Four Big Storylines from Tip-Off Night at The Holiday Classic in San Diego

24, Dec 2022

Four Big Storylines from Tip-Off Night at The Holiday Classic in San Diego

Griffin Greenberg 0 Comments
Mikey Williams

San Diego, CA

6' 3"
|
PG
JJ Taylor

Los Angeles, CA

6' 8"
|
SF

The Holiday Classic at Torrey Pines High School in San Diego is a yearly event that hosts some talented teams around the nation and local area. 

This year’s event begins on the 27th and ends on the 30th, but The Holiday Classic also hosts a Tip-Off Night which happened last night and features local San Diego teams.

Highlighted by San Ysidro who has 5-star Mikey Williams and 4-star JJ Taylor, Tip-Off Night also included Carlsbad, Mission Bay, La Costa Canyon, Santa Fe Christian, and Torrey Pines. Let’s take a look at some of the biggest stories of Tip-Off Night.

Mikey Williams takes over as San Ysidro escapes

5-star Mikey Williams and San Ysidro had the last game of the evening in a packed gym against La Costa Canyon. San Ysidro held a double-digit lead in the first half before LCC would tie it at the half. In a back-and-forth second half, Mikey Williams would hit countless acrobatic, off-balance shots on fading runners and threes while also drawing fouls. When his team needed a bucket most, he delivered repeatedly. He even had some disruptive defensive plays down the stretch. Williams was coming off a 30+ point performance in a huge San Ysidro win over Notre Dame and he delivered a 35-point performance in this win over LCC. 4-star JJ Taylor also made a nice impact, especially in the first half hitting multiple threes to spark the early lead. San Ysidro is in the National Division in The Holiday and will face Monterey Trail in Round One.

 

Brycen Mackenzie shines for Santa Fe Christian as Bartelloni and Torrey Pines fight back

2024 PG Brycen Mackenzie came out firing for SFC, scoring 12 points in the first quarter alone to give his team an early lead. Mackenzie and Santa Fe Christian dominated the beginning and end of this matchup against the host school for the tournament, Torrey Pines. Torrey Pines senior JJ Bartelloni got it going in the second quarter scoring 10 points to make it a one-possession game at the half before the two teams would go back and forth in the third quarter. In the fourth, a three by Drew Bickley would give SFC a 12-point lead which was enough for them to hold on. Mackenzie finished with 25, scoring at multiple levels, bringing energy, and knocking down five total threes. SFC is in (and hosting) the Governor’s Division of The Holiday Classic.

 

Gavin Girouard of Mission Bay and Jake Hall of Carlsbad battle it out

In an exciting matchup between two talented local teams, Mission Bay and Carlsbad went down to the wire thanks to the electric shot-making between Gavin Girouard and Jake Hall. Girouard finished with a career-high 33 points which included seven threes made and Hall finished with 23 points which included five threes made. Even at the end when Mission Bay went up by eight, Carlsbad stormed back late before falling just short and losing by three. Girouard was unstoppable and was knocking down threes from all over the court, just taking the life out of Carlsbad when they got a little momentum. Hall’s playmaking was impressive as he’s a player who plays in control and is an efficient shooter. Hall is only a sophomore and has offers from UCSD and Cal Poly Slo. Mission Bay is in the American Division and Carlsbad is in (and hosting) the Senator’s Division of The Holiday Classic.

 

La Costa Canyon shows their grit

It’s not every day you’ll face a couple of highly ranked D1 players, but coach Dave Cassaw and his Mavericks embraced the challenge and almost walked away with a win. Early on in the game, JJ Taylor looked very good for San Ysidro, knocking down threes and getting to his spots and LCC would struggle going down double-digits. Although playing catch-up for most of the first half, the Mavs would tie it at halftime as Christian Brown and Ty Hendler would combine for 15 second-quarter points. The second half would be a very back-and-forth game. LCC capitalized on the mistakes in miscommunications from San Ysidro’s 2-3 zone defense. Colorado College commit Ty Hendler hit some big shots to combat baskets from Mikey Williams and Parking Jelsing would score seven points in the fourth to give LCC the lead at one point. Hendler finished with 27 points, Jelsing with 16, Ladd with 15, and Christian Brown with 14. LCC is in the American Division of The Holiday Classic.