SPRINGFIELD, Ma. – Some 30 minutes after the top-ranked team in the country rolled to a 26-point victory, No.’s 2 and 3 took to the Blake Arena court Monday afternoon on the final day of the 17th Spalding Hoop Hall Classic.
And, 90 or so minutes later, Mouth of Wilson (VA) Oak Hill Academy left the floor looking every bit worthy of its No. 2 standing behind Florida’s Montverde Academy.
The Warriors, fresh off a Bass Pro Tournament championship in Missouri Saturday night, moved to 21-0 behind their convincing 83-69 victory over No. 3 (according to the Ball Is Life ratings) Ft. Lauderdale University, which suffered its first loss in 18 games.
The inside power and skill of junior Vernon Carey (who finished with 29 points and 11 rebounds) kept the Sharks close until midway through the second quarter when the Warriors closed on a 14-4 run, capped by a 3-pointer by future Oregon Duck Will Richardson, a left-handed “combo guard” who scored 18 points with three assists and four rebounds.
University never got closer than to within eight points in the third quarter as the Warriors’ combination of scoring balance – six players scored from six to 21 points, led by University of Kentucky signee Keldon Johnson – and half-court defense never allowed University to lock in at either end of the floor.
Coach Steve Smith also got exceptional play from two reserves, 6-foot-9 senior Maurice Calloo (who gave the Warriors a lift after Kansas-bound center David McCormack was whistled for his second foul with a minute remaining in the second quarter) and sophomore guard Evan Johnson (10 points).
In other games:
Montverde (FL) Academy 74, Santa Ana (CA) Mater Dei 48: Saturday the Eagles almost stumbled as Chicago Simeon just missed on desperation 3-point attempt at the buzzer.
There was no such drama for Coach Kevin Boyle’s crew Monday afternoon, as the top-ranked team in the country improved to 22-0, dominating in such fashion that Boyle to put all of his starters on the bench for the rest of the contest with about six minutes to go.
Duke-bound R.J. Barrett went for 22 points (nine of 19 from the field) with five rebounds and three assists for the Eagles while future Ivy League student-athletes Spencer Freedman (Harvard) and Michael Wang (Pennsylvania) led the Monarchs with 11 and 12 points, respectively.
Jersey City Hudson Catholic 71, Baltimore John Carroll 58: There were likely two McDonald’s All-American guards on the floor (the team will be announced Tuesday) in his teammate Jahvon Quinerly and John Carroll’s Kentucky-bound Immanuel Quickley.
But Luther Muhammad (who signed with Ohio State in November) was clearly the best guard in the game, at both ends of the floor, as he helped his team improve to 7-3 by scoring 17 points to go with four rebounds, three assists and four steals.
Oregon-bound forward Louis King led all scorers with 35 points (albeit with eight turnovers) for Hudson Catholic.
Bradenton (FL) IMG Academy 75, West Chester (PA) Westtown 71: The play was mostly sloppy and often bordered on the chaotic.
But, ultimately, IMG was able to make enough solid plays down the stretch to prevail despite the 25-point effort (12 in the fourth quarter) of Duke-bound Cameron Reddish.
Junior forward Josh Green (who is from Australia by way of Mesa in Arizona) led IMG with 20 points while classmate Jahmius Ramey added 18, sophomore Noah Farrakhan 19 and LSU-bound forward Darius Days 14 and eight rebounds.
Webster Groves (MO) 90, Mount Vernon (NY) 75: Future Saint Louis Billiken Carte’are Gordon post went for 29 points, nine rebounds, five assists and seven blocked shots as the Statemen had not difficulty at all in handing the Knights their first loss.
And the Statesmen also got a sterling performance out of 6-3 Courtney Ramey, one of the better unsigned guards in the Class of 2018, who had 28 points, even rebounds, eight assists and only three turnovers.
Ramey was once committed to Louisville before the Cardinals and then-coach Rick Pitino were rocked in that federal investigation of many in and around college and high school hoops.
Mount Vernon guard Jason Douglas-Stanley warmed up the gym at 9 in the morning (the temperature was in the low teens outside, as this Southern California resident can not-so-happily attest) by creating friction in his right arm while launching 21 shots from behind the arc. He hit eight of them while scoring 31 points.
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