By Rick Assad
It was sizzling inside the Fritz B. Burns Student Activity Center on the campus of Providence High on Friday night, offsetting the cool and chilly weather outside.
On a night when the Pioneers clinched their third straight Prep League boys’ basketball title, they shot an impressive 52.6 percent after making 20 of 38 in the opening half and led 50-22 and finished with a 76-29 drubbing of Pasadena Poly.
Four players scored in double figures for the Pioneers (17-10 and 7-1 in league) and they included sophomore wing Riley Murphy with a game-high 21 points.
Toss in senior wing/shooting guard Julian Tompkins who chimed in with 17 points, sophomore point guard Solomon Huang who added 13 points and senior wing/shooting guard Jalen Thomas who tossed in 12 points, and Providence was in business.
Playing up-tempo, fluid and with energy, Providence, which made 31 of 64 for 48.4 percent from the floor, outscored the Panthers (17-9 and 4-4 in league) 28-5 in the first quarter after making 11 of 20 for 55 percent.
Anthony Cosby, the Providence coach, was duly impressed by what his team executed on the floor.
“I saw defensive toughness, intelligence as well as competitive stamina,” he said. “I enjoyed the way we shared the basketball and committed very few turnovers.”
Six of the nine three-pointers were tallied in the opening quarter as Thompkins made two and scored 10 points in the frame.
When Thompkins scored a three-pointer with 3:02 left, the Pioneers led 11-3 and after a Tompkins hoop and 1:40 on the clock, the advantage became 18-3.
Murphy added two treys and had eight points, Huang nailed one three-pointer and tallied seven points, and Thomas tossed in a three-point shot during the opening frame.
The second quarter was even better for Murphy who dropped 11 points that included a three-pointer as the cushion swelled to 35-5 with 6:42 remaining before halftime.
Thompkins worked his way to five points in the second quarter as the team made nine of 18 for 50 percent from the field.
Pasadena Poly senior point guard Justin Wang accounted for his team-high 11 points in the first half as he splashed in three from three-point range.
The Panthers converted 12 of 48 for 25 percent during the contest.
After making two of nine for 22.2 percent in the initial period, the Panthers hit seven of 17 for 41.1 percent in the next eight-minute period and shot 34.6 percent on nine of 26.
Thomas found his groove in the third period after tallying seven points that included a three-pointer and Huang scored four points as Providence’s lead became 70-24 heading to the fourth period.
Providence senior point/shooting guard Alex Kizirian added a three-pointer for his only hoop in the third quarter.
With the starters on the bench for the fourth quarter, senior shooting guard Constantine Tablada, sophomore wing Griffin Berschneider and freshman point guard/wing Madden Velasco all scored two points for the Pioneers.
