Spalding Hoop Hall Classic Monday Games

Archbishop Mitty survives in the opener; St. Raymond and St. Anthony win big in Springfield

Jan. 21, 2008

By Van Coleman

CSTV.com and Hoopmasters.com


	Van Coleman Van is one of the nation's premier recruiting experts. E-mail here!

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. - The final day of the Spalding Hoop Hall Classic opened with a barnburner that featured a great game and quality performances by Sylven Landesberg and Collin Chiverton, while Kevin Parrom proved he belonged among the junior class' best with his performance for St. Raymond's. Still, make no mistake about it - St. Anthony's can play with anyone in the country, as they are deep and so talented. Unfortunately, we won't see an all-Hurley matchup between St. Anthony's and St. Benedict's any time soon, but that's another story for another time, as they are clearly two of 2008's best. With that in mind, here's a look at Monday's action in Springfield.

Archbishop Mitty High School (Calif.) 62 - Holy Cross High School (N.Y.) 61

The first half was close throughout as neither team managed more than a three-point advantage. It was 14-all late in the first quarter when Sylven Landesberg (No. 32/Virginia) drove to the hoop and kissed it off the glass to put his Holy Cross club up 16-14 at the buzzer. Both clubs traded buckets in the second period as 6-foot-8 Enoch Andoh (Bucknell) tied it at 31-all with 58 seconds to play in the half. Down the stretch, 6-foot-1 Blaise Ffrench hit three free throws to put Holy Cross on top 35-32 at the intermission. Holy Cross was led by Landesberg with 15 points while Archbishop Mitty's top guns were 6-foot-6 Chiverton (Saint Mary's) with 12 points and Andoh who added 11.

The second half started with a quick Holy Cross 7-2 run to build a 42-34 lead behind five points by Landesberg. However, Mitty bounced back, chipping away at the lead to close to three, 47-44, at the end of three quarters. The fourth quarter saw Landesberg dominate early, as Holy Cross extended its lead back to six, 59-53, with 3:52 to play. But from that point on, Chiverton took over, scoring the next seven points for his Mitty squad in a 7-2 run to pull to within one at 61-60 with 38 seconds to play. Holy Cross missed two close shots to increase their advantage and Mitty's Brandon Scott hit Andoh under the hoop for a slam with 21 seconds left to put Mitty on top, 62-61. It was Mitty's first lead of the second half, and it held up, as Holy Cross missed a bounce pass on an inbound play in the final seconds that could have won it for the New York squad.

Andoh led Mitty with 21 points and 8 rebounds, while Chiverton added 19 points and 6-foot-7 Angelo Caloiaro chipped in with 11. Holy Cross was led by Landesberg with 26 points on 8-of-22 shooting from the field. Ffrench and 6-foot-4 Kayvon Roberts added 14 points each in the loss.

Missing in action was Archbishop Mitty's 6-foot-10 Drew Gordon, who broke his foot last Friday and may miss the rest of the year. His team missed him early, but made adjustments behind Andoh and Chiverton to pull this one out in the final seconds.

St. Raymond High School (N.Y.) 84 - Taft High School (Calif.) 69

The day's theme of nail-biters wasn't broken in the first half of this classic East vs. West matchup. The first quarter was a series of runs as St. Raymond's jumped to an early 20-10 advantage with two minutes to play in the quarter, but Taft roared back on two long threes by 6-foot-4 Bryce Smith and a lay-in by 6-foot-6 Eugene Phelps to close to 20-18 at the end of the period. The second quarter started with an 8-4 run by St. Raymond's to open up a 28-22 lead as 6-foot-4 Kevin Parrom and 6-foot-2 Darryl Bryant (West Virginia) combined for six points. However, 6-foot-1 Larry Drew (North Carolina) teamed with Phelps and 6-foot-2 junior Justin Hawkins (UNLV) to bring Taft back to tie it at 37-all on a Drew three as the half ended. St. Raymond's was led by 6-foot-2 Omari Lawrence with 13 points while Parrom chipped in with 10 points. Taft's top guns were Smith with 14 points, including four threes, and Phelps, who added 10 points in the half.

The third quarter mirrored the first two as both clubs traded buckets until about the two minute mark when St. Raymond's went on a 7-2 run to open a 60-54 lead with ten seconds to play in the quarter, but Drew nailed a deep three at the buzzer to pull Taft back to within three, 60-57, as the quarter ended. Taft scored the first bucket of the fourth quarter on a lay-in by 6-foot-4 Terran Carter to close to 60-59 with 7:11 to play. At that point, the roof caved in on the California squad, as St. Raymond's went on a 14-2 run over the next four minutes to go up 74-61, led by Parrom with eight points in that stretch. It was more than Taft could handle, as St. Raymond's coasted to an 84-69 victory.

St. Raymond's was led by Parrom, who finished with 27 points and 16 rebounds, while Lawrence added 23 points and Bryant chipped in with 13 in the hard-fought win. Taft's top gun was Eugene Phelps with 20 points and 11 rebounds. Smith added 17 points, while Larry Drew added 16 points and 8 assists. Hawkins also cracked double figures for Taft, finishing with 12 points in the loss.

St. Anthony High School (N.J.) 95 - Scott County High School (Ky.) 52

This one might have been over early, as St. Anthony's used a smothering half-court trap to jump out to a 15-2 lead over Scott, but the Cardinals righted the ship in the middle of the opening stanza behind long threes by 6-foot-1 Jordan Adams to cut the lead to 19-14 with 2:15 to play in the stanza. However, that revived hope in a competitive matchup was smashed by a 14-2 run that opened up a 35-18 advantage for the Friars as they coasted to a 42-23 lead at the intermission. No doubt the Scott County club hasn't seen a defense like St. Anthony's, as the Friars forced ten turnovers and shot 64 percent from the field due to a number of lay-ins off steals. The Friars were led by Travon Woodall (Pittsburgh) with 11 points, while Tyshawn Taylor (Marquette) added 9 and 6-foot-5 junior Dominic Cheek kicked in with 8 points. Scott County was led by Adams who had 8 points in the opening half.

The second half was all St. Anthony's, as the athletic and sweet-shooting Friar club built its lead to over 30 points in the third period and closed the quarter up 73-38 over an outmanned Scott County squad that just wasn't able to crack the St. Anthony pressure. The fourth quarter was the time for St. Anthony's legendary coach Bob Hurley to clear his bench, as the Friars coasted to a 95-52 victory in our final game of the day at the Spalding HoopHall Classic. St. Anthony's was led by Woodall with 19 points, while Cheek and Mike Rosario added 17 points each and Taylor kicked in with 13 points in the balanced attack. Scott County was led by Jordan Adams with 12 points, Richie Phares added nine points and Tyler Portwood had eight in the loss.

That wraps up our coverage from Springfield (Mass.). We will give you a look at some of the top prospects once we return to Iowa tomorrow. Look for that update Wednesday, right here at CSTV.com.