The homecoming party is underway for JJ Mandaquit and his island brothers at Utah Prep.
Mandaquit had five points and four assists, while AJ Dybantsa clutched up for 21 points, five rebounds and four assists as Utah Prep edged Brewster Academy (N.H.) 45-43 to capture the ‘Iolani Prep Classic championship on Saturday night.
“I’m just happy we got the win. Before the game, our coach told us that a lot of teams that won this in the past are NBA players, so it means a lot,” said Dybantsa, who wore a blue BYU shirt post game. “Go Cougs.”
He was named the tournament most valuable player after 57 points, 27 rebounds and 17 assists in three games.
Ebuka Okorie of Brewster Academy was named the most outstanding player. Joining them on the all-tournament team: Tanoa Scanlan, Punahou; Jordan Smith, St. Paul VI (Va.); RJ Smith, Imhotep Charter (Philadelphia); Colben Landrew, Wheeler (Ga.); Donovan Williams, Deondrea Lindsey of Oak Hill (Va.); Juan Guerrero Hernandez Jr and Rayane Solhi of Veritas Academy (Calif.); Killyan Toure and Sebastian Wilkins of Brewster; Anthony Felesi and JJ Mandaquit of Utah Prep.
Jackson Kiss added seven points in a defensive battle that required Utah Prep (13-4) to rally from an early six-point deficit.
Ohio State-bound Killyan Toure led Brewster (12-2) with 10 points. Darien Moore added seven.
Down 45-43, Brewster got the ball with nine seconds remaining and one timeout available. After Utah Prep gave a foul, Brewster inbounded with 5.6 seconds left at midcourt. Toure drew a double team on what looked like a possible 20-foot runner at the right wing, but he delivered a pass to a wide-open Preston Fowler, who missed the potential game-winner as time expired.
Brewster was cohesive from the start, opening a 17-11 lead on Ebuka Okorie’s and-1 drive early in the second quarter. Utah Prep rallied with a 7-0 run, taking the lead on a pull-up, straightaway 3 by Dybantsa.
The Bobcats responded with a 9-2 run. Toure blew past his defender for a lefty layup, Sebastian Wilkins swished a straightaway 3 and Moore sent a bounce pass to Toure on a backdoor cut for a resounding dunk. After Wilkins scored inside, Brewster led 26-20 with 1:31 left in the first half.
Ater Bol Meen’s corner 3 opened the lead to 29-21 going into the break.
Utah Prep, settling for isolation jumpers, shot 42% from the field in the first half. In the second quarter, they were 33% (3-for-9). The most telling number: one offensive rebound in the first 16 minutes.
Dybantsa had 11 points, four boards, one assist and one turnover by intermission. He was not deterred. He splashed a corner 3 to start the second half, and after Kiss realized the shot clock was running out and nailed a 3, Utah Prep was within 33-27.
Jackson Rasmussen’s old-school low-post bucket cut the lead to four, 33-29.
After a Dybantsa free throw and a Mandaquit dish to Kiss for a tough layup, Utah Prep was within 33-32. Brewster tried to withstand the barrage. Okorie drove for a tough basket, but Dybantsa was relentless, drawing contact and sinking two free throws.
His next drive for a bucket gave Utah Prep the lead, 36-35, with 27 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Rasmussen surprised his defender, taking a pass from Dybantsa and exploding to the rim for a layup.
With Brewster ice cold from the perimeter, Dybantsa scored on a tough 10-foot runner in the lane, drawing a foul. His free throw missed, but Utah Prep’s lead was 40-35 with 5:56 left.
Brewster got within 40-39 on buckets by Toure and Okorie, but Southwick scored on a lefty layup in transition.
Moore’s mid-range jumper kept Brewster within one point, but Dybantsa powered into the paint for his first basket of the fourth quarter. That gave Utah Prep a 44-41 lead with less than 3 minutes to go.
Preston Fowler’s putback brought Brewster within 44-43 with 1:54 remaining. Mandaquit made one of two foul shots for a two-point Utah Prep lead with 1:40 to go.
Wilkins, at 6-7, then posted up the 6-2 Mandaquit but lost his balance and missed a 3-footer. Utah Prep tried to get Dybantsa an opportunity on the short corner, but he was double-teamed and fed Rasmussen, who missed a 5-footer in the paint. He rebounded his miss and Utah Prep called time out with 42.7 seconds left.
The Bobcats swarmed Dybantsa as the shot clock dwindled down, and he found Felesi, but Felesi’s all-set elbow jumper came after it hit :00.
