First Things First: Campbell Hall Wins Basketball Opener

If Austin McBroom scores 21 points and no one notices, did he really score them?

"I guess you can say that," he said.

McBroom really did score 21 points with nine assists Monday, as host Campbell Hall defeated Hoover of Glendale 78-36 in a boys basketball season opener at the Campbell Hall tournament.

McBroom drew some early attention before the tip, when after being announced as a starter, he was replaced by Jared Harper because he didn't have the right uniform underneath his warmups.

Cole Huff scored 15 points with 12 rebounds, Zack Klein scored 14 points, and K.J. Smith added 13 points.

Campbell Hall has just one tall player in Huff, who is 6-foot-7, so they don't look particularly threatening. This causes them to run first, shoot second and ask questions later.

Questions such as: Can they keep this up? Will they improve their rebounding? How cohesive is this unit?

Answers: They had better, they had better, and more than last season.

The up-tempo offense will be critical to their success, especially strong opponents like Calabasas and University in the Campbell Hall tournament, along Windward, Montclair Prep, Sierra Canyon and Brentwood in the Alpha League.

"It was a good first half," Huff said. "We came out with the intensity that we need to beat this team by 100."

Indeed, the Vikings led 26-6 after one period and 57-23 after one half.

Rebounding could be an issue. Huff said he wants to average 20 points and 10 rebounds.

"I didn't succeed," he said.

Still, coach Steve Wachs told his players afterward that he felt like they played more together than last season.

"Last year, they wanted to be a family and didn't know how," Wachs saod. "(On Monday) I felt like we were a true team. Each player was not concerned with their stats and as a result, they put up great stats."

Hoover                                    6          16        10        4 --       36

Campbell Hall             26        31        15        6 --       78

Hoover (36): Abelian 9, Esagholian 2, Mirzakhanyan 0, Shakaryan 6, Bernardo 0, Ziraki 13, Elmoyan 2, Francisco 2, Hall 2.

Campbell Hall (78): Klein 14, Huff 15 and 12 rebounds, Smith 13, Clark 8, McBroom 21 and 9 assists,  Harper 2,

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