COUGARS FROSH DRAWS A CROWD
Rain and snow that forced closures on the Grapevine, Cajon Pass and Interstate 8 created a tangle of delays, schedule switches and even a forfeit Thursday on the first day of the 30th annual Torrey Pines Holiday Classic.
The foul weather, however, didn’t keep prep basketball fans away as a standing-room-only crowd showed up at Torrey Pines High to see high-flying San Ysidro, the No. 8 team in San Diego, and freshman sensation Mikey Williams play Phoenix St. Mary’s, ranked No. 16 in Arizona.
The crowd got what it came to see as Williams, who came into the game averaging 34.4 points a game, scored 39 in an 89-82 American Division loss.
“Mikey Williams is super explosive,” said St. Mary’s coach Damin Lopez, whose team beat the storm by arriving in San Diego on Wednesday. “He’s a tremendous talent, a young man with a big future.
“He reminds me a lot of a kid who played for us — Jerryd Bayless.”
Phoenix St. Mary’s 89, San Ysidro 82
Bayless went on to play at Arizona and was a first-round pick of the Indiana Pacers in 2008.
The 6-foot-3 Williams, whose father, Mahlon, was a prep star at Sweetwater, put on a dazzling display of long-range jumpers, fade-aways, driving layups and a dunk. He even tried an off-thebackboard pass to himself when he couldn’t find an open man.
The referees were booed when they called him for an offensive foul.
“I grew up coming to the Torrey Pines tournament, so to play in it was amazing,” Williams said. “Honestly, it came faster than I thought.
“We play so deep in the county, it’s hard for people to come and see us. So it’s great the fans came out
and supported us today.”
San Ysidro (8-4) tied the game at 79 on a Williams 3-pointer with 2:25 to play. But St. Mary’s (9-2) outscored the Cougars 10-3 down the stretch.
“We were out of sync, a little slow on everything,” said San Ysidro coach Terry Tucker.
“We have four freshmen in our rotation, so it’s good for us to play in front of these kind of crowds, against quality teams.
“Honestly, when we travel, it’s like the Beatles — everyone shows up.”
There were no fewer than five photographers on the baseline to document Williams’ play.
“I love the hype,” Williams said. “It gets me into the game.”
Jeremiah Cherry, the brother of former St. Augustine and Foothills Christian player Taeshon Cherry,
is a 6-9 sophomore at St. Mary’s who scored nine points. Other tournament highlights:
• Brandon Angel scored 21 and Cam Klein added 10 as Torrey Pines beat Arlington (Va.) Bishop O’connell 46-36.
• Poway’s Adam Sevier scored 29 and Garrett Pyle added 14 in a 63-61 win over Columbia (S.C.) Cardinal Newman.
• Zach White of Bishop’s scored 29 in a 61-44 loss to Irvine Beckman.
• Noah Fields of RBV scored 22 in a 64-62 loss to Cypress.
• Kolby Yates had 25 and Tony Sanchez 21 as Otay Ranch beat Mission Vista 99-48.
• El Camino edged Bonita Vista 70-64 as Keavie Love led the Wildcats with 22. Damajae Sanders had 28 for Bonita Vista.
john.maffei@sduniontribune.com