No. 15 Bishop O’Dowd signifies they will likely be a serious NorCal Open Division title contender despite a team with a youthful nature.
The victory was also a milestone for Richie as it was his 100th career coaching win against only 26 defeats.
Honoring Coach Phelps
What a night it was for the Dragons faithful. Their basketball team pulled off a huge upset at the same time the football team pulled out a CIF North Coast Section Division III semifinal victory on a last second field goal, and a legendary icon in the Bishop O’Dowd coaching fraternity was honored as part of the 10th anniversary of the Nor Cal Tip-Off Classic.
Prior to the start of the game against Bishop Montgomery a ceremony at center court was held to honor former Dragons’ Coach Mike Phelps.
Phelps coached 22 seasons at O’Dowd and seven seasons at St. Joseph-Notre Dame. When he retired in 1990 at the age of 56 Phelps left as the all-time leader in victories according to Cal-Hi Sports records with 843 wins against only 196 defeats. He also won a record 12 CIFNCS championships, was the Cal-Hi Sports State Coach of the Year in 1986, and during his entire career at O’Dowd his teams won at least 20 games every season.
Subsequently, Phelps has been passed by Mater Dei-Santa Ana Coach Gary McKnight (1,052 wins current), and Mike LeDuc (851 wins current) the Coach of Damien-La Verne, but Phelps is still king of Northern California with Elio “Abe” Abrami (802 wins at Emery-Emeryville) second, although current St. Joseph-Notre Dame Coach Don Lippi (800 wins current) is within range.
