The gasps from the crowd at Crypto.com Arena — a mix of shock from Lakers fans and anticipation from fans rooting for the local hero — grew each time LaMelo Ball pulled up from seemingly more and more audacious spots on the court. The Charlotte Hornets star guard held three fingers to his bicep each time he splashed a shot through the net. He stared up into the packed stands to meet the eyes of his hometown crowd.
The former Chino Hills star ignited the Hornets to a 135-117 win over the Lakers on Thursday with 30 points and 11 assists. After a quiet three points in the first half, Ball erupted for 27 points after halftime, including eight made three-pointers on 12 attempts in the second half that gave the L.A. crowd flashbacks of the brace-faced freshman on Chino Hills’ famous undefeated team.
“We all know LaMelo,” Lakers guard Marcus Smart said. “He’s been playing like that since he was in high school. To us, they’re some crazy shots, but to him, those are his shots.”
Ball, now 10 years removed from the 35-0, national championship season with the Huskies, still plays with the looseness of the freshman who was hooping with his older brothers. But the 24-year-old is now starting to own the maturity of a six-year NBA veteran.
“He’s always been an explosive scorer, explosive passer, but now he knows how to win games when it comes down to, what, two possessions, one possession,” said Hornets guard Miles Bridges, who had 25 points, including five baskets assisted by Ball. “He knows how to make the right play and win the game.”
Ball, averaging 20.4 points, 7.8 assists and 5.2 rebounds, has a career-high plus-2.8 plus-minus rating this season. Ball’s traditional stats are modest compared to some of his stat-stuffing early seasons when he averaged more than 30 points and eight rebounds in each of his first two years in the NBA, but he is playing more efficiently than ever in some ways. He has a 120.8 offensive rating and a 42.2% assist percentage, which estimates the percentage of a player’s teammates’ field goals they assist while on the court. His assist percentage trails only Denver superstar Nikola Jokic.
“We’ve always marveled at his shot making, but the thing that I think continues to just impress me, the thing that continues to help our team get better and better is that he’s trusting the pass,” said Hornets coach Charles Lee, who called Ball the team’s “emotional leader.” “I think that he’s really maximizing everyone around him. He’s making them better. … And then he just does what Melo does: He’s a shot maker.”
Ball hit back-to-back three-pointers to start the third quarter. With his confidence growing, he started pulling up earlier in the shot clock. He danced with Lakers center Deandre Ayton, driving toward the lane on the 7-footer to only pivot back and drain another three. Fading away out of the corner of the court and almost into the laps of his teammates on the Hornets bench, Ball hit a rainbow three over Smart’s outstretched hand.
“I was really just playing for real,” Ball said.
Ball did not play in the Lakers’ first game against the Hornets in Charlotte, N.C., because of an ankle injury. In November, the Lakers held off a fourth-quarter surge from the Hornets, who showed how dangerous they can be. Young and athletic, with eager drivers and knock-down shooters, the Hornets can be one of the NBA’s most dangerous offenses. In the 15 games since Ball returned from a three-game absence because of an ankle injury, Charlotte has the top-ranked offense in the league. The Hornets hung 150 points against Utah. They blew out the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder.
“Our coaching staff and the guys in the locker room, we all knew that they got our full respect and attention pregame,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said. “And I thought we fought. Just another team that has a hot shooting night.”
The Lakers, who next play consecutive games at Portland on Saturday and at home against Toronto on Sunday, have lost four out of the last five. They are 25th in opponent three-point shooting, allowing teams to shoot 37.3% from three.
Cleveland High coach Dagem Asfaw was yelling to his players at the end of the first half during a timeout to stop playing selfish basketball and start making the “extra pass.”
They listened in the second half Wednesday, and the Cavaliers took off, blowing out Granada Hills 72-47. The first three baskets in the third quarter were threes off passes. It’s clear that Cleveland (11-6, 1-0) has the most talented team in the West Valley League and the only question is will the players decide to find the open man. When they do, it’s doubtful any team will beat them.
Sophomore Sho Evans finished with 17 points and made four threes. Serigne Deme had 11 of his 13 points in the first quarter and finished with four dunks. TJ Wansa scored 13 points, all in the second half. Cleveland led by nine points at halftime.
Birmingham 75, Taft 57: Tekeio Phillips had 19 points and Charles Eleri 16 for the Patriots (10-4, 1-0) in their West Valley opener.
El Camino Real 55, Chatsworth 53: The Royals pulled out the win. Aarsh Singh, Aaron Krueger and Chris Rutherford each scored 11 points for Chatsworth.
