Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2008 | 7:37 p.m.
Findlay College Prep won the championship game of the Rock Holiday Classic on Tuesday night with an 84-64 victory over New York (N.Y.) Rice.
Victor Rudd, the 6-foot-7 versatile forward whose top three colleges are UNLV, Gonzaga and Arizona, had 16 points for the Pilots and was named tournament MVP.
Avery Bradley, the Texas-bound guard, also tallied 16 for Findlay, which improved to 12-0.
Durand Scott, Rice’s 6-5 forward who will play at Miami next season, was held to 10 points.
“Our guys made defending him a priority,” said Findlay coach Mike Peck. “We have three or four players who are comfortable guarding him. Our guys take that as a challenge, that they’ll make a statement.”
Findlay scored 15 of the game’s first 17 points, forcing Rice coach Maurice Hicks to call a timeout.
Rice (3-1) trailed by six in the second quarter and missed a layup that would have sliced its deficit to four. The Pilots led by 15 heading into the fourth quarter.
Findlay guard D.J. Richardson, who will play at Illinois next season, added 15, and point guard Cory Joseph and center Carlos Lopez had 13 apiece at the Henderson International School, with which the Pilots are affiliated.
The Pilots, ranked second in USA Today’s national Super 25 poll, leave Thursday for Lexington, Ky., where they play Richmond (Ind.) New Creations on Friday and Durham (N.C.) Mount Zion on Saturday.
Findlay belted New Creations, 113-78, last month inside the Henderson gym.
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