Island Lutheran 64 Linden (NJ) 58
Coach John Buck's LuHi squad finished off a terrific weekend with a win over
Phil Colicchio's Linden squad. As they did on Saturday the Crusaders used a
quick start to propel them to a win. And while Deonte Green's shooting was
again a part of it, the main impetus for the rally came from up front where
Marvin Prochet sparked the offense and
Robyn Missa, a 6'9" senior center had a terrific half defensively.
He battled Linden's highly regarded forward Quadri Moore very well; using quick
to three quarter and front him, and a nice wide frame to move him off his spot.
The battle between the established star (Moore) and the emerging player from
Germany was a good one to watch but it was short lived in part because the
referee's had a difficult time
officiating big kids. Moore who's headed
to Cincinnati next fall won the statistical battle but Missa's great work on
defense was a huge reasons for LuHi's win.
While
Missa anchored LuHi's Prochet sparked the offense and attacked the basket
aggressively. He would finish the game with a team high 17 points and 12
boards. And his early good work helped the Crusaders to a 28-24 halftime edge.
In the second half quarter Greene and junior reserve Elijah Bailey augmented LuHi's
effort and helped them hold off a late charge by Linden. Greene added 16 points
and Bailey added 10 for LuHi. Guard Juwan Jones whose hustle and scoring led
Linden's late rally tied Moore for team high scoring honors with 16 points.
St.Ray's 58 St. Maria Goretti (MD) 50 St. Ray's
coaching staff borrowed a page from baseball's superstitions. They put aside
their usual suits and ties for coaches shirts in an effort to break a losing
streak. It's likely that the Ravens' success doing so had less to do with the
wardrobe change and more to do with the good work of game MVP Luis Santos who
finished with 15 points and 10 boards; an impressive double double against
Notre Dame-bound Martin Geben. Troy Ferguson added 11 points for the Ravens
while freshman Sidney Wilson struggled to score shooting just 1-7 from the
floor but added 3 assists and 4 steals. Guard Donovan Walker had a game high 19
points for Goretti while Geben added 10 points.
Phelps School (PA) 79 Wilbraham and Monson (MA) 76 One of the best things Jason Curry does as
part of this tournament is to invite
prep programs to participate in what are technically exhibition games but
they're played as "sub
college" games with 20 minute halves rather than 8 minute quarters. Often the
teams competing have local players who
return to the city for this special event. That was the case for The Phelps
School which featured two local stars, forward Terry Larrier who began his
career at John F. Kennedy High in the Bronx and guard Quincy McKnight who began
his career at Trinity (CT) Catholic. Both of those guys played key roles in
helping Phelps get a win in a game that was played at an extraordinarily high level that see-sawed from start to
finish. Larrier, who will attend VCU next fall was dominant as he earned game
MVP honors scoring 30 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. McKnight added 17 and 7
assists. They helped Phelps overcome a balanced scoring effort from
W&M. Goodluuck Okonoboh, the UNLV
bound 6'10" center had a spectacular all around game with 10 points 15
rebounds 6 assists and 3 blocks. Taylor Fortin a heady smooth shooting guard
who played previously at Tolland (CT) High
had a team high 18 points and 7 assists for W&M.
Cardinal Hayes 61 Pope John XXIII 57 Like the prep
game that preceded it this game was a nip and tuck struggle from start to
finish. Pope John's 6'10" junior
Mustapha Diagne dominated inside posting game highs of 21 points and 16 boards. He also got Hayes' senior big man Nathan Ekwu into early foul trouble limiting him to just 11
minutes of playing time. But that was long enough for the 6'7" senior to connect on a
tough face up jumper and get several in traffic rebounds against a front line
that teamed 6'7" Ryan Izzo with Diagne. The two power guys up front
combined with shooting guard Matt Zigorski to give Pope John a 5 point lead as
the 4th quarter began. Hayes kept its unbeaten record intact as Chris Robinson
(18 points) connected on a long 2 point basket and then made 2 free throws
after he was fouled on a three point try. Underrated guard Jamar Smith bounced
back from some sloppy play to make a tough runner in the lane that gave Hayes the lead for good. He would
then add free throws to help ice the game for the Cardinal. Hayes' best player
from start to finish was game MVP Mustapha Jones who tied Robinson with 18
points and added 9 crucial rebounds to help Hayes compete on the glass despite
Ekwu's absence. For Pope John Izzo added 18 points and 12 boards while Zigorski
added 12 and 7 boards.
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