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Highlights: Palisades pulls away from Atwater in second half for second place at Tarkanian Classic

Palisades won 68-56 with a spirited second half effort to move on to the Sapphire Division finals
Lance Smith, SBLive Sports|
Highlights: Palisades pulls away from Atwater in second half for second place at Tarkanian Classic
Highlights: Palisades pulls away from Atwater in second half for second place at Tarkanian Classic

HENDERSON, Nev. - It goes without saying that California teams have a heavy presence at the Tarkanian Classic each and every year.

This year's Sapphire Division (girls) was an extreme example.

The top three teams – Birmingham (L.A. City Section), Palisades (L.A. City), and Atwater (Central) – were all from California.

On Wednesday in the semifinals, Palisades took a two-possession lead into halftime against Atwater, and withstood a brief Falcons run at the start of the third to win 68-56. That set up a Thursday title game for the Dolphins against familiar foe Birmingham. Atwater went on to rout Desert Hills (UT) 66-41 in the third place game on Thursday.

Here are all the highlights from the action-packed second half (video embedded).

– Lance Smith | lance@scorebooklive.com | @sbliveca

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Lance Smith, SBLive Sports
LANCE SMITH, SBLIVE SPORTS

Lance Smith is a veteran high school sports reporter who worked previously with SBLive Sports covering basketball, football, and softball in California's Southern Section and LA City Section and has returned as contributor to High School On SI in 2025. He also covers Nevada and National Girls Basketball. A graduate of The USC Marshall School of Business, Smith dabbles in linear algebra and football and basketball computer rankings.

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