Pt. 2 of the ARS/Rescue Rooter National Hoop Fest action on Saturday was getting charged up as the capacity crowd was getting ramped up and these were some of the outstanding performers for the final 3 games on Day #2 of this years event:
Game #4 Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Aire, KS) ' 65 Holy Spirit Preparatory School (Atlanta, GA) – 53
This contest was highly anticipated because of one player that being 6'5' '19 Anthony Edwards from Holy Spirit who recently reclassed up into the 2019 class but also for his rapid rise up the national rankings and the hype surrounding his exciting game. Oddly enough Sunrise Christian with a bevy of D-1 prospects and signees was not the draw for this contest but behind a monster game from 6'8' '19 Jordan Turner with 30pts 4 treys 8reb 3asts 2stls they led wire to wire and came away with the victory. Turner was both active and efficient in getting to the basket for layups or second chance buckets as he was creating space on the perimeter to get some good looks for three point baskets. He got lots of help on the glass and as a team they forced Edwards to take a load of bad shots while limiting his teammates from inflicting any real damage. 6'0' '19 Noel Coleman added 11pts 8reb from the guard position and 7'0' '20 N'Faly Dante chipped in 8pts 13reb and 2stls in the win. Dante was especially good around the basket as a rim protector and while he had just 1 block he changed a half dozen other attempts whenever the opposition ventured inside to challenge him. 6'4' Vanderbilt signee Austin Crowley had all 8 of his points in a nice second half showing as he teamed with 6'3' UCLA pledge Grant Sherfield to harass Edwards into the off shooting day he had. Sherfield also struggled from the floor shooting 3-11, 1-6 from the field as he settled for 8pts on the day. Despite the rough shooting day Edwards is truly a gifted player who can do a lot more than just shoot the basketball. He went 11-27 from the field and just 2-11 from the arc as he ended the contest with 27pts but he also contributed 12reb 4asts and 4stls to his stat line and despite being a bit ball dominant had just 3 turnovers. He's incredibly athletic with a wiry frame that allows him to get to the basket with the ability to snake around or go up and over his man to get to the rim and his jumper was smooth as ice even though he was slightly off on this day and he did catch the defense sleeping a few times with precision passes to open teammates for scoring opportunities. 6'8' '19 Ibrahima Jarjou added 9pts 6reb for Holy Spirit as he had some moments in the game including hitting a three in the 4th quarter that no one saw coming but in the end the Buffaloes of Sunshine Christian had too much for them to overcome.
Game #5 Montverde, FL Academy ' 57 Paul VI Catholic HS (Fairfax, VA) – 50
If not for a brutal 3rd quarter this could very well have been a Paul VI victory as this young group showed remarkable poise in playing without 6'2' '20 Jeremy Roach who was lost in the preseason to an ACL tear and 6'3' Virginia Tech signee Anthony Harris who went down the previous weekend with an ACL injury as well. Of course when you play a national power like Montverde one bad quarter could be the difference in the outcome and the Eagles erased that 10 point halftime deficit they stared at and seized control on their way to victory. Under HC Kevin Boyle Montverde much like his teams at St. Patrick's HS in Jersey seem to feed off the crowd even in a hostile situation and despite shooting 7-19 from the field and 1-7 from three I never sensed that the Eagles were concerned instead I saw more of a resolve that things would turn around as they never showed desperation as the half neared. 6'5' '19 Harlond Beverly became the catalyst for their third period exodus from the halftime hole nailing 9 of his team leading 20pts and at games end he was a perfect 9-9 from the field with one trey. He also was effective from a defensive standpoint racking up 4stls with 2 of them on back to back possessions in the 3rd quarter. 