Fairfax one-day basketball tournament: Live updates

With frustration, disbelief and frequent anger, President Obama grieved the deaths in the mass shooting and demanded a change in the culture as he described gun violence as a uniquely American problem -- and lamented Americans' numbness to it.

"We are the only advanced country on Earth that sees these kinds of mass shootings every few months," Obama said from the White House briefing room, his voice rising in frustration. "Somehow this has become routine. The reporting is routine. My response here at this podium ends up being routine."

He called on federal and state elected officials to help him change laws, saying, "This is not something I can do by myself."

— Michael A. Memoli

Testing the system

With frustration, disbelief and frequent anger, President Obama grieved the deaths in the mass shooting and demanded a change in the culture as he described gun violence as a uniquely American problem -- and lamented Americans' numbness to it.

"We are the only advanced country on Earth that sees these kinds of mass shootings every few months," Obama said from the White House briefing room, his voice rising in frustration. "Somehow this has become routine. The reporting is routine. My response here at this podium ends up being routine."

He called on federal and state elected officials to help him change laws, saying, "This is not something I can do by myself."

— Michael A. Memoli

Ira Lee missed all of his sophomore season with a shoulder injury, but he showed Saturday night he's ready to return as an elite player for his junior season.

He had 24 points to help Sierra Canyon defeat Santa Monica, 91-60, in the final game of the one-day Fairfax tournament.

Sierra Canyon played without Cody Riley, who was resting a back injury.

—Eric Sondheimer

In a sneak peek of what could be happening for several months this winter, the Ball brothers and Chino Hills went at nonstop speed and came away with a 121-97 victory over Redondo in the featured game of the Fairfax tournament.

Lonzo Ball scored 35 points, freshman brother LaMelo had 29 points and LiAngelo had 18.

Leland Green led Redondo with 27 points. Every time Redondo cut its deficit under double digits, one of the Ball brothers would inevitably hit a three.

"It's not conventional but you have to respect it," Redondo Coach Reggie Morris said of Chino Hills' fast pace.

There's little doubt that the UCLA-bound Lonzo Ball is the trigger man.

"They have the best player in the state," Morris said.

—Eric Sondheimer

There's a lot of new faces for Loyola, but the Cubs are still pretty solid as demonstrated by a 59-48 win over La Canada in the Fairfax tournament.

Khristion Courseault scored 14 points, Josh Lavergne had 11 points and Harvard-bound Henry Welsh added 10.

Sean Estes led La Canada with 16 points.

—Eric Sondheimer

Will Picketts, one of the top baseball players at Alemany, didn't play basketball last season. Well, he's back and came through in a big way.

Picketts made a three-pointer with 12 seconds left in overtime to give the Warriors a 60-59 win over Windward in the Fairfax tournament.

It was an impressive win considering the Warriors were without point guard Shacquille Dawkins, who was out of town. Earnie Sears scored 18 points, D.J. McDonald had 14 and Brandon Davis had 14 points.

Windward received big game from Shareef O'Neal, a much-improved 6-8 sophomore. He scored 23 points. Jalen Harris added 18 points.

—Eric Sondheimer

Shaquille O'Neal is sitting courtside at Fairfax High watching his 6-8 son, Shareef, play for Windward against Alemany.

He started clapping pretty vigorously after Shareef made a jump shot. Shareef has 13 points at halftime. Windward has a 25-24 lead.

Also courtside is former USC Coach George Raveling.

—Eric Sondheimer

If you think Fairfax Coach Harvey Kitani is excited about the future, you'd know why after seeing how well freshmen guards Ethan Anderson and Robert McRae and sophomore Jamal Hartwell performed in the fourth quarter on Saturday.

They came through with clutch points to help the Lions rally for a 60-55 win over a veteran Crespi team.

"Those three are going to be polished players," Kitani said.

Senior Babacar Thiombane led Fairfax with 21 points. Isaiah Bowers had 11 and Hartwell 10. But it was Anderson's nine points in the second half that sparked the Lions, and McRae added a big basket in the fourth.

Brandon Williams led Crespi with 19 points and De'Anthony Melton had 14. The Celts led, 28-17, in the second quarter. Then Fairfax went on a 14-1 surge.

—Eric Sondheimer

Maranatha was putting up the good fight but Long Beach Poly took charge in the second half after a six-point halftime lead and came away with a 70-52 victory.

Hawaii-bound Drew Buggs led a balanced attack with 11 points.

The Jackrabbits have size and depth. Their only question is developing shooting from long range.

Sean Romero scored 20 points and 6-10 Trevor Stanback had 13 for Maranatha. Stanback said afterward he's about a week away from announcing his college choice, with Stanford, Colorado and San Diego State his three finalists.

—Eric Sondheimer

Maranatha, with 6-foot-10 Trevor Stanback in the middle, has been scrappy and trails Long Beach Poly, 36-30, at halftime.

Sean Romero has three threes for Maranatha.

John Duff, a 6-9 transfer from Venice, has two threes for Poly.

—Eric Sondheimer

The trip from Santa Ana was a pleasant one for Mater Dei. The Monarchs cruised to a 78-34 win over Brentwood.

Justice Sueing, a 6-7 transfer from Hawaii, had 15 points.

Miles Brookins, a 6-8 junior, added 10 points. He wears size 18 shoes and has grown two inches in the off season.

Coach Gary McKnight can't make a trip to L.A. without a stop at Canters Deli.

Brentwood was missing several players.

—Eric Sondheimer

Fairfax All-City guard Donald Gipson, who had surgery for a partial ACL tear suffered during last season's state playoffs, is close to receiving full clearance to return to action.

He's running, riding a bike and practicing his shooting. He said he has a doctor's appointment early next month to finalize things.

"I'm just getting back into the rhythm," he said.

He's supposed to suit up for pregame warmups for Fairfax when it plays Crespi later Saturday.

Coach Harvey Kitani thinks Gipson, a Loyola Marymount commit, will be the best player in the City Section.

—Eric Sondheimer

Got my first look at 6-foot-7 junior transfer Justice Sueing from Hawaii playing for Mater Dei.

Let's just say he'll be an impact player for the Monarchs.

He can shoot and rebound and should fit in nicely with MJ Cage & Co.

—Eric Sondheimer

Spencer Freedman, the talented sophomore point guard at Santa Ana Mater Dei with a scholarship offer from USC, has quickly adjusted to his new school after playing last season at Santa Monica. Well, at least on the court. Off the court, he’s getting challenged in his sophomore year.

“It’s defintely different,” he said of going from public to private school. “I went to private school my whole life until Santa Monica and kind of forgot what it was like.”

Basketball wise, he’s dealing with the occasional outbursts from Coach Gary McKnight.

“It’s only to make me better,” he said.

—Eric Sondheimer

Giovonni Jackson, a 6-foot senior guard at Torrance, is ready to be one of the top players in the South Bay.

He scored 20 points to help Torrance knock off El Segundo, 71-52, in an opening game of the Fairfax one-day tournament.

Saleia Ahloo and Jamal Howard each had 15 points for El Segundo.

—Eric Sondheimer