Boys’ basketball: Oak Park sophomore Riley Battin is taller, stronger and making impact

As first-game impressions go, Riley Battin of Oak Park showed Monday night he’s been doing lots of work in the off season.

As a freshman, he was good. As a sophomore, he’s even better. Having grown to 6 feet 8, Battin scored 23 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to help the Eagles defeat Temecula Rancho Christian, 48-45, in a first-round game of the Redondo tournament.

The Eagles had to rally in the second half against a young Rancho Christian team that featured 6-8 freshman Isaiah Mobley, who has scholarship offers from UCLA and USC and finished with 20 points.

“Riley is a focal point for us,” Oak Park Coach Aaron Shaw said. “We want him to get the ball in the middle or on the side. He made some big plays. He cleaned up on the boards. I think he’s a better all-around player.”

The biggest upset of the night came in the final game, when Peninsula stunned Crespi, ranked No. 5 by The Times, 59-56. The Celts came in as the defending Division IV state champions but fell behind by 11 points at halftime. They rallied to take the lead but Peninsula regained the lead behind 6-4 junior Mickey Babek, who finished with 26 points.

De’Anthony Melton had a chance to tie the game with 4.8 seconds left, but he made only one of two free throws. Brandon Williams had 15 points for Crespi. Peninsula was playing its first game for new coach Ryan Quinlan.

Compton held on for a 72-69 victory over El Camino Real despite 36 points from Brandon Russell. Raysean Scott scored 28 points for Compton, which rallied from nine points down in the third quarter.

Westchester routed Lynwood, 90-41, behind All-City center Keith Fisher, who scored 14 points. Inglewood defeated Hart, 73-61. Terrell Gomez scored 19 points. Eastvale Roosevelt defeated Narbonne, 44-37. Psalm Maduakor had 11 points for Narbonne.

Redondo defeated Mayfair, 76-33. Wesley Gilbert had 18 points. Long Beach Poly held off Campbell Hall, 48-42. Jordan Cohen led Campbell Hall’s upset bid with 23 points and seven rebounds. Zafir Williams had 16 points for Poly

Wednesday’s quarterfinal schedule at Redondo: Compton vs. Westchester, 3:30 p.m.; Roosevelt vs. Peninsula, 5 p.m.; Redondo vs. Oak Park, 6:30 p.m.; Long Beach Poly vs. Inglewood, 8 p.m.

In other tournament games, St. John Bosco won in the debut of new coach Matt Dunn, defeating Chino, 64-37, in the El Monte tournament. JJ Watson scored 21 points. L.A. University defeated HH Wilson, 62-54. Jude Agbasi had 17 points and Kevin Javier 15.

In the Calabasas tournament, Harvard-bound Christian Juzang scored 26 points and Aram Arslanian added 22 points in Viewpoint’s 81-47 win over Shalhevet. Royal defeated Agoura, 87-82, in overtime. Ashton Arnold had 18 points. Moorpark defeated Newbury Park, 57-37. North Hollywood defeated Malibu, 78-40. Sean Fernandez had 40 points.

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