Game Stories, GHSA, GHSA Basketball

No. 9 Pebblebrook’s 29-point third quarter surges Falcons past Shiloh at TOC Classic

Contributed by Cody Butler  (@CodeMan10x)

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No. 9 Pebblebrook 65, Shiloh 57

No. 9 Pebblebrook (8-2) rallied off a huge third quarter to capture a 65-57 win over Shiloh (3-6) at the Tournament of Champions Holiday Classic at Wheeler High School in Marietta. The Falcons exploded for 29 points in the third to take flight over the Generals. The balanced scoring attack of Mervin James, Josh Graham and Grant Howard pushed Pebblebrook out in front for good in the second half. Great ball movement with multiple scoring options left their opponent helpless in a tough third. The Falcons more than doubled their offensive output in the third quarter alone. Shiloh continued to struggle in the second half as their six-point halftime lead erased quickly out of the break.

Shiloh started the game off with a high level of intensity. In a game of this magnitude against the No. 9 team in Class AAAAAAA, Shiloh had to bring their best. Swingman Toneari Lane did just that, the game’s high-scorer with 19 points, set the early tone for a clicking General offense in the first half. Lane scored eight points in the first quarter to lead Shiloh to a 15-11 advantage after the first quarter. Lane was 8-of-10 from the field on the night and collected 8 rebounds.

A very competitive second quarter saw back and forth action the remainder of the half. Pebblebrook’s Grant Howard scored on back-to-back possessions to trim the Shiloh lead to 24-21 with two minutes left in the half. A timeout killed Falcon momentum though as Shiloh closed the first half strong capitalizing off Pebblebrook turnovers. Guard Eric Kinloch knocked down a three-pointer in the final minute to give Shiloh the 29-23 lead at halftime. Kinloch finished the first half with eight points.

Pebblebrook’s Mervin James started to take over in the third quarter. A 6-foot-6 senior forward committed to Canisius; James made the opening jumper of the second half. His And-1 three-point play tied the game 31-31 with 5:22 left in the third.  After only scoring 23 as a team in the first half, Pebblebrook exploded for 29 points in the third quarter. Pebblebrook took the lead 33-31 on a short field goal from guard Dwight Murray. The Falcons never looked back from that point as they outscored Shiloh by 18 in the period to enter the fourth quarter up 52-40. James finished the third quarter with 10 points and 17 total on the night.

The Falcons continued to move the ball well on offense and extended their lead out to 15 points at 57-42 with 3:46 in the game. Howard finished with 15 points and 8 rebounds. Josh Graham posted a double-double on the night 13 points and 10 rebounds.

Shiloh’s playmaker Elias King, a four-star recruit by 247sports who committed to UGA before the game, struggled to breakout. Pebblebrook limited him to 5-of-10 shooting from the field for a steady, yet unspectacular 16 points on the night. While King’s modest day is better than most, it wasn’t enough to pull off the upset over Pebblebrook.

Pebblebrook went 8-of-23 (34%) from the field in the first half. They rebounded well in the second half and shot 13-of-26 (50%) from the field in the final two quarters.

Game Stories, GHSA, GHSA Basketball

No. 1 McEachern captures third-place at City of Palms Classic

Contributed by Chris Kelly   (@C_KELLY99)

No. 1 McEachern 56, Simeon (IL) 54

https://twitter.com/C_KELLY99/status/944706512924172288

No. 1 McEachern lost a tough game against eventual champion University School (FL) on Friday but the Indians looked to defeat Simeon (IL) to capture third place in the City of Palms on Saturday. Simeon is a storied basketball program from the south side of Chicago who has produced a number of elite NBA players, such as Derrick Rose, Jahlil Okafor, Anthony Davis, and Nick Anderson to name just a few. Simeon, led by longtime coach Rob Smith, is always a top-notch basketball team looking to give any team a tough matchup. They played the consensus number one team in the nation, Memphis East (TN), and gave the Mustangs a game that went down to the wire. The Wolverines, led by versatile, senior wing Talen Horton-Tucker, looked to get some revenge and beat McEachern to end their trip to Florida with a third-place trophy.

