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***
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[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

Sponsored by:  @sportalspace
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).

GHSA, GHSA Basketball, Rankings

Week 6 Boys Rankings

Class AAAAAAA

  1. McEachern (9-1)
  2. Grayson (8-1)
  3. Norcross (9-2)
  4. Collins Hill (11-1)
  5. Mountain View (9-2)
  6. Wheeler (6-3)
  7. Newton (8-2)
  8. Meadowcreek (9-2)
  9. Pebblebrook (7-2)
  10. Etowah (8-1) 

Class AAAAAA

  1. Langston Hughes (9-2)
  2. Dacula (5-3)
  3. Brunswick (10-1)
  4. Tri-Cities (12-3)
  5. Douglas County (7-2)
  6. Gainesville (3-6)
  7. Jonesboro (7-2)
  8. Coffee (4-4)
  9. Bradwell Institute (8-4)
  10. Cambridge (12-1) 

Class AAAAA

  1. Warner Robins (8-0)
  2. Buford (6-2)
  3. Columbia (6-2)
  4. Miller Grove (7-3)
  5. Southwest DeKalb (8-3)
  6. Lithonia (11-2)
  7. McIntosh (6-0)
  8. Eagle’s Landing (8-2)
  9. Maynard Jackson (11-0)
  10. Statesboro (8-2) 

Class AAAA

  1. Upson-Lee (12-0)
  2. St. Pius X (8-2)
  3. Sandy Creek (7-2)
  4. Mary Persons (9-1)
  5. Cartersville (6-0)
  6. Westover (8-4)
  7. Baldwin (6-3)
  8. Americus-Sumter (9-1)
  9. Salem (10-4)
  10. Carver-Columbus (11-2) 

Class AAA

  1. Morgan County (9-0)
  2. Jenkins (7-2)
  3. Johnson-Savannah (8-2)
  4. Cedar Grove (5-3)
  5. Greater Atlanta Christian (7-3)
  6. Westside-Macon (5-5)
  7. Monroe Area (8-0)
  8. Windsor Forest (8-3)
  9. Dawson County (8-2)
  10. Pace Academy (4-3) 

Class AA

  1. Glenn Hills (9-0)
  2. South Atlanta (8-1)
  3. Dublin (8-1)
  4. Banks County (10-1)
  5. Swainsboro (6-2)
  6. Thomasville (10-2)
  7. Jeff Davis (7-2)
  8. Chattooga (8-1)
  9. Metter (9-1)
  10. Laney (10-3) 

Class A-Private

  1. St. Francis (8-1)
  2. Aquinas (8-1)
  3. Eagle’s Landing Christian Academy (9-1)
  4. King’s Ridge Christian (8-2)
  5. Christian Heritage (9-0)
  6. Wesleyan (2-3)
  7. Landmark Christian (9-3)
  8. North Cobb Christian (6-2)
  9. WD Mohammed (6-1)
  10. Greenforest (3-6)

Class A-Public

  1. Central-Talbotton (11-0)
  2. Manchester (6-0)
  3. Lanier County (9-1)
  4. Woodville-Tompkins (11-2)
  5. Montgomery County (8-2)
  6. Pelham (8-2)
  7. Calhoun County (10-2)
  8. Wilkinson County (6-3)
  9. Wilcox County (8-3)
  10. Macon County (5-2) 

After a glucose level of 900 and an 18-hour stint in urgent care, the show must go on as Holiday Hoops are heating up the cold winter months. In Class AAAAAAA, No. 1 McEachern finished 3-1 at the City of Palms, taking home third-place after scoring wins over Ranney School, NJ (77-57), Hudson Catholic, NJ (83-81 OT) and Simeon, IL (56-54). The emergence of Sharife Cooper has officially grown to the national level, the sophomore point guard exploding for 42 points including the game-winner against Hudson Catholic. No. 2 Grayson held off Discovery 66-62, No. 3 Norcross rallied in the second half to beat Holy Spirit Prep 75-65, No. 7 Newton got its revenge against Tift County 67-45, No. 8 Meadowcreek took care of Class 4A No. 3 Sandy Creek 59-51 and No. 9 Pebblebrook survived Campbell in overtime, 83-81, to round up the rest of this week’s notable action. Duluth (8-4) exits the Top 10 after an 82-80 loss to Class A-Private No. 1 St. Francis at the Hawks-Naismith Holiday Classic. Replacing the Wildcats is No. 10 Etowah. The Eagles have won 8-straight following their season-opening 59-48 loss to Alabama power Hoover. They next tip against Milton on Wednesday, an interesting matchup as Coach Jason Dasinger squares off against Etowah predecessor Allen Whitehart.

