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Centennial’s Vozzola helps squad reach final

Some high school basketball players view the summer tournament circuit as nothing more than a means to showcase their skills in front of college coaches.

And while he took full advantage of that opportunity, Centennial High School guard Ben Vozzola was out for a little more.

“I want to win,” Vozzola said. “I’m not here just to show them my game, like it’s no big deal. I want to win. I think coaches like that.”

Vozzola averaged 14.1 points in eight games at the Reebok Summer Championships, leading Branch West Prep (Calif.) to a 6-2 record and the A Division title game.

The team’s run came to an end with a 74-67 loss to Play Hard Play Smart (Calif.) in the final Sunday at Foothill.

The 6-foot-5-inch Vozzola, who will be a senior next season, hit five 3-pointers on his way to 17 points in the title game. He also scored 17 in a 77-55 semifinal win over NorCal Black Pharaohs (Calif.) earlier Sunday at Foothill.

“We just played well all tournament,” Vozzola said. “Some teams overlooked us, and we just battled back every game. We got a lot of good wins, we blew a lot of teams out.”

Vozzola has scholarship offers from the University of San Diego, Fresno State, Santa Clara, Arizona State, Washington State, Colorado State, Utah, UNR, Northern Arizona and Portland.

In the Gatorade/Baller Circuit title game, Palo Verde swingman Moses Morgan scored 21 points, but his I Can All Stars (Calif.) fell 79-74 to Worldwide Renegades (Ga.) at Foothill.

The 6-5 Morgan, a senior next season, averaged 19.8 points at the tournament, leading I Can All Stars to a 4-2 record. He scored in double figures every game, including a clip of 24.3 in his last three.

“Overall, I thought we played real hard,” said Morgan, who is considering offers from Indiana, Memphis, UNLV, Utah and Oklahoma. “Some games, we’ve just got to work on our defense and stop penetration, like what happened in this game today.”

Both players have quick turnarounds for their next showcases.

Vozzola is scheduled to play at the Double Pump Basketball Best of the Summer Tournament, which runs Monday through Friday at Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles.

Morgan is set to play in the Desert Duel Summer Prep Memorial in Gilbert, Ariz., Monday and Tuesday.

Both plan to sign in November.

In the Open Division final, Team Detroit defeated D-One Sports (N.C.) 56-48 at Foothill.

Trey Zeigler led Team Detroit with 16 points, and Ray McCallum and Dominique Ferguson chipped in 11 apiece.

Quincy Miller scored 16 for D-One Sports.

MAIN EVENT — Keith McDougald scored 21 points to lead Nike Team Florida to a 55-46 win over Bay Area Ballers Purple (Calif.) in the 17U Platinum Championship final of VisionSports’ The Main Event at Canyon Springs.

Spencer Britschgi scored 16 points for Bay Area Ballers Purple.

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