The first quarter started with a slow offensive showing. Coach Mike Thompson dug into his bench early and put guards Alyn Breed and Devin Gordon onto the floor. The two juniors gave a stagnant McEachern offense some life and played with some energy. On the other end, Simeon guard KeJuan Clements controlled the pace of the game and finished well when he got into the lane. McEachern’s defense was great in the first quarter, holding the Wolverines to just 13.

The second quarter remained rather consistent with the first. Coach Thompson continued to utilize his bench. Guard Quinton McElroy got on to the floor as well to provide some fresh legs. Simeon, who lacked much size, couldn’t keep big men Babatunde Akingbola and Jared Jones off the boards. The two big men were swatting shots constantly and pulling down rebounds over the much smaller Simeon guards.

While the Wolverines lacked size, they made up for it with speed and intangibles. They were a blur in the open court and were able to adjust their defensive scheme to limit Jones’ and Akingbola’s offensive production. While Simeon was able to contain the big men, they struggled to guard the wings. Isaac Okoro and Sharife Cooper both put up good numbers in the first half, combing for 27 points. Cooper hit a few threes and had some great assists to his teammates, while Okoro got to the rim and finished over the small Simeon players. At the half, McEachern was up 35-30.

To start the second half, Okoro hit a jump shot from the right wing, but then the Wolverines blitzed the Indians and put up points in a hurry. Simeon went on a huge run fueled by guard Xavier Pinson and do-it-all wing Talen Horton-Tucker. Pinson, a senior guard, came off the bench for Coach Smith and provided a huge spark. The bouncy guard finished well above the rim and helped facilitate the ball to his open teammates. Horton-Tucker did everything on the offensive end from posting up to running pick-and-rolls.

After the initial offensive burst, the Indians settled in and Okoro started the heat up. He put constant pressure on the interior defense and got to the free throw line. He finished with seven points in the quarter and the Indians had an 8-point lead entering the fourth.

About a minute into the final quarter, Cooper picked up his fourth foul. Coach Thompson chose to keep him in and trust his savvy, young guard. Pinson continued to attack for Simeon until big man Jared Jones stepped in front of a driving Pinson and took a charge. This resulted in Pinson’s fifth and final foul as he had the watch the remainder of the game from the bench.

Simeon continued their game plan without Pinson and saw Drake-commit Messiah Jones step up. He hit some open shots to give the Wolverines a little momentum. Jones, who played out of position the entire tournament, had to battle with the posts down low.

As the game almost came to a close, Simeon fouled Okoro. He went to the line and he knocked down two free throws. The Wolverines rushed down the floor to get a shot but turned the ball over to Cooper with about 16 seconds left. Guard Devin Gordon missed the first of his two free throws but made the second one.

Simeon came down the floor and cleared out for Horton-Tucker. He got to the rim with ease but his layup rolled out.

https://twitter.com/C_KELLY99/status/944730745859379205

With two and a half seconds left and the ball under the hoop, Coach Smith drew up a great screen-the-screener play for Clements, using Horton-Tucker as a decoy, and Okoro lost his man. However, Clements wasn’t able to finish the layup, the Indians surviving 56-54.

https://twitter.com/C_KELLY99/status/944733102273855488

McEachern finished their first City of Palms appearance in 3rd place. The young team, according to Vice President of the tournament Donnie Wilkie, will be returning in 2018 and have a huge opportunity to develop over the summer and potentially win the entire tournament next year.

Chris’ Takeaways

Sharife Cooper is going to attract some national attention soon. The sophomore guard had a terrific run at the City of Palms including a 42-point outing against 5-star senior Jahvon Quinerly. 42 points is a record by any Georgia player at the City of Palms Classic. Considering some of the Georgians that have played in the tournament, MJ Walker, Collin Sexton, Lou Williams, Kobe Simmons and Malik Beasley to name a few, this is a huge accomplishment. Cooper’s play earned him a spot on the All-Tournament team, alongside some elite company.

