The Norcross boys basketball team, playing without standout guard London Johnson, lost to Auburn (Wash.) 58-41 in the semifinals of the State Champions Invitational Thursday night at Berkeley Preparatory School in Tampa.
Norcross, which won the Georgia Class 7A title, finished the season 26-7. Auburn (28-2) will play Calvary Christian (25-2) of Fort Lauderdale in the championship game at noon Saturday on ESPN2. Calvary advanced with a 59-37 victory over Sidwell Friends (D.C.)
Johnson, a first-team all-state selection by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, was not available because he was participating in the Nike Hoop Summit in Portland. The 6-foot-4 junior is a four-star recruit with a reported 18 offers from Division I schools. He is No. 3 in Georgia and No. 25 nationally among juniors in the 247Sports Composite rankings.
Kaden Hansen’s 3-pointer 20 seconds into the game ignited a 12-4 game-opening run by Auburn, and Norcross was never able to overcome the deficit. The Blue Devils trailed 17-9 at the end of the first quarter but was still within eight points heading into the fourth before being outscored 17-8 in the final eight minutes.
Auburn turned the ball over just three times and scored 19 points off 18 Norcross turnovers. Norcross outrebounded the Trojans 45-32 but shot just 28.9 from the field and was 3-for-17 on 3-pointers.
Hansen was 5-for-10 on 3-pointers and led all scorers with 17 points. Auburn’s Dae’Kwon Watson scored 13 points, and Trevon Blassingame had 10 points, 11 rebounds and six steals.
Mier Panoam led Norcross with 16 points, and Jerry Deng had 11 points and a game-high 15 rebounds.
The State Champions Invitational, in its first season, brings together four boys teams and four girls teams that are National Federation of State High School Associations members and won sanctioned championships in their states. Four girls teams, including Georgia Class 5A champion Woodward Academy, will play their semifinals on Friday. Woodward Academy will face Lake Highland Prep (Fla.) at 2 p.m. on ESPNU.
Auburn - 17-11-13-17 - 58
Norcross - 9-11-13-8 - 41
Auburn (58)
Trevon Blassingame 10, Maleek Arlington 8, Kaden Hansen 17, Dae’Kwon Watson 13, Luvens Valcin 3, Tyrell Nichols 4, Devon Anderson 3, Semaj Brown, Easton Rutledge, Aiden Rudloff, Ben Williams, LaTaibreon Chandler
Norcross (41)
Michael Zhang 5, Mier Panoam 16, Samarion Bond 2, Jerry Deng 11, Khadar Musa 2, Andre Thompson 2, AJ Watkins 3, Hezekiah Flagg, Antonio Molder, Mikaili Sabb, Jonathan Crayton
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