6'9' '19 Precious Achiuwa put up 13pts 9reb in a nice outing that saw him play within himself for the betterment of the team and he was instrumental in the 4th stanza with 8pts 2 nice assists and 1 huge block that he was not given credit for on the official stat sheet. The unsung hero for Montverde and my MVP for this game was 6'6' '20 Cade Cunningham who controlled the tempo throughout the game for Montverde while getting 4 of his game high 9asts in the Eagles 15-0 run to start the 3rd quarter that turned the momentum in this contest. He finished with 8pts 10reb as well but it was his calm demeanor and steady hand that was the difference here. Another big piece in their run was 6'5' '20 Moses Moody who hit both his three balls in the run and finished with 8pts also. The Panthers did recover somewhat but lost the impetus that built their halftime lead while Montverde started making a higher percentage of shots in the second half. In the end the Eagles shot 56.4% from the field as compared to Paul VI hitting just 34% of theirs and you simply can't beat a team with Montverde's pedigree with poor shooting. 6'4' '20 Josiah Freeman apparently didn't get that memo though as he had a terrific shooting game and his 5 1st half treys were a big reason for their 10 point lead at the half. Freeman led all scorers with 24pts 6 treys and had 2stls on defense. He has a quick release on his smooth looking jump shot and he doesn't need a lot of room to get it off and Montverde found this out early and made the necessary adjustments in the second half. The Panthers 6'4' '21 Trevor Keels did struggle from the field (3-13, 1-7) and added 12pts 2stls in the game but this Soph is a solid wing player with some definite upside.
Game #6 IMG Academy (Bradenton, FL) ' 75 Dematha Carholic HS (Hyattsville, MD) – 68
This game started with the crowd and the Dematha student section at a fever pitch and that raucous atmosphere was instrumental in the Stags rushing out to a 21-9 lead after one. Unlike Montverde however IMG decided not to wait before getting back in this contest and behind the play of their two stellar bigs game MVP 6'10' Villanova signee Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and fellow 6'10' North Carolina signee Armando Bacot the Ascenders started cutting into that deficit and whittled it down to a manageable 3 points at the half. Robinson-Earl (26pts 13reb) and Bacot (12pts 13reb 3blks) work well together controlling the boards and protecting the rim and with three solid playmaking guards that can all dish the rock these two get plenty of opportunities to put up big numbers. Both can score it at the rim or in the paint and both have good form on their jump shots so it is not surprising to see either one step out and with confidence launch a three ball. 6'1' '20 Noah Farrakhan generally handles the playmaking duties but people tend to forget that he has an accomplished offensive skillset and he was using it in this game putting up 15pts and 2 treys. His deft handle came in handy against Dematha's pressure defense and while he only garnered 1 assist he did a nice job of controlling the flow of the game without a single turnover. With 6'6' Arizona pledge Josh Green having an off night IMG simply turned to 6'3' '20 Jaden Springer to pick up the slack and he added 14pts 7reb 3asts in a very effective outing. He likes to attack downhill and is very efficient in drawing defenders to him where he can either use his solid body control to score on his man or dish it to the open man for a better scoring option. IMG only led this game for about 11 minutes but once they got the lead they didn't relinquish it and their combination of inside out weapons was enough to hold off this strong Stags group. In the 1st half Dematha attacked the basket hard taking it right to the Ascenders big men after building their 1st quarter lead with 4 treys and from a tactical standpoint it made sense since IMG didn't extend their defense so the Stags used 6'5' '20 Earl Timberlake Jr (20pts 8reb) and 7'1' '20 Hunter Dickenson (9pts 10reb 3blks 2stls) to challenge their counterparts with mixed results. Timberlake was solid finding openings in the defense to get to the basket for tough finishes and Dickenson netted 6 of his 9pts in the 2nd quarter by attacking the rim but they also couldn't slow down the inside roll from the IMG bigs on the opposite end. 6'4' Villanova signee Justin Moore banged in 2 1st period treys before cooling off and while he was still effective throughout the contest netting 16pts 5reb 2asts 2blks the Stags kind of went away from the perimeter attack a little too soon. Dematha to their credit fought to the end and the fans steadfast support up to the final horn punctuated a great day at the National Hoop Fest.