CAMPBELL HALL TOURNAMENT : McKeller Leads Host Vikings to Win in Final

When Alex Lopez announced he was going to enroll his 6-foot-10 freshman frame at Campbell Hall High last spring, it instantly raised eyebrows.

Almost lost in that considerable shadow, however, was the transfer of Austin McKeller from St. Monica, a Division 5-AA semifinalist last season.

McKeller, a junior guard, might have been overlooked then, but he grabbed his share of attention Saturday night, scoring 23 points to lead the Vikings to a 79-58 win over South Bay Lutheran of Inglewood in the championship game of the Campbell Hall tournament.

“Right now, he’s the straw that stirs the drink,” said Campbell Hall Coach Joe Jackson, whose team is off to its best start in school history at 9-0.

South Bay Lutheran Coach Greg Rathke would have had a hard time arguing Jackson’s assessment.

“He pretty much single-handedly dominated the game,” Rathke said of McKeller.

Lopez didn’t exactly hurt the situation. He spent much of the game in foul trouble but still scored 15 points and blocked six shots.

The Vikings built a 36-21 halftime lead, but South Bay Lutheran (7-3) closed the margin to 41-33 midway through the third quarter.

A reverse layup and two steals by McKeller and two nice feeds to Lopez put the game out of reach.

“He was directly responsible,” Rathke said. “He’s a real good player and they have some very good role players to go along with him.”

Taylor Williams fit into that category, coming off the bench for Campbell Hall to score 17 points. Forward Scott Glass spent much of the game accepting McKeller’s passes and converting them into 12 points worth of layups.

Marlon Henderson paced South Bay Lutheran with 17 points. Teammates Willie Williams and Phillip Morgan each scored 12.

In the boys’ consolation final:

Whitney 63, Highland Hall 58--Edward Anastas scored 23 points, but Highland Hall (5-4) could not recover from a 40-20 halftime deficit. John Klejnot, who entered the game averaging 30 points and 13 rebounds a game for Highland Hall, was held to 11 points and 10 rebounds. He did block nine shots, however.

Whitney (4-1) was led by Shaleen Desail with 29 points.

In girls’ games:

Pasadena Poly 67, Campbell Hall 23--Things didn’t work out quite as well for the Campbell Hall girls’ team in its championship game. It was the 10th time this season that Pasadena Poly (11-0) has defeated an opponent by more than 20 points.

Kamilah Wells scored 22 points and tournament most valuable player Laurel Reichmann contributed 14.

Joanna Paul of Campbell Hall (5-4) had seven points.

Oakland Head Royce 72, Montclair Prep 23--Ten players scored for the Jayhawks (6-2) in the third-place game.

Immaculate Heart 34, Oakwood 20--Erin Farrell scored 12 points for Oakwood but Immaculate Heart took the consolation championship.