Fairfax 66, Westchester 64: The Western League rivalry game goes to the Lions. Domonick Bowie Jr. had 16 points and Chris Stokes 15.
Palisades 87, Hamilton 48: The Dolphins had four players reach double figures. Jack Levey and EJ Popoola each had 22 points, Phillip Reed 19 and OJ Popoola 16.
San Pedro 74, Carson 50: Elias Redlew finished with 18 points, seven rebounds and five assists for the 16-4 Pirates. AJ Bobich added 16 points.
Los Alamitos 57, Newport Harbor 40: Isaiah Williamson contributed 15 points for the Griffins.
Calabasas 64, Oaks Christian 62: The Coyotes handed Oaks Christian its first Marmonte League defeat in double overtime. Noah Simon made a three-point shot at the buzzer of the second overtime, his only points of the night. Tristan Cardoso and Johnny Thyfault each scored 16 points.
Verbum Dei 80, Bosco Tech 64: Sophomore Chase Coleman scored 20 points for Verbum Dei.
Girls basketball
Harvard-Westlake 42, Louisville 23: Valentina Guerrero, back from injury, scored 13 points for the Wolverines.
Sierra Canyon 79, Marlborough 31: Jerzy Robinson contributed 29 points and 10 rebounds for Sierra Canyon.
Birmingham 65, Taft 28: Kayla Tanijiri led the way for the Patriots with 15 points and Laecy Wilkins had 14 points.
Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. I’m Eric Sondheimer. Let’s examine some surprise teams in high school basketball.
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Prep Rally is devoted to the SoCal high school sports experience, bringing you scores, stories and a behind-the-scenes look at what makes prep sports so popular.
There’s plenty of teams exceeding expectations in high school basketball teams.
How about Chino Hills at 21-4? Yes, the school that went unbeaten 10 years ago led by the Ball brothers is more than holding its own this season. The Huskies are 2-0 in the Baseline League and face tough games this week against Etiwanda and Damien.
Corona Santiago is 20-3 under third-year coach Carlos Castillo, who was an assistant to Josh Giles at Corona Centennial for eight years. The Sharks knocked off defending state champion Eastvale Roosevelt on Friday night 70-63. Two 5-foot-10 guards, Ethan Wadman and Evan Nayback, have been leading the success, along with sophomore guard Matt Bernal. Wadman was MVP of a division at the Tarkanian Classic.
Chaminade is 19-2 and took down Loyola on Friday, the team that beat Sherman Oaks Notre Dame. Temi Olafisoye, a 6-foot-9 senior, is averaging 17 points. He had 22 points and 20 rebounds against Loyola.
Oaks Christian is 17-3 and 2-0 in the Marmonte League. Sophomore Brady Sullivan is averaging 16.1 points.
Bishop Amat is 20-3 under coach Brandon Ertle, who won his 400th game as the Lancers’ coach. Sophomore Aiden Shaw is averaging 22.9 points.
Unbeaten Elsinore has run off 18 consecutive victories. Junior Kamrynn Nathan is averaging 24.6 points.
Triumph Charter is Sylmar is having its best season with a 15-2 record. The City Section school has been led by Antonio Garcia, averaging 19.4 points.
Boys’ basketball
Christian Collins of St. John Bosco celebrates overtime victory over Santa Margarita as Kaiden Bailey experiences defeat. Collins had the tying basket in regulation and game-clinching basket in overtime.
(Nick Koza)
St. John Bosco served notice with a 74-73 double overtime win over Santa Margarita in a Trinity League opener. The Braves now own wins over the Eagles and Harvard-Westlake, two of the top five teams in the Southland. Christian Collins came through at key moments. Here’s the report.
No. 1-ranked Sierra Canyon wasn’t dominant last week but came away with close wins over St. Francis and Sherman Oaks Notre Dame in Mission League play. Here’s the report. The Trailblazers are 15-1 and headed toward a title showdown game with Harvard-Westlake on Jan. 21 that will be a tough ticket to get at Sierra Canyon.
Damien became the Baseline League title favorite by going on the road to defeat Etiwanda. The Spartans scored the game’s first 24 points. Here’s the report.
Palisades is making progress, improving to 5-10 and remains the team to beat in the Western League and in the City Section.
Coach Harvey Kitani of Rolling Hills Prep is four wins away from win No. 1,000 in his coaching career.
Calabasas is surging with 12 wins in its last 13 games. Here’s the report.
Crossroads came up with a key win in its Gold Coast League opener beating Brentwood. Former Brentwood star Shalen Sheppard led Crossroads.
Big games this week include Mira Costa at Redondo Union on Friday and Sherman Oaks Notre Dame at St. Francis on Thursday.
