GAME 4
LuHi Rallies Past Stepinac
Two very good teams that both stumbled a bit in December against high level competition faced off, and after trailing through three quarters, the host and #2 ranked Crusaders put it together to defeat Archbishop Stepinac of the CHSAA 79-72. Mario Nery got things going with a left baseline three pointer for Stepinac, but both teams got off to a slow start, missing shots and turning the ball over. Aundre Hyatt made it 5-0, driving from the foul line and pulling up for a jumper, and it was 8-zip after Jordan Tucker’s deep three pointer from behind the right elbow, but Brandon Jacobs finally got LuHi on the board with a drive and floater. Hyatt countered with a putback, and the teams traded baskets to the 35 second mark of the first quarter, when three straight back fast break baskets by Chris Coalmon, Charles Manning, and Donatas Kupsas cut it to 15-13, and that was the score with one quarter complete. Tucker opened the second quarter with a drive, and back to back threes by Eduard Minaya and Tucker gave Stepinac a 9 point lead with 5:40 to play in the half, but Manning got an easy basket off an inbound play, then ran a textbook give and go with Kupsas, and Kupsas followed with a left baseline jumper and LuHi was back within 3. After a time out, Nery hit a jumper from behind the right elbow for a 5 point Stepinac lead, but Harrison Warnock answered with a right wing three pointer, Manning on a back door cut and dunk, and Kupsas rebounded and scored to put LuHi up 30-28 with 1:34 to play in the half - their first lead of the game. Stepinac drew even on a drive from the top by Kobe Miranda, and retook the lead on a pull-up jumper from the right side by Minaya to make it 32-30, and that was the score at the half. Coalmon hooked one in from the low post for LuHi to start the second half, tying the game at 32, but Tucker answered with a left wing three pointer and then Hyatt’s left wing three put Stepinac up 38-34 with 5:50 left in the quarter. Coalmon scored again, this time from underneath, and Kupsas hauled in a long rebound and drained a foul line jumper to tie it once again, but a putback by Tucker and a fast break basket by Minaya reestablished the lead. It was back and forth until the 2:40 mark, when a three point play by Means put Stepinac up by 5, but back to back threes by Devonte Green, who had been quiet up to that point, gave LuHi a 1 point lead with 1:23 to play in the third. Stepinac responded again, with Nery drilling a big three pointer from behind the left elbow, and then a short bank shot by Miranda made it Stepinac by 3 and that’s the way the quarter ended. A Stepinac free throw and the lead was 4, and then Tucker responded to a Kupsas left elbow jumper with a three pointer from the left baseline, but LuHi closed the gap once again, moving ahead on a putback and free throw by Manning with 6:09 remaining. Stepinac had two chances to tie or regain the lead, but came up empty at the free throw line both times, and Green found Kupsas underneath on the other end to make it 64-61 LuHi. The teams began to trade baskets, but LuHi inched ahead on a left wing three by Jacobs, going up 71-67 with 3:30 to play, and then Warnock knocked down a right wing three in transition and they had their biggest lead - 7 with 3:04 left in regulation. Tucker kept Stepinac within striking range, hitting 2 out of 3 free throws to bring them back within 5, but Coalmon answered with 2 free throws of his own and it was a 7 point game with 2 minute to go. Both teams struggled to find the basket down the stretch, but Tucker’s two free throws made it 6 point game with 48 seconds left before Coalmon answered with two of his own to ice it. Kupsas had a big game for LuHi, finishing with 24 points, 17 rebounds, and 2 blocks, and Coalmon had 15 points and Manning 14. Tucker led all scorers with 25 for Stepinac, Means had 15, and Hyatt 11.
