If history holds true, the Compton Tarbabes’ biggest foe in this morning’s CIF Division 2 championship game might be the weird starting time—these early morning (10:45am) games at the Honda Center can produce some strange results, as is perhaps likely to happen any time you have a group of thirty teenagers who’ve all woken up groggily to an alarm clock to travel, warm up, and get ready for the first game of a full slate.

Standing in their way is the Murrieta Valley Nighthawks, who are 26-4 and the no. 4 seed in the Div 2 bracket.  The game will be a clash of styles and rosters, as the Hawks are a straight-laced, fundamentally sound team without much athleticism or height.  The Tarbabes, on the other hand, are one of the most entertaining, high-flying teams in the Southland—there’s no question they’ll be able to score, with the trio of Anthony January, Cliff Sims, and Allan Guei.  The question is, can they play defense for 32 minutes the way they did in the semis against Burbank, when they held them to just 48 points?

The two major threats Compton will have to contend with are Justin Gudger (#31), averaging 16.8 points a game, and Austin Quick, averaging 14.1.  True to form, neither player is very big (although at 6-3, Gudger is a rangy guard), but both are quick, and natural scorers.  If Compton locks them down, and can score in transition and use their height to their advantage…well, it should be a fun Saturday morning for the Tarbabes.

We’ll be posting live updates from the game, so check back here if you can’t make it out!