VAN COLEMAN
Van is one of the nation's premier recruiting experts. E-mail
The Prime Time Shootout continued on Saturday at the Sovereign Bank Arena in Trenton.
The Saturday session didn't have any barnburners in the afternoon games, but the final three games of the night were all within one basket of exchanging the lead in the final three minutes, holding the crowd in the seats until almost midnight.
But it was a flurry of individual performances headed by Lance Stevenson, Greg Monroe, Kevin Jones, Maalik Wayns, and Lamont Jones that left the crowd buzzing. With that in mind, here's a look at Saturday's action at the Sovereign Bank Arena.
Academy of New Church (Penn.) 72 - Timber Creek (N.J.) 58
This one started out with each squad trading buckets early as New Church's 6-foot-5 Sam Givens (Drexel) and Timber Creek's 6-foot-2 Montez Blair were stellar from the opening tip.Timber Creek went up 12-9 on 6-foot-5 Marquise Smith's three from the wing.The final two and a half minutes of the quarter was all NewChurch as they finished with a 9-0 run led by Givens and 6-foot-7 Larry Loughery to close the first period with the Lions on top 18-12.In the second quarter Sam Givens teamed with Loughery to score eight of eleven points on an 11-3 run to open a twelve point lead, 33-21 with 1:45 to play in the half.Both clubs exchanged baskets as NewChurch went into the locker room up 36-24 over Timber Creek at the intermission.New Church was led by Sam Givens and Larry Loughery with 13 points each.Timber Creek's Montez Blair led all scorers at the half with 14 points.
The second half started with Sam Givens and his 6-foot-2 brother Shannon Givens scoring ten points (five each) as New Church quickly expanded their lead to eighteen points, 46-28 just two minutes into the second half.After that, Timber Creek never managed a serious challenge as NewChurch rolled to a 72-58 win over the Chargers.New Church was led by Sam Givens with 20 points and 8 rebounds, while Larry Loughery finshed with 19 points, and Shannon Givens chipped in with 13 points.Timber Creek was led by Smith with 19 points, while Blair added 16 points (only two points in second half) and Collin Johnson who added 14 points in the loss.
HunSchool (N.J.) 76 - St. Augustine (N.J.) 56
It was all knotted up at eight with 3:24 to play in the opening quarter when the HunSchool went on a 9-0 run over the next two and a half minutes to open a 17-8 lead.St. Augustine bounced back behind 6-foot-4 John Thompson (Wagner) to close the gap to 18-12 at the end of the quarter.But, the HunSchool went on another 10-tear early in the second to open up a 35-20 bulge with 3:13 let in the half.They increased their lead to eighteen, 41-23, over St. Augustine, as both club's headed to the locker room.Five-foot-11 Doug Davis led Hun with 10 points. St. Augustine's top gun was Josh Thompson who finished with eight points at the intermission.
The second half was never close as the Hun school held a twenty-plus point lead most of the way as they coasted to a 76-56 win over St. Augustine.HunSchool was led by 6-foot-5 Sterling Melville with 16 points, while Davis added 12 points.Six-foot-6 Anthony La Lota and Lance Goulbourne (Vanderbilt) added 10 points each.St. Augustine's top gun was Josh Thompson with 16 points, while 5-foot-8 freshman Isaiah Morton added 15 points in the loss.
Mount Vernon (N.Y.) 74 - Roman Catholic (Penn.) 73
The fireworks went off in this one as 6-foot-8 Kevin Jones (West Virginia) from Mount Vernon and 6-foot-1 Malik Wayns of Roman Catholic put on a great show in the opening quarter.Jones had 16 points, three boards and three blocks, while Wayns countered with 15 points (5-of-6 from beyond the arc) as both teams raced to a 22-all first quarter.The second quarter started with Jones taking a breather which may have been a mistake for Mount Vernon, as his rhythm seemed to get broken in the second quarter.He returned at the six minute mark, but didn't score for the rest of the half.Six-foot-5 junior Sherrod Wright added eight points in the second stanza to keep it close as Roman Catholic held a 36-35 edge at the intermission.
Roman Catholic was led by Maalik Wayns with 17 points while Wes Kirkland chipped in with seven points.Mount Vernon saw Jones lead the way with 16 points and 6 boards, while Sherrod Wright finished the half with 10 points.