Region 5 reigns yet again in Class AAAAAA, as No. 1 Langston Hughes, No. 4 Tri-Cities and No. 5 Douglas County are all rolling. The Panthers overwhelmed Class A-Private No. 10 Greenforest at the Hawks-Naismith Holiday Classic 79-60. The Bulldogs captured the Peach State Classic Championship by beating No. 7 Jonesboro 83-67 and the Tigers cruised with wins over Mays and Northside-Warner Robins. Stephenson (9-3) bows out of the rankings after a 44-42 loss to Enumclaw, WA. The Jaguars are replaced by the Shane’s Rib Shack tournament champions, No. 10 Cambridge. The Bears outlasted Clarke Central in triple overtime 86-80 before beating Rutland in the title game 78-62.

The DeKalb County Region 5-AAAAA showed well yet again with No. 4 Miller Grove beating Allatoona 51-39, No. 5 Southwest DeKalb drilling Class 3A No. 8 Windsor Forest 90-69 and No. 6 Lithonia winning the New Manchester Toys for Tots tournament 80-68 over Kennesaw Mountain. Woodland-Stockbridge (8-3) exits the poll after a 55-50 loss to red-hot Region 4 foe No. 8 Eagle’s Landing. The Eagles stole a 57-51 win at the X-Dome against Class 4A No. 2 St. Pius after trailing by 19 points at the half, solidifying their place back in the Top 10.

It wasn’t easy, but No. 1 Upson-Lee extended its winning streak to 44 games in Class AAAA by capturing the City of Palms Signature Series championship, beating Kaukauna, WI 79-67 and Corbin, KY in the title game 73-71, rallying from a 14-point second half deficit. Middle Tennessee State-signee Tye Fagan ignited the comeback with 34 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals while Travon Walker collected 12 points and 21 rebounds. No. 4 Mary Persons went 2-0 at the War Eagle Classic, dumping Forest Park and Westminster. No. 5 Cartersville won the Rome News-Tribune championship 40-28 over Rome.

No. 2 Jenkins clocked rival No. 3 Johnson-Savannah 88-52 in Class AAA to win the Memorial Health Holiday Classic. No. 4 Cedar Grove holds onto their position after wins over Westlake (62-49) and Pinson Valley, AL (84-78) with a 68-67 loss to Class 6A No. 7 Jonesboro sandwiched in between at the Peach State Classic. No. 7 Monroe Area is up two spots after a 63-53 win at Marist. Dougherty (8-4) slips from the poll after a 91-63 loss to Class 4A No. 8 Americus-Sumter. The Trojans are replaced by the two-time defending state champion No. 10 Pace Academy Knights. Pace picked up wins over Episcopal School of Jacksonville and Lincoln, FL at the Providence School Christmas tournament, losing to Providence 44-28 to wrap up the event.

No. 1 Glenn Hills continues to hold serve in Class AA, beating No. 10 Laney 49-46 to win the Holiday Roundball Classic Championship. No. 4 Banks County is down two spots after an 84-65 loss to Apalachee. No. 2 South Atlanta went unblemished at the Nashville vs. Atlanta Challenge while No. 3 Dublin won the Kreul Classic Championship, 61-59 over Taravella, FL. Berrien (8-5) tumbles out of the statewide picture with losses at Pierce County 72-68 and at Lowndes 62-58. The Rebels are replaced by debutant No. 9 Metter. The Tigers’ only loss this season came against No. 7 Jeff Davis, 74-73.

Class A-Private No. 1 St. Francis tacked on an 82-80 win over Duluth at the Hawks-Naismith Holiday Classic while No. 3 ELCA pounded No. 10 Greenforest 80-64. Surging five spots is No. 4 King’s Ridge Christian. The Tigers handled No. 7 Landmark Christian 79-56 and beat The King’s Academy 73-49 for the Storm Classic Championship. Freshman Sutton Smith was named MVP. Landmark Christian is without leading rebounder and only post presence Aaron Northcutt for the rest of the season with an injury. No. 5 Christian Heritage has a chance to prove themselves worthy of a Top 5 ranking as they host No. 8 North Cobb Christian next week. No. 6 Wesleyan has lost three straight games, their latest coming against GICAA juggernaut Mt. Bethel Christian, 55-46.

Class A-Public is in full mayhem mode. Outside of No. 1 Central-Talbotton, everything you thought you knew about the classification is in doubt. No. 2 Manchester’s meteoric rise continues, unranked three weeks ago to now sitting near the top after wins over Dooly County 68-53 and Treutlen 71-53.  No. 3 Lanier County flexed its muscle and beat No. 4 Woodville-Tompkins 59-55 to rise four spots. No. 7 Calhoun County plummets four more slots after losing 94-91 in overtime to No. 5 Montgomery County. However, the Cougars bounced back with an 88-63 blowout of No. 10 Macon County. No. 6 Pelham is up three spots thanks to a 69-66 win over Montgomery County.