Also the State Preview Classic is set for Saturday at North Torrance.
Kaleena Smith drives the lane for two of her game-high 50 points.
(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)
On Saturday, Kaleena Smith of Ontario Christian turned in a performance for the ages, scoring 50 points and rallying her unbeaten team to a double overtime victory over Archbishop Mitty at Mater Dei. Here’s the report.
Smith, a junior, has become the most sought-after girls basketball player by college recruiters since JuJu Watkins.
Flintridge Prep (13-2), led JSerra (16-2), the #2 team in the CIF-SS, by 10+ in the 3rd qtr, but lost a hard fought game, 75-73. Only Ontario Christian has scored more vs JSerra.
JSerra has risen to No. 3 in the Southern California top 20 rankings. The Lions are 16-2 after holding off Flintridge Prep 75-73. They have wins over Sierra Canyon, Oak Park and Corona Centennial. They open Trinity League play against Santa Margarita on Thursday and face Windward on Saturday.
In the City Section, Westchester is 13-3 and has Western League games on Wednesday against Fairfax and Friday against Palisades.
Soccer
Goalie Ben Buchler of Oak Park has recorded 10 shutouts this season.
(Sharon Levy)
It’s been a quite a soccer season for Oak Park goalie Ben Buchler, who has set a school record with 10 shutouts this season.
One person to watch is All-City receiver and standout sprinter Demare Dezeurn of Palisades. Coach Dylen Smith said he’s heard the rumors like everyone else: Dezeurn to Sierra Canyon. School resumes at Palisades this week.
Dezeurn is one of the top track and field performers in the state, so where he ends up will be important for this spring whether he’s competing in the City Section or the Southern Section.
Notes . . .
Carson quarterback Chris Fields III takes off against San Pedro. He ran for two touchdowns and passed for three.
(Craig Weston)
Quarterback Chris Fields III of Carson has been selected the City Section player of the year in football. Here’s the All-City team. . . .
Trent Mosley and Dash Fifita of Santa Margarita top the All-CIF Southern Section Division 1 football team. Here’s the link to the All-CIF team. . . .
St. John Bosco, Harvard-Westlake, Orange Lutheran and Aquinas will participate in the National High School Baseball Invitational March 25-28 in Cary, N.C. . . . .
Zack Stein from Santa Margarita has committed to Whittier College for baseball. . . .
Layli Ostovar of Mater Dei has been selected the Gatorade state player of the year in girls’ volleyball. She’s committed to USC. . . .
Junior defensive back Aaryn Washington from Mater Dei has committed to USC. . . .
Former Loyola goalie Cabral Carter (class of 2022) has signed with LAFC in the MLS. . . .
Junior linebacker Taven Epps of Tustin has committed to Oklahoma. . . .
Noah Darnell, a pitcher at Santa Margarita, went from losing a scholarship to attending Harvard. Here’s his story. . . .
The Trinity League wrestling championships will be held Wednesday at St. John Bosco. . . .
Verbum Dei will hold a ceremony at halftime its basketball game against Gardena Serra on Friday at 7 p.m. retiring the jersey of the late David Greenwood. . . .
From the archives: Colton Joseph
Newport Harbor’s Colton Joseph throws a short pass in 2022.
(Drew A. Kelley / Contributing photographer)
Former Newport Harbor quarterback Colton Joseph has gone from starting quarterback at Old Dominion to one of Wisconsin’s biggest signees from the college transfer portal. He was the Sun Belt offensive player of the year.
He passed for 2,624 yards and 21 touchdowns and rushed for 1,007 yards this season at Old Dominion. As a senior at Newport Harbor in 2022, he passed for 2,749 yards and 30 touchdowns and rushed for seven touchdowns.
From SI.com, a story on a high school basketball team ending a 120-game league losing streak.
From the Sacramento Bee, a story on a 6-8 high school basketball player known as “Mad Max.”
From the Los Angeles Times, a story on Crossroads students starting a high school pickleball league.
Tweets you might have missed
Not every quarterback goes to a Trinity League school to have a life as an NFL quarterback. Josh Rosen (St. John Bosco) and Nick Robinson (JSerra) are now investment bankers for J.P Morgan and Barclays, respectively. MBAs from Penn.
Senior Finnian Hannegan of the JSerra Wrestling team produced his second straight top-of-the-podium invitational performance, as he won the 175-pound weight class title at the Dr. John Dahlem Pioneer Invitational at Western High School in Anaheim.
