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Game Stories, GHSA, GHSA Basketball

GE8TOC Recaps

7A No. 8 Westlake 78, A-Private No. 1 St. Francis 75

St. Francis got out to a hot start leading 10-2 behind an aggressive Dwon Odom but Westlake worked its way back behind freshman Dillon Hunter who scored seven of his 11 points in the first quarter to close the opening eight minutes with the Lions trailing 23-15. Westlake’s isolation offense started to click with Rice-commit Quincy Olivari (4), Kaleb Wallace (5) and Clemson-commit Chase Hunter (4) finding the bottom of the net, but it was the steady play of 6-foot-4 senior wing D’Antaye Page that kept the Lions intact. Page netted seven of his team-high 18 points in the quarter to give Westlake a 38-35 lead at the half. Page continued to pour it on in the second half, but it was his rebounding that eliminated any second chance opportunities for the Knights, double-doubling with 12 rebounds to his credit. With Sean Paradise lost for the season with a dislocated knee, St. Francis was in search of someone to step up. Chase Ellis did just that, the reliable undersized forward totaling 21 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists and 1 block. The Knights went back and forth with the Lions after heading into the fourth quarter down 55-53 until Westlake secured a lead midway through and continued to fend off any St. Francis efforts to regain control. Odom scored 13 points in the final frame but Olivari’s gutsy shot in the lane with 47 seconds to play proved to be the dagger, pushing Westlake’s lead to 73-68.

Top Performers
Westlake
D’Antaye Page – 18 points, 12 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal
Chase Hunter – 17 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
Quincy Olivari – 17 points, 1 rebound, 1 steal
Dillon Hunter – 11 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals
Kaleb Wallace – 9 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists

St. Francis
Dwon Odom – 29 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
Chase Ellis – 21 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 block
CJ Riley – 11 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist
Kai Simmons – 6 points, 3 rebounds

 

No. 3 Meadowcreek 70, No. 6 Wheeler 54

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The new-look defending Class 7A state champions clamped down on Wheeler, holding the Wildcats to 17 points in the second half to coast to victory. Wheeler led 17-16 after the first quarter and in the second quarter the game got chippy with technical fouls, jawing and a lot of clapping. Through all the gamesmanship, Damian Dunn (Temple) shined the brightest, dazzling in his Georgia debut. Dunn dominated on the wing, scoring at all three levels and cleaning the glass. He finished with 26 points, 13 rebounds and 5 assists, giving Meadowcreek anything they needed whenever they needed it. As good as Dunn was, it was the role players that proved to be the difference makers. Kedrick Green, a starter as a freshman, came off the bench and showed his championship mettle, collecting 2 points, 3 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals. Even with Green’s positive influence on the game, Wheeler still maintained a 37-33 lead at the break with Sam Hines scoring 12 of his team-high 14 points in the opening half. The Mustangs and Wildcats traded body blows in the third quarter before Meadowcreek stole momentum with the three-ball to quickly distance themselves from Wheeler. The Mustangs hit four threes in a row to close the third quarter, senior Emmanuel Collier drilled two of his five during the stretch while Corey Blissett added one and Dunn sank a contested leaner at the buzzer to balloon the lead to 55-47. Collier finished with 17 points, sniping from the corner as Wheeler failed to run him off his sweet spot. Dunn and Jamir Chaplin combined for 11 points in the fourth quarter, outscoring Wheeler (7) by themselves to kick off their title defense with a win.

Top Performers
Meadowcreek
Damian Dunn – 26 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists
Emmanuel Collier – 17 points, 2 assists
Jamir Chaplin – 15 points, 6 rebounds, 1 block

Wheeler
Sam Hines – 14 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists
Roscoe Eastmond – 11 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 steals
Malachi Rhodes – 9 points, 9 rebounds, 3 steals, 1 block
Charles Smith IV – 9 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists

 

No. 2 McEachern 75, Holy Spirit Prep 72

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Nip-and-tuck until the final buzzer, Class 7A No. 2 McEachern used a late 9-0 spurt to race past GISA superpower Holy Spirit Prep and stun the Cougars in front of a capacity crowd. McEachern held an 18-17 lead after the first quarter behind a balanced attack that saw Sharife Cooper score seven points and Isaac Okoro (Auburn) and Jared Jones (Northwestern) add four apiece. Consensus five-star junior Anthony Edwards had a quiet start for the Cougars and elected to get his teammates involved instead of hunting his shot. Edwards had two points and two assists with Ahmir Langlais scoring six points inside. In the second quarter, Edwards and DeAndre Brown got hot. The duo combined for 16 points, hitting three three-pointers between them and grabbing a 30-24 lead at the 3:36 mark. The Cougars settled for a 33-31 lead at the half. In the third quarter, Edwards continued to break away after Okoro did a nice job defending him to open the game. Three rim-rocking dunks highlighted by one right before the buzzer gave Holy Spirit Prep a 50-48 advantage heading into the fourth. The Indians stuck tight with the Cougars and weathered the Edwards storm the best they could in the third behind Cooper’s slick passing and Okoro’s attacking play. Alyn Breed (4) and Quinton McElroy (5) came up huge in the quarter to give Coach Mike Thompson some offense from his fourth and fifth scoring options. Holy Spirit Prep was in good shape in the fourth quarter even though Langlais hardly saw the floor with foul trouble. The Cougars led 61-55 before Cooper flipped the switch and scored his first points since the first quarter at the 4:28 mark to cut the lead to four. Hemmed up for two quarters struggling to finish in the lane and settling for setting up his teammates, Cooper began to take over. He tied the game at 61 but Ibrahima Jarjou hit a jumper and two free throws as the Cougars clung onto a 65-63 lead with 2:22 left before the levee broke. Cooper exploded and ignited a 9-0 run to shellshock the Cougars, burying a three to give the Indians the lead for good before Breed scored on a putback to all of a sudden give McEachern a 68-65 lead with just 94 precious seconds remaining and the crowd frenzied. The sudden deficit and the atmosphere rattled the Cougars as Holy Spirit Prep rushed quick shots and abandoned the offense settling for pull up threes which led to easy breakouts for the Indians, McEachern capping off their run to take an insurmountable 72-65 lead with 30 seconds remaining. Cooper finished with a team-high 23 points, dropping 16 in the fourth quarter. A Brown three at the buzzer wasn’t enough as McEachern survived a 31-point outburst from Edwards.

