A little blood, a lot of sweat, and a semifinal win for Utah Prep, which advanced with a hard-earned 63-52 win over Oak Hill (Va.) on Friday night at the ‘Iolani Prep Classic.
AJ Dybantsa led the way with 25 points, including 14-for-18 shooting at the free-throw line. The 6-foot-9 senior sank his final six foul shots in the last three minutes of the battle. He also corralled 13 rebounds and dished out four assists. Utah Prep (11-4) will meet Brewster Academy (N.H.) for the Classic title at 8 tonight.
“Now we’ve just got to win it. You just go win,” Dybantsa said.
Two-time Classic champion Oak Hill (13-2) did all it could to physically dismantle Utah Prep, leaving Dybantsa with a cut on his face.
“We try to stay even-keeled. Don’t try to get back at them. That’s not our identity,” Dybantsa said. “That’s a physical team. They’re from Virginia.”
High-flying teammate Anthony Felesi took the brunt of the Warriors’ physicality. He got knocked down with an elbow from Ethan Mgbako in the third quarter. He arose a minute later, revealing a bloody cut below his left eye, drawing a very audible gasp from a big crowd at Father Bray Athletic Complex. Somehow, he returned a few minutes later. Felesi finished with 12 points and two blocks.
“I couldn’t really see. I thought it was pretty bad. I thought it was a black eye,” Felesi said. “A lot of blood, but Coach Aukai (Wong) helped stop the bleeding. He put pressure on it and the doctor over there helped me with it. I know my team needed me.”
John Southwick stepped with 12 points on 4-for-6 shooting from the arc. JJ Mandaquit added seven points and five assists, and was one of the UPA players getting treatment after the game.
“I was cool until they elbowed Ant in the face and he started bleeding everywhere. He was cut up. AJ was cut up. That’s what really ticked me off a little bit,” Southwick said. “Things got a little out of control, so I stepped up and did what I had to do.”
Donovan Williams led the gritty Warriors with 17 points. Deondrea Lindsey added 16.
Utah Prep coach Justin Yamzon sets the tone, probably the most composed coach in the tournament.
“We kept fighting back, doing the little things, win the 50-50 balls. Calls are going to go our way sometimes, sometimes they’re not,” he said. “Anthony is such a tough kid. He wanted to get back in the game and contribute. I’m super proud of his toughness. Scoring is one part of the game and our guys are starting to realize over the course of the year, there’s so many ways to add value.”
Yamzon praised reserve center Guystone Kasenga, a 6-9 senior.
“He was huge. He came in, played solid defense, rebounded when he needed to, got involved a little bit offensively. Getting us extra possessions.”
Utah Prep bolted to a quick lead. After Jackson Kiss pushed the ball from the backcourt down the middle of the court for a dunk, Mandaquit scored on a Euro step on the break, giving UPA a 12-2 lead.
Howard Williams’ pull-up jumper at the foul line cut the lead to 16-13 early in the second quarter. Dybantsa responded with three free throws and a steal for an easy dunk.
Felesi hustled back on defense for a swat on Demarco Johnson that woke up the packed house. Mandaquit then lobbed a pass to Felesi for his first dunk of the game.
After a transition 3 by Southwick, Utah Prep had its biggest lead, 26-13.
Felesi sank two foul shots for a 28-13 edge with 1:33 to go in the second quarter.
The Warriors tried everything, but Utah Prep’s man-to-man coverage was almost perfect. Johnson tried a spin move and step-back hop, but the shot found only air.
Utah Prep led at intermission, 31-16. Much more aggressive offensively than he was in the first two rounds, Dybantsa had 10 points, seven rebounds, three assists, two steals and two turnovers by the break.
Oak Hill brought the lead down to 33-24 after Donovan Williams’ and-1 three-point play. Moments later, Oak Hill’s Mgbako committed an offensive foul with Felesi applying tight on-ball pressure, swinging his elbow at Felesi’s face. Felesi was down on the floor with his arm covering his face for a couple of minutes. When he got up, the cut and blood on his eye drew a gasp from the crowd.
Felesi returned with 2:23 left in the third stanza. The Warriors brought the lead down to 36-30 on an and-one turnaround baseline jumper by Deondrea Lindsey.
Southwick’s second 3-point bomb of the third quarter gave Utah Prep some breathing room, with a 43-34 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Donovan Williams II somehow managed to score on a twisting, back-to-the basket layup. His ensuing free throw brought the Warriors within 45-38 with 6:24 remaining.
Utah Prep was unable to feed Dybantsa, who posted up a smaller defender (6-3 Williams) on the block. But Southwick clutched up for a corner 3 on a pass from Dybantsa to open the lead to 48-38. Dybantsa, a 6-foot-9 senior, went back to aggressive mode with the ball, drawing a foul on a mid-range jumper and hitting one foul shot. Then he drove from the corner on a power move and beat two defenders for a bucket and foul.
Utah Prep led 51-38 with 5:01 left. They were up by eight when Dybantsa went 4-for-4 at the charity stripe, and after Felesi surged from halfcourt for a thunderous dunk, Utah Prep led 58-46 with 1:39 to go.
In all, Dybantsa was 6-for-6 at the foul line in the last three minutes. Oak Hill got no closer than 10 the rest of the way.
Mandaquit added some insurance with three free throws in the final 30.2 seconds.
Brewster Academy (N.H.) 66, Veritas Academy (Calif.) 43
Ebuka Okorie poured in 22 points to lead Brewster (12-1) into the Classic final.
Lamarious White led Veritas (1-2) and Juan Guerrero Hernandez Jr. scored 11.
The Bobcats’ man-to-man defense stifled Veritas, a team that ousted St. Paul VI on Thursday. Constantly in motion, crashing the offensive glass, Brewster opened a 47-28 lead with two minutes left in the third quarter.
Brewster’s Ater Bol Meen, a 6-9 junior, was a force on the offensive glass. He scored seven of his nine points in the second quarter.