This is still one of my favorite moments. Neil Diamond showing up to sing “Sweet Caroline” for the opening of Notre Dame High’s $3 million baseball field in 2014. https://t.co/f658Y0tsw9
Have a question, comment or something you’d like to see in a future Prep Rally newsletter? Email me at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com, and follow me on Twitter at @latsondheimer.
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Spencer Pratt, a reality television star who lost his home in the Palisades fire and then emerged as a sharp critic of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass and Gov. Gavin Newsom, announced Wednesday that he will run for mayor.
The former star of “The Hills” has spent much of the last year firing off social media posts blaming the mayor and governor for the Palisades fire, which killed 12 people and burned more than 6,800 homes.
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Pratt made his announcement at the “They Let Us Burn” event in Pacific Palisades on the one-year anniversary of the fire.
“We’re going to expose the system. We’re going into every dark corner of L.A. politics and disinfecting the city with our light,” he said to a crowd of hundreds, many of whom cheered.
Former L.A. schools Supt. Austin Beutner, who is running against Bass, has also attacked the mayor’s performance on the fire, saying she has not accepted responsibility for the city’s failures.
Community organizer Rae Huang, who is running from Bass’ left, has offered her own critique, saying the mayor has engaged in too much finger-pointing.
Still unclear is whether real estate developer Rick Caruso — another outspoken critic of Bass on the fire — will launch a second mayoral bid. Bass defeated him in 2022 by a comfortable margin.
L.A. County Supervisor Lindsey Horvath, who represents the areas that burned in the Palisades fire and who has also criticized the city’s response to the fire, said Monday night that she is still considering her own run for L.A. mayor.
Speaking with CNN’s Elex Michaelson, Horvath said she is “listening to a lot of the people who are encouraging me to get into this race, people who are looking for a different kind of leadership.”
“You know, there are a lot of people who are asking me about running for mayor,” Horvath said. “And I think it’s because they see that we are setting up in the county a different structure of accountability, and that’s long overdue for the region.”
The Palisades fire has become a serious political liability for Bass as the mayoral race gains momentum. She was out of the country on a diplomatic mission to Ghana when the fire ignited.
Since then, she has faced criticism over a series of issues surrounding the city’s emergency response, including LAFD deployment, the fact that the Santa Ynez reservoir was empty, and the Fire Department’s failure to put out a New Year’s Day fire that eventually rekindled into the Palisades fire.
Bass, for her part, said Tuesday that she is using the full extent of her mayoral powers to “restore the Palisades community and return families home as quickly and safely as possible.”
Bass’ campaign team did not immediately respond to an inquiry about Pratt’s announcement. But earlier this week, they took direct aim at Pratt and other critics, accusing them of using the disaster for their personal benefit.
“For the first time ever we saw a major wildfire politicized by MAGA leaders and monetized by social influencers making tens of thousands of dollars per month and hawking books on the backs of a devastated community,” said Bass campaign spokesperson Doug Herman. “While some may choose to divide people and tear down the progress that’s being made, Mayor Bass will continue to work to unite people and focus on doing everything that she can to get everyone in the Palisades back in homes, business re-opened, and beloved community spaces up and running again so that the Palisades can once again thrive.
Pratt and his wife, reality television personality Heidi Montag, sued the city in January after their Palisades house burned down, arguing that the Santa Ynez reservoir should not have been offline and empty when the fire erupted.
As recently as Tuesday, Pratt posted on X saying he was “shocked that 7% of Angelenos have ‘a great deal of confidence’ in their city and state government.”
“Have they looked around?” he wrote.
In the past, Pratt has also hinted at a run for governor. On his website, he still advertises “Spencer for Governor” shirts for $20, at a more than a 50% discount.
Pratt became famous in the aughts for his role on “The Hills,” where he was known as Montag’s boyfriend-turned-husband. He has also appeared on “Celebrity Big Brother” and “The Hills: New Beginnings.”
Aided by aggressive offensive rebounding, Rolling Hills Prep led from start to finish to hand Arcadia only its second defeat of the season 50-37 in a semifinal game of the Classic at Damien Gold Division on Monday.
Rolling Hills Prep (13-2) appears to have found itself after back-to-back losses earlier this month to Los Alamitos and Loyola. The arrival of sit-out period transfer point guard Carter Fulton certainly has helped. He had 10 points on Monday. The Huskies opened a 25-8 lead midway through the second quarter. Arcadia dropped to 11-2.
Kawika Suter had a big game for the Huskies with 22 points and 16 rebounds. Nick Welch Jr. had 16 points and 11 rebounds. Rolling Hills Prep will play Folsom at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
Redondo Union 79, Crean Lutheran 55: SJ Madison had 23 points for Redondo Union, which will face Phoenix (Ariz.) Sunnyslope in Tuesday’s Plantium Division championship game. Redondo Union has a win this season over Sunnyslope. Sunnslope defeated Crespi 65-48 in the other semifinal.