Top Performers
McEachern
Sharife Cooper – 23 points (16 in 4Q), 7 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steal
Isaac Okoro – 19 points, 7 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal
Jared Jones – 12 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, 2 blocks
Alyn Breed – 8 points, 8 rebounds, 1 assist
Quinton McElroy – 8 points, 4 rebounds, 1 assist

Holy Spirit Prep
Anthony Edwards – 31 points, 10 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal
DeAndre Brown – 13 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals
Ahmir Langlais – 8 points, 4 rebounds
Ibrahima Jarjou – 6 points, 7 rebounds, 1 steal, 1 block

Analysis, GHSA Basketball

Battle For Georgia 17U Notes

Game Elite Gold (Champions)

6-8 F Jaylin Williams (Brantley County) was instrumental in Game Elite Gold capturing the Battle For Georgia 17U Championship. He and Louisville-commit Josh Nickelberry composed a devastating inside-outside punch. Williams averaged 16.6 points, 10.6 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.6 blocks over the event and put up 12 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists in a thrilling title game victory over Atlanta Xpress, 68-67. Game Elite wouldn’t have made it there if it wasn’t for a late Williams And-1 that beat the Atlanta Celtics, 79-78. Williams is a smooth elite athlete that ignites his own fastbreaks and glides to the basket. He displayed very good court vision and found open men in tight spaces. His overall consistency was impressive against Georgia’s elite. Continuing to develop his outside shot will be an area of focus.

6-2 PG Hunter McIntosh (GAC) came off the bench and supplied Game Elite Gold with exactly what they needed: a true point guard. With Ashton Hagans gone, McIntosh’s impact was apparent. While he didn’t play the same scoring role in the offense, McIntosh did what a great point guard does – he organized the troops, got his teammates in the right position both offensively and defensively and distributed the ball. McIntosh supplied a spark in Game Elite Gold’s tournament opening win over Team AJ Bouye, finishing with 10 points, 3 rebounds and 2 assists. In the title game, McIntosh chipped in 6 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists.

Atlanta Xpress (Runner-Up)

6-5 SG Anthony Edwards (Holy Spirit Prep) looked every bit of the next NBA Lottery pick from Georgia before he landed hard on his wrist after a thunderous dunk and had to miss the championship game. Edwards had a modest beginning to the Xpress’ 65-55 win over Game Elite Black, scoring just 3 points in the first quarter, but he exploded for 27 over the next three periods for a game-high 30 points to go with his 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal and 1 block. Edwards is a wrecking ball when getting to the basket, combining power and grace with his smooth and at times unstoppable eurostep. He knocked down 2 threes and got buckets whenever his team needed him the most, especially in the fourth quarter as he played closer with 13 points.

6-7 F Jordan Smalls (ELCA) didn’t make a major dent in the box score, but the growing junior playing up an age group provided key minutes throughout the tournament off the bench. Smalls was wet behind the ears last year at ELCA, at times looking out of place. But with the Atlanta Xpress there was no pressure on Smalls to provide anything more than energy and a quality breather for the starters. His rebounding stood out the most, finishing with 4 points and 7 rebounds against Game Elite Black and in the title game, hitting a three and collecting 6 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 block.

Team AJ Bouye

6-4 W Asher McGee (Drew Charter) has made me a fan with his play this summer. McGee is a steady scorer and a good overall player. He can score off the dribble, hit open threes and finish at the rim. He had 9 points in a 72-55 loss to Game Elite Gold. McGee has enough size to help on the glass and rotate quickly on defense. He is a nice player with good small school value.

6-7 F Nate Ogbu (Tucker) supplied Team AJ Bouye with 7 points, 5 rebounds and 1 steal. He hit a nice three-pointer creating for himself. Ogbu has a really nice touch as a stretch-4 that can pound the glass and score inside. He’s not quite quick enough to stay on the perimeter as a swingman, but he can certainly space the floor. He has a well-rounded skillset and never forces up bad shots.

6-5 W Devin Gordon (McEachern) was extremely impressive with his effort, knowledge of the game and his ability to be in the right place at the right time. The thick combo forward dropped in 18 points (4 threes), 7 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal. His play was paramount in Team AJ Bouye’s early success against Game Elite Gold.

6-6 F Kendall Lewis (Shiloh) is a bouncy combo forward with a good motor. He hangs his hat on the defensive side of the floor and sparks his team with his battling mindset on the boards. He had 5 points, 6 rebounds, 3 steals and 3 blocks. Lewis needs some refinement offensively and with his three-point shot.

Game Elite Black

6-5 SG Charles Smith IV (Wheeler) has a sweet jump shot that he hunts from the mid-range out to the three-point line. The Cal-commit can attack the rim and finish through contact. He needs to remain aggressive and be a little selfish at times when it betters his team. He had a nice 13-point, 3-steal performance against the Atlanta Xpress.