BOYS’ BASKETBALL / LAS VEGAS HOLIDAY CLASSIC : Woodbridge Finally in Quarterfinals

It wasn’t pretty, but Woodbridge did advance to the quarterfinals of the Holiday Prep Classic for the first time, gutting out two victories Tuesday, a long day of basketball that featured a number of surprises.

Woodbridge, making its sixth appearance in the tournament, fell behind by as many as seven points before rallying for a 74-65 victory over Paintsville (Ky.).

In the second game, the Warriors defeated Box Elder (Utah), 50-49, despite missing nine of 12 free throws in the final two minutes.

Woodbridge advanced to play the winner of Troy (N.Y.) Redemption at 8:30 tonight.

Earlier Tuesday, Mater Dei advanced to the quarterfinals with a 46-40 victory over Franklin (Ky.). The Monarchs play at 5:30 p.m. today against Las Vegas Bishop Gorman.

Considering the powerhouse teams that have fallen in this tournament, Woodbridge’s climb can be considered impressive. Among the teams knocked out were Los Angeles Fremont, the nation’s third-ranked team, and No. 11 Bellflower St. John Bosco, which is led by former Mater Dei standout Schea Cotton.

“Coach told us we could be the first team from Woodbridge to win three straight games here. That’s all I was thinking,” said guard William Stovall, whose consecutive steals in the final five seconds preserved the victory over Box Elder.

Woodbridge and Box Elder players, playing in their second game of the day, looked tired on the court, leaning on each other throughout the game.

The teams combined for 32 turnovers. Woodbridge shot 36.4% from the field (20 of 55) and made only nine of 23 free throws. Chris Burgess, with 20 points and seven rebounds, led Woodbridge.

“We weren’t too good out there,” said Warrior Coach John Halagan.

That was in sharp contrast to the game against Paintsville (5-2), which matched up well with the Warriors and used a sagging 2-3 zone defense.

Burgess also scored had 20 points, but three others were in double figures. The Warriors made 26 of 47 field goals and Stovall had five three-pointers.

In other tournament games:

Mater Dei 46, Franklin (Ky.) Simpson 40--Mater Dei, which is having problems with illness and injury, went to a four-corner offense with about seven minutes to go and the score tied, 34-34.

“They call it a stall, but I was just trying to get our guys some rest. We’re not very deep off the bench right now,” Monarch Coach Gary McKnight said.

The tactic worked. The Monarchs (7-1), who had led 34-28 with 12:30 remaining, got their second wind and made eight of 10 free throws to win.

“Obviously we could play a lot better, but we have four or five guys sick,” said junior forward Todd Lippold, who scored nine points despite being ill with the flu. “But we did play a lot smarter that we did on Monday,” Lippold said.

The Monarchs stumbled through two games Monday, but appeared more settled against Franklin.

Banged-up guard Kevin Augustine was instrumental in limiting Franklin shooting guard Jermaine Chatman, who scored a game-high 14 points, to just two points in the second half. Augustine scored 10 points and made six of eight free throws.

“We said at halftime that we wanted the ball in Kevin’s hands,” McKnight said of Augustine, who suffered cramps in his left leg Monday night and wore a bandage Tuesday. He then twisted his right ankle in the second half Tuesday and had it heavily taped.

“We told him we were going to win it with him, or lose it with him, but we wanted him to have the ball,” McKnight said.

Oakland Fremont 69, Santa Ana Valley 59--The Falcons (5-6), playing without the injured Olujimi Mann, were bumped out of the tournament in the losers’ bracket game, despite 23 points by Ike Harmon.