Xavier Pinson is still a great available guard for any low or mid-major college. After decommitting from Kent State, the senior blew up on the AAU circuit. Pinson holds a handful of offers from smaller colleges, such as George Mason, Buffalo and Evansville. He is bouncy and is fearless attacking the rim and has a good-looking jump shot. Against Memphis East (TN), Pinson attacked the rim constantly and almost dunked over 7-footer, top recruit in the nation James Wiseman. No matter who’s in the middle, Pinson looks to rise up and slam it on them.

McEachern’s offense will need to improve before the playoffs start. While the Indians will not face a team that has anywhere near the talent that University (FL), Simeon, or Hudson Catholic (NJ), had, they will still face some tough teams in Class AAAAAAA. Against the last three teams McEachern faced in the City of Palms, their offense looked stagnant and struggled at times. Their first game against Ranney (NJ), McEachern’s offense looked smooth and efficient. The Indians only shot the ball 31 times against Simeon and had 21 team turnovers.

Top Performers

McEachern
Isaac Okoro – 22 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists
Sharife Cooper – 19 points (5-5 FG), 4 rebounds, 5 assists

Simeon (IL)
Talen Horton-Tucker – 21 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists
Xavier Pinson – 12 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists
Messiah Jones – 10 points, 10 rebounds

Game Stories, GHSA, GHSA Basketball

Tye Fagan rallies No. 1 Upson-Lee to 44th straight win and City of Palms Signature Series Championship

Contributed by Chris Kelly   (@C_KELLY99)

No. 1 Upson-Lee 73, Corbin (KY) 71

https://twitter.com/C_KELLY99/status/944354515955912705

Last Friday night had both Georgia teams playing in the City of Palms. The first of the two games was for the championship of the Small-Town Signature Series between No. 1 Upson-Lee and Corbin (KY). The Knights had a huge challenge having to guard Furman bound Andrew Taylor. Going into the City of Palms, Taylor was averaging just under 30 points per game and his first game in the tournament, he had an efficient 36.

The game started with Corbin winning the tip and immediately giving it to Taylor. Taylor, like throughout much of the game, was able to get to the rim easily or knock down outside jumpers. On the other end, The Knights were aggressive early and played downhill. Tye Fagan, who looked much better this game, came out attacking and was able to get going early.

To start the second quarter, the Red Hounds knocked down threes at an extremely high rate. They would space the floor and clear out for Taylor to get into the lane. He then would find his shooters who couldn’t miss. The Knights had a tough time closing out on shooters and Corbin made them pay. Fagan and big man Travon Walker did their part to keep the Knights afloat. Fagan was scoring consistently and Walker pulled down any rebound near him. At the half, the Red Hounds were up 42-29.

To start the second half, Fagan turned it up a notch. Corbin couldn’t stay in front of him and he was making plays for himself and his teammates. The Red Hounds, who lacked size, couldn’t defend Walker inside. Walker, who finished with 21 rebounds, had his way down low, moving much smaller players around. Upson-Lee’s defense was outstanding in the third quarter.

At the beginning of the final quarter, Fagan and Zyrice Scott started to knock down some threes. The Knights opened with an 11-2 run to get themselves back into the game. The Red Hounds appeared a little tired and the Knights attacked. Coach Darrell Lockhart made the decision to press Corbin, but ended up sending the Red Hounds to the line frequently. This may have actually been a blessing in disguise for Upson-Lee because the Red Hounds had a subpar shooting percentage from the free throw line and the clock was stopped.

As Corbin continued missing free throws, Fagan was scoring from everywhere. Scott also served as a great sidekick in the fourth quarter, knocking down his open looks. With about a minute left, both teams had scored 69 and the Knights had the ball. Fagan knocked down a mid-range shot and then Taylor quickly got a layup on the other end.

