Freshmen make impact on opening day of Classic at Damien

When a high school basketball coach uses the term “old school” to describe a player, that’s as good a compliment as you could want. Anaheim Canyon‘s Nathan Harrison offered that kind of praise for 14-year-old freshman Brandon Benjamin, a 6-foot-3 center who finds ways to score by using his body and instincts to frustrate taller defenders in the key.

“He’s a stud, man,” Harrison said. “He’s going to be real good. He can get buckets.”

Benjamin scored 20 points Monday in Canyon’s 64-42 win over Moreno Valley Rancho Verde in an opening game of the Classic at Damien. He’s averaging 16 points and has helped lead Canyon to a 12-2 start. Harrison keeps calling Benjamin “old school” because he’s not flashy but finds ways to score and contribute. He had two threes Monday.

Another freshman making an impact was 6-5 Jovani Ruff of Long Beach Poly. He scored 15 points in the Jackrabbits’ 70-67 win over Capistrano Valley Christian in the Gold Division. The return of senior point guard Christian Watson also was key in Poly’s win.

Riverside Poly freshman Brayden Burries was burying threes in a 78-77 win over Santa Clarita West Ranch. He finished with 26 points. Andrew Meadow led West Ranch with 33 points.

More teams pulled out of tournaments throughout the Southland on Monday because of health and safety protocols, including North Hills Heritage Christian and Norco and girls’ teams from Santa Ana Mater Dei and Rancho Cucamonga Etiwanda. Tournament organizers will be scrambling to be creative on matchups or find last-minute replacements.

Rolling Hills Prep 51, Eastvale Roosevelt 36: Benny Gealer had 14 points and Seydi Thiombane added 13 points and 10 rebounds as Rolling Hills Prep improved to 11-0 with a win in the Gold Division at Damien.

Idaho Owyhee 66, Playa del Rey St. Bernard 54: Former Studio City Harvard-Westlake guard Liam Campbell scored 32 points for Owyhee.

Irvine Crean Lutheran 65, Oak Park 50: Crean Lutheran improved to 8-0. Isaiah Sherrard led Oak Park with 26 points.

Bellflower St. John Bosco 75, Murrieta Valley 52: Christian Estrada scored 20 points and sophomore Jack Turner added 14 points in his debut.

American Fork 70, Sherman Oaks 57: Dusty Stromer had 27 points for the Knights.

Redondo Union 61, Santa Fe Springs St. Paul 56: David Solimando scored 17 points and Cole Stokes had 16 for Redondo.

Sun Valley Village Christian 66, Harbor City Narbonne 58: Deshaun Warren had 18 points and Noah Williams scored 14 points for Village Christian.

Mater Dei 68, Lakewood Mayfair 42: Kaden Minter scored 15 points, Jack McCloskey contributed 14 points and Tee Bartlett had 12 points and 12 rebounds for Mater Dei.

Mission Hills Bishop Alemany 78, Palisades 74: Mikah Ballew finished with 33 points for the Warriors (8-4).

Newbury Park 74, Santa Maria Righetti 42: Cooper Lucas scored 20 points for the Panthers.

Crescenta Valley 61, Granada Hills Kennedy 55: David Alfaro scored 16 points for Kennedy.

Las Flores Tesoro 57, Tustin 41: Carson Brown led Tesoro with 31 points.

Westlake Village Westlake 61, Camarillo 51: The Warriors are 11-2. Austin Maziasz scored 18 points.

Van Nuys Grant 62, West Covina 59: Isaiah Taylor had 18 points for Grant.

Placentia El Dorado 69, Riverside Norte Vista 45: Hudson Novak had 21 points for 13-2 El Dorado.

Burbank Providence 58, Compton Dominguez 50: Max Hudnall scored 16 points for Providence.

Girls’ basketball

Granada Hills 47, Rolling Hills Prep 43: Marianne Boco led the Highlanders with 16 points.

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame 51, Covina Northview 41: The Knights improved to 14-0.

Boys’ soccer

Moorpark 2, Santa Clarita Hart 0: Moorpark stayed unbeaten in the Hart tournament.