GAME 1
Flyers Down Boys & Girls
Chaminade found themselves in an early hole, but they quickly climbed out of it and went on to defeat the PSAL’s Boys & Girls HS 66-62 in the exciting opening game of the Shooting Stars Showcase. The sixth ranked Flyers weren't hitting their shots in the early going, and a three pointer by Najee Scott from behind the right elbow put Boys & Girls up 11-4. Michael McGuire’s three from the right wing finally sparked Chaminade, and a putback by Owen Prendergast and McGuire’s three from the right baseline put them up 1 at 14-13 with 1:42 to play in the opening quarter. A baseline jumper from the right side by Nolan Prendergast made it 16-13, and that was the score with one quarter complete. Jamir Cheek cut diagonally across the lane and hit a running hook shot to cut it to 16-15 as the second quarter got underway, but Ryan Dean answered with a three pointer from behind the right elbow, Robert Conners pump-faked and scored on a putback, and McGuire struck again, drilling a three from the top to give Chaminade a 9 point lead with 4:26 to play in the half. The Kangaroos answered, with Nehemiah Boone hitting a runner from the left wing, Gianni Ford stealing the ball and converting a three point play, and Scott nailing a right wing jumper, and they were back within 2 at 24-22 with 2:47 remaining, but Dean stopped the run with a baseline three, and Kyle Murphy added a baseline jumper and it was Chaminade by 7. Boone’s three from the deep right wing kept it close, but McGuire countered with another three from the top, and Charles Salter answered Boone’s left wing drive with a putback right before the buzzer for a 7 point Flyer lead at intermission. The teams traded baskets in the early going of the third quarter, but a three pointer by Dean from the top bumped the Chaminade lead to 10 with 3:58 left to play. Ford knocked down two free throws to bring the lead back into single digits, and then Boone’s three point play, which he followed with a steal and fast break basket, made it a 3 point game at the 2:48 mark. McGuire’s three in the final seconds of the quarter made it 53-45 Flyers to end the third quarter, and Murphy opened the final quarter with a putback for Chaminade, but back to back threes and then a drive and basket, all by Scott, pulled Boys & Girls within 2 with 5:45 to play. The Flyers held the lead on a nice give and go basket by Connors, but the Kangaroos kept coming, drawing within 1 on a three pointer by Ford. A big three point play by Owen Prendergast held off the New York city squad, but Boys @ Girls would not back down, pulling within 2 on Ford’s fade-away. After a time out with 2:36 on the game clock, Owen Prendergast looped down the lane from the left wing and scored for a 5 point Chaminade lead, but a free throw and then Kobe Vaughan’s putback cut it to 64-62 with 1:15 showing. The Flyers called time with 21 seconds remaining after a huge offensive rebound by Murphy, and then he grabbed another one in traffic with 5 seconds left and the Kangaroos fouled McGuire in desperation. He knocked down both shots to ice it. McGuire finished with 6 threes and 20 points and Murphy had 12 points for Chaminade, while Ford had a game high 22, Boone 17, and Scott 13 for Boys & Girls.
GAME 3
Baldwin Falls To South Shore
Trailing by 7 at the half, South Shore caught the 4th ranked Bruins in regulation and then outscored them 8-2 in overtime for a 77-71 victory. Baldwin sharpshooter Jared Rhoden opened the scoring with a three pointer, the first basket in a fast paced back and forth opening quarter filled with ties and lead changes. Ziare Mateen answered with a drive and Yaradyah Evans and Shaquille Ricks both with fast break baskets to make it 6-3 South Shore, but the Bruins responded, taking the lead on Elijah Bovell’s fast break basket off a turnover, and going up 11-8 on Shane Gatling’s backdoor cut and free throw. Mateen drilled a three pointer from behind the right elbow and so did Nick Simeon to put the Vikings up by 3 with 2:11 to play in the quarter, but Bovell answered with a right baseline three to tie it. Mateen’s second three was answered by Rhoden’s three point play, another Mateen three greeted by another one by Bovel, and we remained tied, this time at 20 with time running down. A free throw by Ricks was the difference, giving South Shore at 21-20 lead at the first quarter buzzer. After a technical foul free throw by Gatling tied it, Rhoden knocked down a jumper from just outside the lane to put Baldwin on top 23-21, but Ricks hit a right wing three for South Shore and the back and forth action continued. The Bruins started to get some separation on back to back baskets by Rhoden, the second a left wing three pointer that put them up 36-29 with 3:07 remaining in the half, and then his left wing three gave them a 10 point lead with 1:28 left, but Jalen Blaize closed out the half with a left baseline three, cutting the margin to 