Inglewood HS to host Paul Pierce Winter Classic

Some of the top players in the country - boys and girls - will be center stage this weekend for the Paul Pierce Winter Classic. Inglewood High School will host 13 games - six girls and seven boys - over two days.   The action tips off with the girls at noon Friday with host Inglewood taking on El Camino Real. The No. 1 team in the country, Mater Dei, will be playing on Friday as well. The undefeated Monarchs will be taking on Albany Saint Mary’s led by the Cal commits Mikayla Cowling and Gabby Green. This will be the second meeting between the two programs this season. They met earlier this year in Arizona at the Nike Tournament of Champions. After being tied at halftime, the Monarchs outscored Saint Mary's by nine points in the third quarter and were able to pull away in the second half for a 66-53 win. On the boys side, one of the nightcaps on Saturday night will be Long Beach Poly taking on Bishop Montgomery. Both teams are coming off of losses. The Knights suffered their first loss of the season - a 63-56 defeat to Redondo in the finals of the Sea Hawk Classic earlier this week. The Jackrabbits, meanwhile, will enter as losers of two in a row, dropping their final two games in the MaxPreps Holiday Classic to Washington Jackson and Westchester, respectively. It will be the final non-league tilt before the four-time defending Moore League champion Jackrabbits open league play next week. The Jackrabbits are immersed in one of the more bizarre seasons in recent memory. Shelton Diggs is the interim head coach while Sharrief Metoyer serves a one-year suspension. Kameron Chatman, who was supposed to be a huge part to the 2013-14 season, transferred back home to Oregon last summer, leaving the expectations for this Poly squad considerably less. Senior Kameron Murrell leads a group of four players that average double figures for Long Beach Poly.