A split showing for MODE Prep at the Tark

Playing in a six-team Prep Gold bracket at the Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas, the MODE Prep boys basketball team of Liberty Lake went 2-2. 

MODE Prep lost 60-57 to V3 Toronto, then fall to South Central Prep of Oklahoma 77-44, before rebounding with a 69-57 win over Skyline Prep of Arizona, and a 61-56 triumph over PHH Prep of Arizona. 

“We really should have been 3-1,” said MODE Prep coach Jon Adams, the former Coeur d’Alene High boys basketball coach. “We gave that first game away; we didn’t have a lot of energy.” 

Rayan Elghaly, a 6-6 senior wing from Bloomfield, N.J., who joined the team in early November, averaged 15 points in four games for MODE Prep. 

“He’s a prototypical 3-and-D guy,” Adams said. “Great defender. He really played great the whole tourney; it was good to see Rayan step up.” 

Alassane Doucoure, the 6-10 junior post from Mali, Africa, averaged 18 points, 17 rebounds, five blocks and three steals in the tourney. Against PHH, he had 25 points, 23 rebounds and eight blocks. 

“He really took over the last game,” Adams said. “He played as physical and aggressive as I’ve ever seen him play.” 

Zuby Toms, a 6-2 junior guard from Las Vegas, averaged 14.5 points, five rebounds and four assists. 

Point guard Matt Cummins, a 6-1 junior from Henderson, Nev., returned after being sidelined by illness and averaged nine points, six rebounds and three assists. 

“It was good getting Matt back, and watching different guys stepping up in different games,” Adams said. 

Currently at eight players, Adams said the team is hoping to add another big man over the holidays, as Doucoure is the team’s only true big. 

Because of the extensive travel by the MODE Prep team, Adams said assistant coach Scott Stockwell, the former Post Falls High star, stepped down for family reasons about a month ago. 

After the holiday break, MODE Prep will return to action at a Grind Session tournament in Phoenix beginning Jan. 9.