41-34 at intermission. Simeon plunged down the lane and scored on the press break, and after a free throw, he scored again on the break to pull the Vikings within 2 early in the third quarter, but Gatling responded with a driving hook shot. Simeon went coast to coast and converted a three point play to make it a 1 point game, and then Mateen scored off a turnover and it was 46-45 South Shore, but Baldwin regained the lead on Gatling’s drive and free throw and the teams went back and forth the rest of the quarter, finishing it tied at 52. Simeon opened the fourth quarter with a three pointer from the top, but Rhoden pump-faked, stepped to the right and buried a three from the left wing and it was tied once again. The teams continued to trade baskets and free throws, with Evans giving the Vikings a 63-61 lead on a fast break dunk, and Justin Caldwell’s back to back baskets putting Baldwin up 65-64 at first with 2:04 remaining, and then 69-68 on his two free throws with 55 seconds left to play. A free throw tied it at 69, and it was South Shore ball with 27 seconds on the clock, but Baldwin got the stop and had 2.4 seconds left for a game winner. They could not convert and the game went into overtime. Mateen opened the OT with a jumper from the top, and Shevon Anisca knocked down two free throws to give the Vikings a 4 point lead with 2:17 showing, but Gatling found Rhoden underneath to cut it to 73-71 with 1:18 to play. Evans got loose underneath for a big dunk and a 75-71 South Shore lead with a minute to play and the Bruins had to respond quickly, but could not and Matten iced it with two free throws as the seconds ticked down. Matten led all scorers with 26 points, Ricks had 15, and Simeon 13. Rhoden led Baldwin with 25 and Gatling had 21.
GAME 2
Molloy Pulls Away From West
The game swung back and forth depending on who was on the bench in foul trouble, but it was a 1 point game at the half and a 6 point game after three quarters until the CHSAA’s Archbishop Molloy pulled away down the stretch for a 70-56 victory, holding 3rd ranked Hills West to 9 fourth quarter points. The Colts grabbed the early lead, going up 11-6 on a right wing jumper by Richard Altenord and a fast break basket by Cameron Jordan, but with two Hills West starters on the bench with two fouls, Molloy reeled off 15 straight points, with Justin Cole’s elbow jumper putting them in front, and the run was capped off by 6’11 sophomore Moses Brown, who scored on a putback and then a fade-away jumper, then Cole, who drilled a left wing three, and Brown again, who closed out the quarter with a putback to give the Stanners a 10 point lead. Altenord broke the run as the second quarter got underway, drawing a foul on an aggressive drive and knocking down both free throws, but Issac Grant countered with a basket off an inbound play, Cole hit a three from the top, and Grant scored again from underneath to make it 28-13 Molloy. The Colts desperately needed a basket, but with Brown on the bench in foul trouble, they got a run. Matt Asenjo was the spark, draining a three from the right baseline, then another three, this time from the left baseline, and he added two free throws, then Deven Williams scored on a putback and Jordan knocked down two free throws and it was suddenly a 4 point game with 3:03 still to play in the half. Cole Anthony interrupted the Hills West momentum with a three point play, but Asenjo answered with a three point play of his own, Kian Dalyrimple knocked down a three pointer from the right wing, and Jordan scored on a drive and reverse layup to put Hills West in front 35-34. The lead was short lived, with Grant hooking one in just before the buzzer to put Molloy up by 1 at the half. Hills retook the lead in the third quarter, going up 40-36 on a Williams three pointer from the left baseline, but the Stanners moved back in front on Brown’s two free throws, a low post turn-around jumper by Grant, and a fast break basket by Dominic Priolo. The teams swapped the lead several times from there, but Molloy got some breathing room as the quarter wound down, going up 53-47 on Grants three point play and a fast break basket by John Herring and that was the score with three quarters in the books. Grant opened the fourth quarter with a drive and basket from the high post, but Asenjo hit another big three pointer, and Williams followed him with a three from the top and Hills West was back within 2 with 6:46 remaining. The Colts would score only 3 more points the rest of the way, going scoreless the last 4:33. Moore’s two free throws put the Stanners up by 5, Anthony’s tip in made it 64-56, and Grant’s half hook and it was Molloy by 10 with 1:42 to play. The final margin was 14. Grant led all scorers with 24 for the Stanners, Anthony had 14 and Brown 12. Asenjo was high man for Hills West with 14 and Jordan had 12.
Sunday, January 3rd, 2016
@ Long Island Lutheran High School
THE SHOOTING STARS SHOWCASE
