EL CERRITO — Sophomore Ivan Rabb scored a game-high 22 points, and the Bishop O’Dowd High boys basketball team rallied from a 11-point halftime deficit and beat Pacific Hills-West Hollywood 57-53 in the first game of the Drew Gooden Invitational Showcase at El Cerrito High on Saturday.
After giving up 40 first-half points, the Dragons held the Bruins to 2-of-16 shooting in the second half and forced seven turnovers.
“The second half we went to a gimmick defense and played man (defense) on their three best players and denied them the ball and didn’t give them a shot,” O’Dowd coach Lou Richie said about the second-half adjustments. “We wanted to make their other players make plays.”
The 6-foot-8 Rabb, who is listed as the No. 2 recruit in the country for the class of 2015 by ESPN, scored 18 of his 22 points in the first half for the Dragons. He also had 16 rebounds and 11 blocks.
The Dragons (3-0) opened the second half on a 15-5 run keyed by Russell Davis, who scored six of his seven points during the spurt. Defensively, Dominic Gomes, Paris Austin, Juwan Anderson and Michael Perri helped limit Pacific Hills’ three leading scorers to a combined seven points in the second half.
Jahmel Taylor, the Bruins’ leading scorer at 25 points per game, was held scoreless in the second half and finished with 17 points. He fouled out with 2:30 to play.
Taylor keyed a 15-4 second-quarter run with two 3-pointers to help Pacific Hills (6-2) take a 31-22 lead with 3:22 before halftime. The Bruins lead 40-29 at intermission.
Jack Kalmbach tied the game at 47 with a 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter, and Gomes scored 20 seconds later to give O’Dowd a 49-47 lead, its first since early in the second quarter.
Perri had eight points for O’Dowd, and Anderson and Gomes finished with six points each.
Drew Gooden Invitational Showcase Bishop O’Dowd 57, Pacific Hills-West Hollywood 53
Pacific Hills (6-2)
Mills 2 -2 8, Plax 1 1-2 3, Taylor 4 6-6 17, Casanova 1 1-2 4, Wright 2 7-8 12, Jackson 2 3-3 8, Ferguson 0 1-2 1. Totals 12 21-25 53.
Bishop O’Dowd (3-0)
Perri 4 0-0 8, Austin 2 0-1 5, Anderson 3 0-0 6, Gomes 3 0-0 6, Kalmbach 1 0-0 3, Rabb 10 2-3 22, Davis 3 1-2 7. Totals 26 3-6 57.
PH 11 29 7 6– 53
BOD 12 17 15 13– 57
3-point goals: Taylor 3, Mills 2, Casanova, Wright, Jackson; Austin, Kalmbach. Fouled out: Taylor.
