Ramel Lloyd was exhausted and Kolby King was in tears.
Lloyd, a 6-foot-5 senior, did it again for No. 1 Sierra Canyon (Calif.). The versatile swingman had 23 points, five rebounds, three assists and two blocks as the Trailblazers rallied for a 51-48 win over Pembroke Pines (Fla.) on Tuesday afternoon.
Sierra Canyon will battle St. Paul VI for the ‘Iolani Prep Classic championship today.
“Ramel Lloyd was amazing today. He showed why he is who he is. He showed why the University of Nebraska wants him,” Trailblazers coach Andre Chevalier said. “He did a little bit of everything today. I don’t know if he got much rest.”
Lloyd has a clear vision of his role.
“On our team, we’ve got a lot of guys who can put the ball in the hole. I try to be that guy who can do everything, be all-around and be that glue for the team,” said Lloyd, who signed with Nebraska in November. “Be anything in any game.”
King lifted his team with clutch shooting and timely defense. The 6-2 St. John’s commit finished with 22 points. After his desperation 3 with 4 seconds left missed, Sierra Canyon finally could breathe. King was barely consolable near the Jaguar bench, shedding tears into his jersey. At the same time, a few Jaguar fans heckled Sierra Canyon, and one of the Trailblazer reserves shot back by waving both hands over his head in shoo-away fashion. The whole team did likewise and Pembroke Pines fans booed the Trailblazers.
Both teams headed to the locker rooms and cooled off.
“Oh, Pembroke Pines is a great team,” Chevalier said. “You can see that they don’t lose very often. They’re very well coached and the guards, No. 5 and No. 3, they’re special. It was great for us to play with them, learn a lesson and get better.”
It was, by far, the most intense battle so far in a tournament shortened significantly by health and safety protocols. Those canceled games, three in all, were consolation bracket matchups. Then, on Tuesday, semifinalist West Linn (Ore.) informed tourney officials that it would pull out. No reason was offered. That gave Central Catholic (Ore.) an opportunity to fill that gap. The Rams played St. Paul VI in the later semifinal.
Once again, Lloyd’s jack-of-all-trades skill set was invaluable to the Trailblazers. With King in attack mode start to finish, Pembroke Pines launched from deep often. A driving bucket by King, a layup by Caelum Ethridge and a wing 3 by Geoff Sprouse capped a 7-0 run that gave the Jaguars a 34-27 lead with 1:50 left in the third quarter.
After being bothered for a spell by Pembroke’s three-quarter press, Sierra Canyon returned the favor. Lloyd drove for a tough three-point play as the Blazers regained the lead. Then he came up with a big block in transition, and after Mike Price’s bucket in the paint and an NBA 3 by Lloyd, Sierra Canyon led 47-41 with 2:15 remaining.
The Jaguars bounced back with back-to-back jumpers by King to get within 47-46. After a drive for two by Price, the Trailblazers got the ball back after a turnover by the Jaguars. Lloyd shot well from the foul line in the first two games, but missed two with 31 seconds left.
Ethridge’s follow shot with 17.5 seconds left brought Pembroke Pines with 49-48.
Lloyd broke away from a long inbounds pass and dunk, but gave the Jaguars a chance to tie the game. That’s when King was forced to dribble sideways across the court and shoot a contested 3, trying to draw contact from 6-9 Kijani Wright. King’s shot drew iron with 4 seconds left and Lloyd rebounded to end the battle.
St. Paul VI (Va.) 58, Central Catholic (Ore.) 43
Darren Harris scored 14 points, including four 3-pointers, and Justin Boggs tallied 11 points as the Panthers fought off the scrappy Rams.
Garrett Sundra added nine points for St. Paul VI, ranked No. 19 nationally by MaxPreps.
Luke Johnson scored 17 points and Aidan Slater added 13 for Central Catholic.
Down 16-4, the Rams rallied to within 19-17. They were still within 30-25 with 1 minute left in the first half. The Panthers used their halfcourt press to spring a 6-0 run, getting two breakaway dunks from Jaquan Womack, a 6-6 freshman.
Down 36-25 at intermission, the Rams got no closer the rest of the way.
Now the Panthers draw No. 1 Sierra Canyon.
“Their defense is absolutely amazing. I’ve been really impressed watching them on film and, of course, live the last few days,” St. Paul VI coach Glenn Farello said. “We’re in for a really challenging game tomorrow.
