The Championship game of the Raven Tipoff Classic in San Diego, CA featured the University City Centurions versus the Newport Harbor Sailors in an exciting rematch from earlier in the tournament. During the previous meeting the Centurions won in overtime on a fade away buzzer beater by Jordan Johnson that brought the crowd to their feet.
Early championship game action showed that both teams are still in early season form and looking to work out some kinks before the start of league play. There were many turnovers and passes that sailed out of bounds in the first two quarters of play. Though much of the scoring went back and forth, the Centurions led 24-21 over the Sailors at halftime.
Newport Harbor head coach, Larry Hirst, must have said something inspirational to his team during halftime because the Sailors came out firing on all cylinders, going on a 7-2 run to start the half and forcing the Centurions to take a quick timeout. A few minutes into the quarter Jordan Johnson drove down the middle for a layup, but went down hard on his back and was called for a charge. The star from the previous meeting was taken out of the game to be looked at by a medical trainer for the majority of the third quarter.
At the end of the third quarter, when the game clock was practically dead even with the shot clock, the Sailors made a costly turnover. With seven ticks left on the clock, the Centurions managed to get the ball to Alex Catton who nailed a 3 point shot that put them within four.
Newport Harbor played the fourth quarter with a ridiculous amount of energy on both sides of the ball. Taking the lead after halftime gave the Sailors momentum and they never looked back, resulting in a 68-55 victory over the Centurions. Chad Seeber had a number of steals and good defensive stops to give the Sailors extra possessions. Chris Anderson was a force offensively, scoring in double digits for the final quarter and lead all scorers with 19 points.
Notable Performances:
University City: Cerone Ramcharan 17pts, Joe Gordon 10pts
Newport Harbor: Chris Anderson 19pts, Ethan Ayers 15pts, Chad Seeber 13pts
