Drew League Saturday Report
The Drew League visited the Nike Jordan Air Hangar Saturday, with two games played as part of a celebration of basketball culture in Los Angeles.
Larry Gordon led Salvatori’s No Shnacks to a win in the first game, while Laker guard Jordan Clarkson scored 33 in a losing cause in the nightcap as Baron Davis’ BB4L team improved to 9-0 on the season.
By Dave Rogahn
The event was staged at the Air Hangar – basically a playing venue placed inside a Nike trade show exhibit featuring the latest in shoes, apparel and a display of US Olympic Team uniforms – literally aside the runways at Hawthorne Airport.
If the venue seems familiar, it’s just a few hundred feet east of the original Hangar Athletic eXchange (HAX) that operated in the area in 2008 and 2009.
Inasmuch as the event celebrated the basketball culture of LA, it was appropriate that the first game featured Hank’s Houdini’s All-Stars taking on Salvatori’s No Shnacks.
Not only are both teams made up almost entirely of players from junior colleges and Division II or NAIA schools – a far more typical experience for players than the Pac-12 or the NBA – but both teams contain the name of Hank Salvatori.
The longtime sponsor of both the Drew League and the long-running Say No Classic and benefactor of basketball in Southern California passed away Saturday, and a moment of silence was held before the games began.
Salvatori’s No Shnacks 77, Hank’s Houdini’s All-Stars 68
In the first game, Hank’s Houdini’s All-Stars, the 2014 Drew League champions, led, 17-14, after the first quarter. But Salvatori’s No Shnacks started the second half with an 11-0 run and led the rest of the game.
It was still a one-point game at the half, but onetime Cal Poly Pomona standout Gordon, who now plays professionally in Germany, scored 15 points in the third quarter as No Shnacks stayed in front for good.
Gordon finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds, 4 assists and a blocked shot. Sean Marshall (Eisenhower/Boston College/Turkey) had 17 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and a steal, and DeShawn Stephens (Santa Monica CC/SD State/Spain) had 12 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks and a steal.
Garrett Nevels (Palisades/Mt. SAC/Hawaii/France) led all scorers with 22 points, including a pair of three-pointers, and also had 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 5 steals for Hank’s Houdini’s All-Stars.
Antonio Biglow (Sylmar/Mt. SAC/Montana State) had 14 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal, and Corey Allen (Mt. SAC/South Florida/Albania) had 10 points, 2 rebounds, 3 steals and a game-high 8 assists.
BB4L 103, Problems 94
In the nightcap, Eugene Phelps (Taft/Long Beach State/Puerto Rico) had 26 points and 8 rebounds and Casper Ware (Gahr/Long Beach State/NBA/France) had 18 points and 10 assists to lead BB4L to a 103-94 win over Problems, improving its record to 9-0 and clinching the top seed in the John Williams division.
BB4L scored the game’s first 7 points and led all the way, building a 14-point lead at the half and stretching the margin to 21 points early in the fourth quarter. At that point coach Baron Davis (Crossroads/UCLA/NBA) cleared the bench to let the reserves play.
But Jordan Clarkson (Missouri/LA Lakers) kept scoring, bringing Problems within 4 points with just under a minute left on the clock. By that time Davis had reinserted the starters, and Ware completed a 3-point play with 49.1 seconds left to push BB4L’s lead back to 7.
After a Clarkson basket, Van Girard (Gahr/Cerritos CC/CS Dominguez Hills) also converted a 3-point play to make it 99-91. Phelps scored – off a pass from Ware – to make it 101-91 and finally clinch the victory for BB4L.
Girard finished with 20 points, 3 assists and 3 steals for the winners. Charles Jackson (Lassen/Southern Idaho/Tennessee Tech/NBDL) had 12 points, 6 rebounds and 2 steals. Toronto Raptor forward Terrance Ross had 11 points, 2 assists and 3 steals.
For Problems, Clarkson finished with a game-high 33 points, including 5 three-pointers, plus 4 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals.
Victor Rudd (Van Nuys/South Florida/NBDL/Russia) had 19 points, 4 rebounds and 4 assists, and Mike Williams (Taft/CS Fullerton/NBDL) had 13 points and a team-high 8 assists.
Zena Edosomwan (Harvard-Westlake/Harvard) had 10 points and 7 rebounds.
The Drew League continues next week back at the usual venue of King-Drew HS in Willowbrook. Games start at 10 am Saturday & Sunday.
Admission is free but seating is first-come-first-served and now that the NBA guys are coming around the gym often reaches full capacity.
Check the league website http://www.drewleague.com for more information.