The second half began with the two squads trading buckets for most of the quarter.Roman Catholic built the biggest lead of the third quarter at 52-48 on a long three by 6-foot-5 Wes Kirkland.Six-foot-4 junior Eric Vaughn scored two straight buckets to knot it a 54-all with 44-seconds to play in the quarter.Mount Vernon grabbed the lead at 56-54 with a bucket at the buzzer.The final quarter saw Mount Vernon go up 60-54, before Wes Kirkland and Maalik Wayns hit back to back threes to tie it up again at 60-all.The two clubs traded buckets and it was 71-all with 1:32 to play after another Wayns three.Kevin Jones put Mount Vernon up 73-71 on a turnaround on the baseline.Roman Catholic came back to tie it at 73, on free throws by Will Kirkland.But, it came down to a freshman, as Mount Vernon's 5-foot-10 Jabarie Hinds hit one of two to put his squad up 74-73 with three seconds to play.Kevin Jones knocked the ball out of bounds on the ensuing in bounds as time ran out.
Mount Vernon was led by Kevin Jones with 27 points and 13 boards, while Sherrod Wright added 22 points in the win.Roman Catholic's top gun was Maalik Wayns with 26 points including 7-threes, while Wes Kirkland added 13 points ad his brother Will chipped in with 11 points.
American Christian (Penn.) 73 - Rancocas Valley (N.J.) 48
This one started was all about the long ball early as American Christian hit six-threes to open the game jumping out to an 18-10 lead over RancocasValley.They extended that lead to 24-12 early in the second quarter before Rancocas rallied behind the solid play of 6-foot Andre Byrdsong to pull within four, 28-24, with just two minutes left in the half.Both clubs exchanged bucket with Lamont Jones closing the half with an old fashioned three point play to put his squad up 35-29 at the intermission.
The third quarter was the Lamont Jones show, as the sweet shooting guard from American Christian scored 16 points as he helped American Christian expand their lead to 19 points, 57-38, over RancocasValley.The third quarter ended at 57-40 in favor of American Christian.American Christian cleared its bench in the fourth quarter as their reserves led the way to a final 73-48 win over RancocasValley.
American Christian was lead by Lamont Jones with 25 points including 7-threes. Jeremiah Kelly added 14 points, while Tyreke Evans chipped in with 11 points.RancocasValley was led by Andre Byrdsong who finished with 22 points in the loss.
St. Benedict's (N.J.) 77 - Our Savior New American (N.Y.) 63
This one was close early as St. Benedict's broke open a 10-7 game to run out to a 21-9 first quarter lead behind Samardo Samuels and Tamir Jackson who combined to score the final ten points of the quarter.In the second quarter both clubs exchanged buckets as St. Benedict's held a 35-25 lead heading to the locker rooms at the intermission.Samardo Samuels had 12 points in the opening half, while Tamir Jackson added 10 points.Six-foot-4 Gerardo Suero led OSNA with 9 points, while Rayner Moquette added 8 points.
The second half started with both clubs exchanging buckets for most of the third quarter as St. Benedict's maintained its double digit lead 53-43 heading into the final stanza.But the Grey Bees broke it open with a 9-3 run to start the fourth quarter to go up 62-46 over New American.Then the St. Benedict's squad coasted to a 77-63 victory over Our Savior New American.St. Benedict's was led by Tamir Jackson with 26 points, while Samardo Samuels added 23 points and Greg Echenique chipped in with 12 points in the win.OSNA was led by Gerardo Suero who finished with a game high 28 points.He got solid support from Rayner Moquette who added 17 points in the loss.
Gretna Helen Cox (La.) 62 - Chicago Whitney Young (Ill.) 58
The Whitney Young Bobcats jumped out to a quick 8-2 lead as Bryan Hall scored six points.But, Helen Cox called a timeout with 5:30 to play in the opening quarter.From that point on it was all Helen Cox as 6-foot-10 Greg Monroe led a 14-4 charge to end the stanza, scoring eight points to lead his Cougars to a 16-12 advantage at the quarter's end.Helen Cox scored five quick points to go up 21-12 over Whitney Young.At this point the Bobcats inserted 5-foot-8 sophomore Ahmad Starks who scored all eleven of the Whitney Young points in the second period to close the gap to just three points 26-23 at the half with Helen Cox on top of Whitney Young.Greg Monroe had one of his best first halves of the season scoring 14 points and handing out three assists for the Cougars while 6-foot-10 Trevon Flores added 6 points and 5 rebounds.