With the score tied at 71, the Knights held the ball for the last shot. Fagan drove baseline but was met with baseline help. This left big man JaCorey Smith wide open near the hoop and Fagan found him. Smith laid the ball in right before the buzzer and the Knights added another win to their record by a score of 73-71.

Chris’ Takeaways

Tye Fagan is one of the most well-rounded players in Georgia. This game marked just the third time I have watched the Middle Tennessee State-signee in action and I wasn’t blown away the first two times. This game I finally saw what everyone was talking about. Fagan can score from all three levels rather well and can even put his back to the basket and find ways to score. He’s a tough guard than can rise up amongst the trees and grab boards as well, something a lot of guards don’t do nowadays.

Andrew Taylor is a steal for Furman. Taylor is a high-scoring guard that does his scoring very efficiently. In the first game of the tournament, Taylor dropped 36 points on 10-of-15 shooting and followed that up with a 26-point game on 9-of-17 shooting. He can take defenders off the dribble and find his shooters with ease. He is sneaky athletic and also gets to the free throw line at an exceptional rate. Through two games he shot 26 free throws and made 20.

Travon Walker is an extremely good basketball player, even though he’s a football player. After some research, I learned that, while an exceptional basketball player, Walker is a four-star defensive end with high major, SEC offers. This leads me to wonder how good would Walker be if he was only a basketball player? With great hands, soft touch around the rim, and great timing for jumping, Walker already has the tools to be a college basketball player. He pulled down 21 rebounds against Corbin, which puts himself on the all-time leaderboard for rebounds in tournament history.  If Walker were only a basketball player, he’d have more time to work on his rough areas and solidify himself as a D-1 recruit on the hardwood. But with Alabama and Florida State offers, to just name a few, I would say Walker has made the right decision to focus on football.

Top Performers

Upson-Lee
Tye Fagan – 34 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists
Travon Walker – 12 points, 21 rebounds

Corbin (KY)
Andrew Taylor – 26 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists
Chandler Stewart – 22 points (6-9 3PT)

GHSA, GHSA Basketball, Spielin' & Dealin' Podcast

Spielin’ & Dealin’ Ep. 38: Out of the Hospital and onto the Hardwood for Holiday Hoops

***SUBSCRIBE/DOWNLOAD/LISTEN ON iTUNES***
***FOLLOW/DOWNLOAD/LISTEN ON PODBEAN***

[00:10] Introduction
[4:32] Shake up in the middle of Class AAA (G)
[7:45] Is the field still chasing Class AA No. 1 Laney? (G)
[14:46] Terrell County drops 4 spots in hotly-contested Class A-Public (G)
[16:57] Does Class AAAAAA have the most parity at the top across Georgia? (G)
[19:34] Jenkins and Johnson-Savannah battle for the No. 2 spot in Class AAA
[21:35] Is Grayson a contender or pretender amongst the well-touted Class AAAAAAA field?
[25:55] Region 5-AAAAA fills the middle of the rankings behind Warner Robins and Buford
[27:36] Tournament Preview: Tournament of Champions, Deep South Classic, Lake City Classic, Lanierland
[35:50] Tournament Recaps: City of Palms, Peach State Classic

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GHSA, Girls Rankings

Week 6 Girls Rankings

Class AAAAAAA

  1. Westlake (9-0)
  2. Collins Hill (10-1)
  3. Norcross (12-3)
  4. Newton (10-1)
  5. Cherokee (10-1)
  6. North Forsyth (11-2)
  7. South Gwinnett (9-1)
  8. Colquitt County (8-3)
  9. North Cobb (9-2)
  10. McEachern (5-3)

Class AAAAAA

  1. Harrison (8-2)
  2. Northview (8-2)
  3. Lovejoy (10-1)
  4. Winder-Barrow (9-3)
  5. Sequoyah (10-1)
  6. Alpharetta (12-1)
  7. Forest Park (10-2)
  8. Lanier (10-3)
  9. Northside-Warner Robins (7-1)
  10. Centennial (7-3)

