FAB 50 No. 26 Timpview (Provo, Utah) advances to the Platinum Division title sport of the 2025 Tarkanian Traditional with a hard-fought 61-59 victory over No. 29 Santa Margarita (Rancho S.M., Calif.) behind the play of BYU-bound Dean Rueckert. The Tigers will meet Redondo Union (Redondo Seashore, Calif.) in Tuesday’s 4:30 pm (PT) title sport after that FAB 50 bubble membership downed Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.), 78-68. Within the Nike Division, La Mirada (Calif.) will battle Lone Peak (Highland, Utah).
2025 @TarkClassic Pictures: 2026 SJ Madison (Redondo Union/Redondo Seashore CA) & 2027 NaVorro Bowman (Notre Dame/Sherman Oaks CA) in @Crocs Division Semi-Finals at @orleansarena immediately pic.twitter.com/8ovHe2ANhA
— Dinos Trigonis (@trigonis30) December 23, 2025
The group at Santa Margarita in South Orange County, Calif. had two shut calls in its first two video games on the 2025 Tarkanian Traditional and got here out on the successful finish. The Eagles, ranked No. 29 within the newest FAB 50 Nationwide Rankings, took on the very best ranked group within the Platinum Division area in No. 26 Timpview (Provo, Utah) and as soon as once more was in a nail-biting affair. In opposition to a group as proficient as Timpview, Santa Margarita merely couldn’t maintain off the unbeaten membership after holding a late lead and fell, 61-59, on Monday afternoon on the Orleans Enviornment in Las Vegas.
Santa Margarita (13-2) had a 10-point lead early and led 42-34 with 10 minutes remaining within the contest after a standard 3-point play by Washington St.-bound ahead Brayden Kyman. Within the second half, it felt as the sport would come all the way down to the wire and Timpview ultimately reduce into its deficit. With 4:40 remaining, Timpview (11-0) lastly caught the Eagles on a lay-up by BYU-bound large man Will Openshaw that made the rating 53-52. From there, the sport went backwards and forwards till unbeaten Timpview lastly took management on a lay-up by senior guard Mason Ford with 29 seconds remaining to provide the Tigers a 61-56 lead.
With 19 seconds remaining, Santa Margarita guard Kaiden Bailey (21 factors) made two free throws to chop his group’s deficit again to 3. With Timpview main 61-58, Ford missed two free throws and the Tigers selected to foul up three. Bailey made the primary, however on the second Santa Margarita bought a rebound and had a degree clean shot, nevertheless it was blocked by Openshaw and within the scrum, BYU-bound Dean Rueckert got here up with the rebound. Extremely, he missed each free throws after he was fouled, however Bailey’s half court docket heave within the closing seconds was off as Timpview superior.
Missed free throws (5-of-11) have been about the one factor Rueckert didn’t do effectively, because the bouncy ahead with a candy taking pictures stroke helped his group get again within the sport and has been spectacular in three victories. He went for 27 factors, together with 4 3-pointers, 10 rebounds and 6 blocked pictures. By three video games, Rueckert is averaging 26.3 ppg. Ford added 13 factors and 7 rebounds.
Timpview went 3-1 in final 12 months’s event after dropping a quarterfinal contest to eventual runner-up Notre Dame and can look to turn into the primary group from Utah to win the occasion’s most prestigious division.
Notre Dame (Sherman Oaks, Calif.) was denied a second consecutive journey to the Platinum Division closing when it fell to Redondo Union (Redondo Seashore, Calif.), 78-68, within the earlier semifinal contest. Redondo Union is one other group much like Timpview desperate to get to the winner’s circle after dropping in final 12 months’s semifinals to eventual champion Roosevelt (Eastvale, Calif.). Redondo Union can be keen to point out its a FAB 50 ranked caliber membership after breaking into the rankings within the first common season replace, solely to fall out within the newest version.