The second half opened with Monroe & Flores controlling the glass and finishing around the hoop to help build a 45-32 lead by the end of the third period.Mysteriously the Whitney Young sparkplug in the first half Sparks didn't play in the third quarter.As the final stanza opened, Whitney Young inserted Sparks along with a full court press that rattled Helen Cox.Starks hit three long set shots and the Bobcats forced a number of turnovers to pull even at 56-all with just 1:07 to play.But, a turnover and two quick buckets by Flores put Helen Cox back up 60-56 with 21-seconds to play.Helen Cox missed three free throws in the final seconds, but Whitney Young couldn't capitalize on it as Helen Cox survived 62-58 over Whitney Young.
Helen Cox was led by Greg Monroe with, one of his best overall games, scoring 24 points, pulling down 9 rebounds and handing out 4 assists.He got solid support from Flores who finished with 18 points and Calvin Thompson who added 10 points.Whitney Young was led By Ahmad Starks with 21 points on 5 of 6 shooting from beyond the arc.Bryan Hall added 14 points and A.J. Rompza chipped in with 12 points in the tough loss.
Brooklyn Lincoln (N.Y.) 75 - NYC Rice (N.Y.) 68
This one has all the makings of a real nasty backyard brawl, and early on it looked like Lincoln behind some stellar play by 6-foot-4 junior super Lance Stephenson was going to blow it open as the Railsplitters opened an early 18-4 lead as Stephenson scored 13 early points. But, Kemba Walker (Connecticut) calmed his teammates down and got Rice back in the flow of their game to close the opening quarter down 20-9.The Raiders continued to close the gap early in the second period as Walker and 6-foot-1 Chris Fouch each scored six points as the deficit was reduced to five, 32-27 with two minutes to play in the half. It was 34-29 when Stephenson put a miss back in with twenty seconds to play to give Lincoln the 36-29 lead going into the locker room at the break.Lance Stephenson led Lincoln with 22 points and 5 boards in the first half.Rice's top gun was Kemba Walker who finished the half with 13 points.
The intensity on defense and the glass was evident early in the third quarter as Rice looked to extend the game to 94-feet.Kemba Walker and Durand Scott helped the Raiders close the gap to three points at 46-43 with just under three minutes to play in the fourth quarter.But Lance Stephenson and Buddha Ellis combined for eight points to close the quarter to put Lincoln back up by seven 53-46 at quarters end.In the final stanza Rice again made a run closing to within a bucket at 61-59 with 3:39 to play.But, Lincoln game out of the media timeout, taking control behind Stephenson as he scored four quick points to go up six, 69-63, with just under two minutes to play.They hit six of seven free throws down the stretch to ice a 75-68 victory over Rice.Lance Stephenson finished with 35 points and 11 rebounds to lead Lincoln while Buddha Ellis chipped in with 13 points.Rice was led by Kemba Walker with 23 points, while Durand Scott chipped in with 13 points in the loss.
St. Patrick's (N.J.) 63 - OakHillAcademy (Va.) 54
St. Patrick's broke out from an early 10-8 lead, to go on a ten point run to end the opening quarter with a 21-10 lead over a sluggish and poor shooting Oak Hill squad.It remained a double digit lead most of the second quarter, as the Celtics were up 34-20 when Oak Hill's Brandon Jennings hit a deep three just before the buzzer to send both clubs to the locker room with St. Patrick's in charge by a 34-23 margin.The Celtics were led by 6-foot-6 Paris Bennett with 10 points, while Dexter Strickland added 7 points.Oak Hill was led by Brandon Jennings with seven points in the first half.
The third quarter was all Oak Hill as Brandon Jennings scored twelve points as the Warriors came roaring back to cut the St. Patrick lead to just two points, 47-45, as Jennings hit two free throws to end the third quarter.The final stanza looked like it was setting up for some more Brandon Jennings magic as Oak Hill pulled to within one, 53-52, with just 3:38 to play.But a media timeout seemed to just be what the doctor ordered for St. Patrick's as the Celtics found some new legs on the defensive end of the court. They forced Oak Hill to take some bad shots that started a 10-run, until Oak Hill hit a meaningless bucket in the final seconds, to seal a 63-54 decision over the Warriors.Jennings who is normally a reliable scorer down the stretch just couldn't find the basket missing his final five shots.
St. Patrick's was led by Paris Bennett with 19 points, with solid support coming from Dexter Strickland who finished with 14 points.Oak Hill's top gun was Jennings who had 24 points in the loss.No other Warrior scored more than six points as they all struggled from the field.
I will be in Trenton on Sunday to cover all the action at the 2008 Primetime Shootout, hope you enjoy our coverage of this great high school event, here at "Generation Next".
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