Game Stories, GHSA, GHSA Basketball

No. 1 McEachern dominates on national stage at City of Palms

Contributed by Chris Kelly   (@C_KELLY99)

No. 1 McEachern 77, Ranney School (NJ) 57

https://twitter.com/C_KELLY99/status/942933042091495424

No. 1 McEachern (7-0) entered their first City of Palms game against the Ranney School (NJ) as the nightcap on Monday. McEachern and Coach Mike Thompson knew they were going to have their hands full with 5-star wings Bryan Antoine and Scottie Lewis. Both wings are highly touted prospects with a handful of offers from high-major schools. The game tipped off with a total of nine juniors and a sophomore starting between the two teams. It started out as a fast pace matchup with Sharife Cooper and Isaac Okoro finishing strong at the rim. On the other end, McEachern came out in man-to-man with the long Brandon Suggs guarding Lewis, the No. 6 ranked player in 2019, and Okoro picking up Antoine, the No. 7 player in 2019. As the quarter closed out, Cooper put up a long two, looking for a foul and made it to give McEachern a four-point lead.

The second quarter began with the Indians going on a small run. McEachern’s size inside, mainly Jared Jones and Babatunde Akingbola, became a big problem for the much smaller Ranney School. The two bigs made their presence felt by continually crashing the boards and swatting shots. Towards the middle of the quarter, Cooper floated a perfect pass to Akingbola who rose up and dunked all over Lewis.

McEachern closed out the half with a string of great defensive stances and Ranney School head coach Tahj Holden getting a technical foul. At the half, McEachern was up 42-19.

https://twitter.com/C_KELLY99/status/942943212481769472

The third quarter opened up with the Ranney School sparking a brief run. Lewis got his first points off of a beautiful crossover and three. Antoine got to the free throw line a few times and both the standouts found guards Ahmadu Sarnor and Alex Klatsky for easy buckets. McEachern responded with a run of their own, fueled by Cooper’s ability to penetrate and find players on the wing. Big men Jones and Akingbola both showed their versatility by knocking down some outside shots. Lewis left part way through the third quarter with what looked like a very gross, dislocated pinky finger but quickly came back and started to make his presence felt a bit. He hit a few jump shots and did a great job finding shooters open on the wing. McEachern still closed out the quarter by a wide scoring margin and began to pull away.

https://twitter.com/C_KELLY99/status/942949577535127552

The fourth quarter started with the Ranney School losing one of their more consistent players, Sornar, to fouls and McEachern capitalized on it. Cooper turned it up a notch and got into the paint at will, finishing well with both hands. McEachern’s bench came in to give their starters a rest and provided the same level of production and consistency. Juniors Alyn Breed, Quinton McElroy and Devin Gordon were the main contributors from the bench and provided little drop off in production from the starters. As the quarter went on, the lead never dwindled and McEachern kept their foot on the gas. Towards the end of the game, both squads put in their reserve players and Lewis finished with a few big time plays, including a spin move and huge dunk.

McEachern won by 20 with the final score being 77-57. The Indians displayed their dominance on a national stage at the City of Palms. The young, Georgia team has a very tough match-up Wednesday morning against the No. 8 ranked team in the nation, Hudson Catholic (NJ). The second New Jersey squad the Indians will play, are led by a senior core consisting of Ohio State-commit Luther Muhammad, Oregon-commit Louis King, and recent Arizona-decommit Jahvon Quinerly. The game tips off at 11 AM.

Chris’ Takeaways

Sharife Cooper was one of, if not, the best player on the floor. Cooper was extremely poised and made great decisions for his team, something you do not normally see from a sophomore. He got into the paint with ease and was able to find teammates to kick the ball out to.

McEachern’s defense is the real deal. The Indians held a very good Ranney School team to just 19 points in the first half and finished with only 58, with most of those second half points coming at the end of the game. Brandon Suggs and Isaac Okoro did a great job containing Scottie Lewis and Bryan Antoine. The two wings combined for thirty-two points on a subpar 33% shooting.

Beating McEachern come playoff time will be no easy feat. The Indians, despite being young, limit their mistakes and played under control. McEachern is also such a deep team. Coach Thompson’s team has very little drop off in production when the second unit comes in the game.

Top Performers

McEachern
Sharife Cooper – 21 points, 3 rebounds, 4 assists
Isaac Okoro – 15 points, 5 rebounds
Jared Jones – 16 points (6-9 FG) 7 rebounds

Ranney School
Bryan Antoine – 20 points
Scottie Lewis – 10 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists

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