No. 5 Victory Christian Academy defeats No. 4 Mission Bay in Holiday Classic Tip-Off Night

Six of the top 10 teams in San Diego faced off in Tuesday’s Torrey Pines Holiday Classic Tip-Off Night.

Fifth-ranked Victory Christian Academy jumped out to an early 19-6 lead before holding on for a 68-61 victory over No. 4 Mission Bay.

“It feels good,” Victory Christian coach Will Gray said. “It’s an honor and a privilege to be part of this illustrious event. We’re happy to be part of this event as one of the top teams in San Diego.”

Victory Christian (7-3) held a 21-point halftime lead and led by 23 midway through the third quarter. However, the Buccaneers (9-3) were not going to go down easily.

Mission Bay cut the lead down to 11 on a 3-pointer from Lucky Davis with 5:32 left in the fourth and got the deficit inside of 10 points with less than two minutes remaining.

“I told the team at halftime, ‘(Mission Bay) is a great team,’” Gray said. “‘'(Buccaneers coach Marshawn Cherry) is in there lighting a fire with his team, and they’re going to come out and play. So don’t think this game is over by any stretch.’”

The Knights responded with Isaiah Owens securing a 3-point play by making a layup and the free throw to reclaim the double-digit lead.

“It showed me that our guys can take the punch and still retaliate,” Gray said. “I learn more about our team facing adversity.”

Victory Christian was led by Owens’ game-high 20 points and Sammell Humphries’ 17. Jayden Gray added 13 points as the Knights had four scorers in double figures.

“The thing we have with our team is we can hit a wave,” Will Gray said. “Jayden got it started, (Humphries) will come through and do his thing. Isaiah is always the guy that sneaks up with the most points. You don’t see a 20-piece from Isaiah, but he always ends up with the rebounding and the steals to get him to 20 points.”

Jayden Gray scored 11 of his 13 points in the opening quarter to help Victory Christian take an early 13-point lead.

“I’ve got to thank my teammates for keeping me in the game,” the 6-foot senior guard said. “They then carried me through the rest of the game.”

Victory Christian’s full-court press defense fueled the team in the opening 16 minutes.

“It’s good to show people that we do not only play offense,” said Jayden Gray, who averages 14.8 points and 2.1 steals per game. “(Coach Gray) focuses on defense more than offense. Not every coach does that, and we all lock in on defense.”

The Buccaneers were led by Jocori Bartlett’s 13 points. Travis Hasley and Romeo Flores both added 11 points.

Mission Bay will face Concord De La Salle in Thursday’s first round of the National Division at 5:25 p.m. at Torrey Pines High School. Victory Christian plays Riverside Norte Vista in their first round game in the American Division at 12:40 p.m. at St. Augustine High School.

Olympian holds off Carlsbad

In the Holiday Classic Tip-Off opener, Olympian’s Matthew Huertas scored 27 points on nine 3-pointers to lift the Eagles to an 82-77 victory over Carlsbad. Jordan Walker added 23 points for the Eagles (8-3).

Carlsbad (5-7) was third among teams receiving votes outside the top 10 in the latest U-T poll, released Tuesday. Trent Mehl led the team with 22 points. Dylan Sims added 17 points for the Lancers, who will host Somerset Academy Losee Campus of Nevada in the first round of the Senator’s Division on Thursday at 5:25 pm.

Olympian will face Seattle’s Franklin High School in Friday’s opener at St. Augustine High School. That game tips off at 11:05 a.m.