Class AAAAA

  1. Buford (9-1)
  2. Flowery Branch (8-3)
  3. Dutchtown (12-1)
  4. Harris County (8-2)
  5. Bainbridge (12-2)
  6. Villa Rica (9-0)
  7. Arabia Mountain (11-1)
  8. Carrollton (7-2)
  9. Cedar Shoals (8-3)
  10. Ware County (6-2)

Class AAAA

  1. Carver-Columbus (12-0)
  2. Henry County (10-0)
  3. Spalding (10-0)
  4. Luella (11-2)
  5. Madison County (7-3)
  6. Northwest Whitfield (11-2)
  7. Marist (10-2)
  8. Baldwin (8-0)
  9. Jefferson (8-3)
  10. Americus-Sumter (9-1)

Class AAA

  1. Greater Atlanta Christian (8-1)
  2. Beach (11-1)
  3. Johnson-Savannah (8-3)
  4. Franklin County (10-0)
  5. Central-Macon (8-1)
  6. Lovett (10-3)
  7. Haralson County (7-0)
  8. Hart County (6-3)
  9. Peach County (8-3)
  10. Dawson County (7-3)

Class AA

  1. Laney (10-0)
  2. Putnam County (8-0)
  3. Rabun County (9-1)
  4. Dodge County (10-1)
  5. Swainsboro (9-2)
  6. Josey (13-1)
  7. Model (10-3)
  8. Banks County (8-3)
  9. Washington County (7-2)
  10. Dublin (6-1)

Class A-Private

  1. Holy Innocents’ (9-1)
  2. Wesleyan (8-1)
  3. St. Francis (8-3)
  4. Our Lady of Mercy (9-1)
  5. Christian Heritage (9-1)
  6. Calvary Day (11-1)
  7. Stratford Academy (6-2)
  8. Landmark Christian (6-4)
  9. Lakeview Academy (5-4)
  10. Prince Avenue Christian (6-1)

Class A-Public

  1. Telfair County (11-1)
  2. Greenville (9-1)
  3. Pelham (9-1)
  4. Wheeler County (9-2)
  5. Macon County (6-1)
  6. Woodville-Tompkins (9-4)
  7. Terrell County (7-2)
  8. Marion County (10-1)
  9. Georgia Military College (9-0)
  10. Turner County (5-2)

Class AAAAAAA No. 1 Westlake took home the Peach State Classic Championship, beating No. 8 Colquitt County 55-46, Maynard Jackson 77-36 and Tucker in the championship game, 61-40; three wins against teams that were ranked last week. No. 2 Collins Hill was just as impressive with a 56-48 win over Class 5A No. 1 Buford at the Hawks-Naismith Holiday Classic. No. 3 Norcross went 2-2 at the CresCom Bank Invitational.

No. 6 Alpharetta tumbles four spots in Class AAAAAA after losing to debutant No. 10 Centennial, 37-34. No. 4 Winder-Barrow finished 2-2 at the CresCom Bank Invitational. No. 8 Lanier is down one position after losing to Class 5A No. 7 Arabia Mountain 59-48. Tucker (7-4) departs from the Top 10 even after a 67-61 upset of Class 4A No. 4 Luella at the Peach State Classic. The Lady Tigers got beat by Westlake and lost on Dec. 15 to Mt. Zion-Jonesboro 61-57; a defeat that would have knocked Tucker from the polls last week if they would have reported the score to MaxPreps on time.

