Jan 16, 2011

Flyin' to the Hoop- Day 1 Review

Adolphus Washington was hounded inside.
Day one in Dayton did not go well for Cincinnati as both teams went down:  Pictures
  • Hamilton Southeastern (IN) 71 Taft 70: The Senators allowed Hamilton SE to race out to an early 20 point lead and were never able to recover. Although they came back to come within 4 in the mid-fourth a couple questionable calls and their inability to create turnovers with their signature press led to their first defeat. Hamilton is a very good team; Indiana's top ranked junior (16th in the country) Garry Harris, a 6'4 wing, had a great game scoring 27 points. Harris has great athleticism combined with a guard skill-set that makes him impossible to cover. Junior point guard Jacoby Bledsoe did a great job against Taft's press and scored 13 points and sophomore wing Zac Irvin showed his promise with 16 points. Taft struggled to get the ball into the middle of Hamilton's zone and had to rely on three point shooting. Fortunately they hit enough to keep them alive; Chris Lowe hit 4/5 attempts and finished with 21 points, Jalean Lowe hit three triples and had 15 points, and Kadeem Palmer connected on two treys finishing with 8 points. Adolphus Washington was effective when he caught the ball down low, finishing with 16 points on 7/8 shooting. Tough loss for Taft as they were frustrated that they didn't play to their potential and allowed Harris to show why he is one of the nation's most coveted recruits.
  • Aaron Thomas was forced into tough shots like this one.
    Huntington Prep (WV) 71 Withrow 52:  The Tiger's were able to keep up with Prep for a half, only trailing by 2 at the break, but the second half was a totally different story. Huntington Prep was just too deep, big, and athletic for the Tigers to handle. Giant junior center Sim Bhullar, who is 7'4 and 350 lbs, had a great game inside. Bhullar scored 13 points, grabbed 15 boards, and had 8 blocks. Charles Lee, a senior point guard signed with Cleveland St, scored 15 on 5/6 three point shooting; Stefan Jankovic, a versatile 6-9 junior forward, scored 11 while senior guard Maurice Anfiekok scored 9 as did Jaylen Beckham, a junior guard. University of Cincinnati signee Jeremiah Davis, a 6'3 combo guard, scored 4 points on limited shots but did a nice job slowing down Aaron Thomas in spurts. For Withrow, Aaron Thomas had a great start hitting three early jumpers and it seemed to be his night. Thomas was unable to continue his hot streak but did finish with 24 points for the game. Senior forward Carl Porter scored 14 points and grabbed 8 rebounds and Devin Williams added 7 and 6. Withrow proved that their starting line-up is talented enough to play against the nation's best but that their depth is underwhelming. Huntington Prep is a talented team that is very entertaining and filled with a group of players that does a nice job playing together and thriving under the bright spotlight. 

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