FAB 50 No. 9 Roosevelt (Eastvale, Calif.) gets big contributions from its role players to race past No. 32 Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.), 76-58, in the Platinum Division championship game of the 12th Annual Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas. Roosevelt’s Brayden Burries is named tournament Most Valuable Player.
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It was a highly anticipated championship game for the 12th edition of the Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas. The crowd and coaches anticipated a showdown between star guard Brayden Burries of FAB 50 No. 9 Roosevelt (Eastvale, Calif.) and star wing Tyran Stokes of FAB 50 No. 32 Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.). Many observers felt the difference-maker, however, could be Rutgers-bound point guard Lino Mark of Notre Dame, but he didn’t end up being much of a factor because of a bothersome hamstring injury. What turned out to be the difference was the production of Roosevelt’s role players, who helped turn a 27-12 deficit into a 76-58 victory as the top seed knocked out the No. 2 seed in an uptempo game.
Roosevelt (11-1), whose only loss came to FAB 50 No. 18 Brennan (San Antonio, Texas) in Texas when its own guard, New Mexico-bound Issac Williamson, went down with an injury, got off to a rough start in Saturday’s title game. Poor shoot selection and stagnant offensive sets played a role in Notre Dame (12-1) jumping out to a 27-12 first quarter lead. Roosevelt then outscored Notre Dame, 23-7, in the second quarter to take a 35-34 halftime lead.
For Notre Dame coach Matt Sargeant, there is a simple explanation for Roosevelt’s turnaround and he made no excuse for the absence of Mark, one of the state’s best point guards. Mark ended up playing just a shade under four minutes total.
“It’s really simple…in the first quarter we didn’t give up one offensive rebound,” Sargeant. “In the second quarter, we gave up nine. You can’t win if you don’t rebound. In the second half we rebounded, but didn’t take care of the ball.”