Redondo Union (10-2) jumped out to a 7-0 lead and ultimately bought up, 25-12, on a 3-pointer by senior Devin Wright (16 factors) and by no means trialed within the sport. The large distinction within the contest was Redondo Union’s physicality and energy on the boards. The Sea Hawks out-rebounded Notre Dame, 40-26, and had an unbelievable 17 offensive rebounds to Notre Dame’s 5. Main the cost on the boards was Nevada-bound guard S.J. Madison and junior energy ahead Chris Sanders. The ability duo mixed for 10 offensive rebounds, as Madison completed with 24 factors and 10 rebounds, whereas Sanders had 16 and 9 rebounds, together with six of the offensive finish.
Notre Dame (8-3) gave a valiant effort and it appeared because the Blue Knights trialed by six factors for a majority of the second half, however have been by no means capable of recover from the hump due to the foul bother that saddled San Diego St.-bound Zach White, the group’s greatest rebounder and most bodily defender. He performed 22 minutes and completed with 12 factors. The group’s chief and most dynamic expertise, junior level guard NaVorro Bowman Jr., had 22 factors in defeat, most of the spectacular selection across the rim.
Nike Division: Lone Peak, La Mirada Advance
It was a case of an excessive amount of Gene Roebuck within the Nike Division (second highest classification) seminal matchup between La Mirada and San Gabriel Academy, two of the higher groups from Southern California on this 12 months’s Tarkanian Traditional area. The highly-regarded junior wing with a penchant for scoring in a wide range of methods simply continued to punish SGA’s defensive entrance at any time when that membership tried to mount a comeback in La Mirada’s eventual 66-53 victory.
Roebuck hit a 3-pointer to make it 51-40 with 8:36 remaining and bought to the charity stripe loads of occasions all through the sport. Roebuck completed with 29 factors of 8-of-12 taking pictures and made 11-of-16 free throws for La Mirada (6-4). The Mats bought up as a lot as 14 factors within the second half and San Gabriel Academy solely led as soon as by two factors early within the contest.
Extremely-regarded junior ahead Mahamadou Diop led San Gabriel Academy (4-5) with 14 factors and eight rebounds.
La Mirada will look to defeat its second membership from Utah within the Nike winner’s bracket after downing Layton (Utah) within the quarterfinals, 74-67. Utah groups will look to seize titles within the prime two divisions of the occasion after Lone Peak defeated Desert Pines (Las Vegas, Nev.) within the different semifinal contest below hard-to-believe circumstances, 79-76, in double extra time.
Desert Pines (8-1) gave away its unbeaten season twice by fouling when it ought to haven’t and permitting an offensive rebound put again area purpose to tie the sport with below .5 seconds on every event. The primary time occurred on the finish of regulation and the second on the finish of the primary extra time.
Desert Pines led 63-61 with .4 seconds remaining when Lone Peak’s Saxton Younger was fouled in a state of affairs the place he wasn’t in place to get off an excellent area purpose try. He missed the primary and purposely missed the second, however teammate Camden Broadhead was capable of make a financial institution shot in entrance of the rim as Lone Peak scored on the buzzer. In extra time, the circumstances have been much more unbelievable. Skyler Andreoli was fouled on a 3-pointer together with his group trialing 70-67. He made one free throw and on the third one with .3 seconds remaining, the miss was tipped waist excessive falling down by Jayden Hughes (16 factors) because the Orleans Crowd couldn’t imagine the circumstances through which the sport continued.
Lone Peak (7-5) proceeded to attain the primary six factors of the second extra time to drag out the unbelievable victory and arrange the 1:30 pm (PT) date with La Mirada on Tuesday afternoon at Bishop Gorman Excessive Faculty.
The Platinum Division contest will happen at 4:30 pm (PT).
Gifted junior Crew Fotheringham led Lone Peak with 21 factors. Desert Pines was led by sophomore wing Aaron McMorran II with 30 factors and 11 rebounds.
Ronnie Flores is the nationwide Grassroots editor of Ballislife.com. He could be reached at [email protected]. Don’t overlook to observe him on Twitter: @RonMFlores
