Boys’ basketball: Freshmen making impact in early games

The class of 2019 is already influencing the high school basketball season.

Cassius Stanley, a 6-foot-5 freshman at Harvard-Westlake, made his high school debut on Tuesday night and contributed 18 points, 14 rebounds and five assists in the Wolverines’ 73-56 victory over Newbury Park in the Calabasas tournament.

Stanley, known for his leaping skills, finally got his first dunk with 17 seconds left in the game. It was the debut for new Coach David Rebibo.

Junior guard Ali Iken had 14 of his 16 points in the third quarter for Harvard-Westlake, which pulled away in the second half after a 31-27 halftime lead. Wolfgang Novogratz added 14 points.

Sophomore Brandon Smith turned in an impressive performance for Newbury Park with 14 points.

Makani Whiteside, a freshman guard at St. John Bosco, had 18 points in the Braves’ 61-53 win over Compton Centennial in the El Monte tournament.

In other Calabasas tournament games, Maddox Daniels had 19 points to help Beverly Hills hold off Shalhevet, 52-47. Denzel Holt scored six consecutive points in the fourth quarter to rally the Normans. Calabasas defeated North Hollywood, 63-38. Ryan Murphy had 15 points.

In a battle of preseason top 25 teams, Dorsey gave a boost to the City Section with a 74-57 win over Windward. Tommie Groce had 16 points for Dorsey. Jules Bernard scored 22 points for Windward.

Tarbut V’ Torah in Newport Beach opened with a 75-25 win over Liberty Christian. Brandon Averitt had 16 points and 11 assists. Isaac Abecassis had 21 points.

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