There are three new faces in the Class AAAAA Top 10. No. 7 Arabia Mountain, No. 9 Cedar Shoals and No. 10 Ware County. The Rams were squeezed out of the poll a few weeks ago but reemerge following 10-straight wins including a 59-48 win over Lanier. The Jaguars upset Class 7A No. 9 North Cobb 55-47 to earn their spot while the Gators won the Shane’s Rib Shack Tournament Championship by beating Class 2A No. 5 Swainsboro 62-53 and Class 4A No. 7 Marist 49-42. Out of the rankings are Maynard Jackson (7-2), Eagle’s Landing (9-5) and Southwest DeKalb (7-5). The Jags got hammered at the Peach State Classic on their home floor by Class 7A No. 1 Westlake 77-36 and by Class 4A No. 4 Luella 67-49. The Eagles suffered a 40-37 loss at St. Pius X while the Panthers went 2-2 at the Tarkanian Classic. At the top of the rankings, No. 1 Buford suffered their first loss of the year to Class 7A No. 2 Collins Hill. No. 2 Flowery Branch finished 2-1 at the KSA Holiday Tournament while No. 4 Harris County tallied a 2-2 showing at the CresCom Bank Invitational, beating Fayette County 68-59 in the process.

In Class AAAA, No. 1 Carver-Columbus won the William H. Shaw Christmas Tournament. No. 4 Luella clawed their way to a 2-1 record at the Peach State Classic. No. 5 Madison County jumps No. 6 Northwest Whitfield after their 50-42 win over Class 2A No. 8 Banks County. No. 9 Jefferson defeated West Hall 47-40, denying the Lady Spartans reentry into the Top 10 for at least another week.

No. 3 Johnson-Savannah climbs two spots in Class AAA thanks to their revenge win over No. 2 Beach, 48-43. No. 6 Lovett falls two positions after losing to Dutch Forks, SC 50-42 and Greenbrier 48-37 at the Savannah River Shootout. No. 5 Central-Macon won the State Bank & Trust Championship with a 65-44 win over Class 2A No. 9 Washington County. No. 10 Dawson County clings onto the final spot after a 61-45 loss at West Hall.

No. 1 Laney no longer seems unbeatable in Class AA. The Wildcats slipped by Cross Creek 62-59 and had to rally from down 25-8 to newly ranked No. 6 Josey to pull out a 70-57 victory. The Josey Lady Eagles pop up in the rankings at 13-1. With their measuring stick game finally in tow against Laney, there is confidence that Josey is a legit Top 10 team. Last season the Eagles put together an 18-9 record, but were steamrolled by Laney 74-32, 72-35 and 76-33. Outside of Laney’s two scares, the biggest result in the classification came in Region 8 where No. 2 Putnam County blasted No. 3 Rabun County 82-53. Jashanti Simmons poured in 25 points followed by Hailey Hyman’s 22 and Rykia Pennamon’s 18 to overpowered the LadyCats and Georgia Stockton’s game-high 38 points. Up three spots is No. 4 Dodge County, who continues to be a nightmare for larger schools. The Squaws stunned Wayne County 52-51 by outscoring the Lady Jackets 32-11 in the fourth quarter. Speaking of Class AA on Class AAAAA crime, No. 9 Washington County defeated Warner Robins 52-47.

Class A-Private No. 3 St. Francis went 3-1 at the CresCom Bank Invitational, beating Class 5A No. 4 Harris County 72-48 and eventually falling in the championship game to the No. 5 ranked team in the nation, New York’s Christ the King 67-61. No. 6 Calvary Day rises two spots after drilling Class A-Public No. 6 Woodville-Tompkins 69-40. Fellowship Christian (3-6) exits the Top 10. The one-man show of Colorado-signee Cameron Swartz hasn’t been enough to win games. They fell to No. 8 Landmark Christian 60-58 and finished 1-2 at the War Lodge Invitational. Replacing the Lady Paladins is returnee No. 10 Prince Avenue Christian.

In Class A-Public, No. 7 Terrell County’s win over No. 3 Pelham was short-lived, the Green Wave dropping four spots after a 46-44 loss to No. 6 Woodville-Tompkins, the Lady Wolverines still yet to be beaten by a fellow Class A-Public school. No. 2 Greenville pushed Class 4A No. 1 Carver-Columbus to the brink, 78-72 at the William H. Shaw Christmas Tournament. At the same event, No. 8 Marion County won the small schools bracket. Mitchell County (4-3) exits the poll on a two-game losing streak. They are replaced by No. 10 Turner County (5-2).

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