St. Pius X-St. Matthias 68, Francis Parker 63: Dominic Gallardo scored 18 points and Dayvion Gates had 17 points for 9-4 PMA.
Inglewood 92, Austin (Tx.) St. Michael’s 80: Jason Crowe Jr. scored 54 points and passed the 4,000-points mark in win.
Brentwood 70, Dublin 64: The Eagles (16-1) made it to their divisional final at Damien. Auggie Sugarman had 16 points and Ethan Hill added 15 points and 14 rebounds. They will face Long Beach Millikan, a 68-62 winner over Hesperia in which Jeremiah Hunt had 26 points and freshman Quali Giran added 20 points.
San Gabriel Academy 60, Arizona Mesa 57: Mahamadou Diop had 21 points and nine rebounds for San Gabriel Academy.
Damien 57, Phoenix Sandra Day O’Connor 51: Eli Garner finished with 30 points for Damien.
La Mirada 62, Utah American Fork 46: Gene Roebuck scored 22 points and Jordyn Houston 17 for the Matadores.
Corona Centennial 64, Dallas Parish Episcopal 61: Jayden Yim had 17 points for the 15-3 Huskies.
Etiwanda 67, Loyola 64: Devin Mitchell contributed 18 points and nine rebounds for 16-1 Etiwanda in an overtime victory. Deuce Newt had 29 points for Loyola.
Layton Christian (Utah) 70, Eastvale Roosevelt 59: Jackson Higgins had 18 points for Roosevelt.
Richmond Salesian 61, St. John Bosco 58: Christian Collins led the Braves with 26 points and 11 rebounds. Gavin Dean-Moss had nine assists.
Cleveland 71, Redwood 62: Emmitt Claiborne had 20 points and Charlie Adams 19 for the Cavaliers, who will play in the Silver consolation championship game on Tuesday at San Dimas.
Eastside 82, West Ranch 60: Wydell James had 26 points for 12-2 Eastside at St. Francis.
St. Anthony 77, Washington Mercer Island 49: The Saints advanced to the championship game of the Tustin tournament. Jamil House had 19 points.
Mater Dei 88, Nevada Clark 74: Luke Barnett made seven threes and finished with 28 points.
Mayfair 52, Crossroads 48: Josiah Johnson had 15 points for 7-3 Mayfair.
St. Bernard 82, Democracy Prep 75: Chris Rupert scored 23 points, Gary Ferguson 18 and Jordan Ballard 16 for St. Bernard.
Summit 67, Viewpoint 48: Solomon Clanton Jr. had 18 points for Viewpoint.
St. Francis 74, Calabasas 59: The Golden Knights advanced to the championship game of their own tournament. Cherif Millogo had 25 points, 14 rebounds and seven blocks. Will Ellien added 23 points.
Harvard-Westlake 94, Nevada Democracy Prep 52: Pierce Thompson had 21 points for the 16-2 Wolverines.
Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 81, Hyattsville (Md.) DeMatha 62: NaVorro Bowman scored 20 points, Caleb Ogbu 17, Josiah Nance 15 and Zach White had 11 points and 10 rebounds.
San Pedro 67, Merced Stone Ridge Christian 40: AJ Bobich led the Pirates (11-3) with 14 points.
JSerra 63, Mission Bay 50: Jaden Bailes and Micah Cunningham each scored 14 points for JSerra.
Santa Margarita 80, Washington Puyallup 52: The Eagles improved to 16-2. Kaiden Bailey had 23 points and Brayden Kyman 22 points.
Girls basketball
Brentwood 46, Bothell (Wash.) 32: Logan Scott had 12 points and Mikaella Kawahito 11 for the Eagles in the semifinals of the WNBA Gold in San Diego.
Oak Park 57, La Jolla Country Day 53: Maya Deshautelle and Ava Rogerson each scored 14 points for Oak Park.
Ontario Christian 76, Houston Summer Creek 54: The Knights improved to 15-0. Dani Robinson had 22 points and Tatianna Griffin 18.
Bishop Montgomery 53, Alameda 39: Sophia Dignadice had 15 points for the Knights.
Windward 64, Bakersfield Christian 52: The Wildcats went 4-0 in Las Vegas. Charis Rainey had 27 points and 13 rebounds.
Sierra Canyon 77, Washington Bellevue 57: Cherri Hatter had 27 points for Sierra Canyon.
