Flyin to the Hoop Day 1: Ohio teams struggle, PHOTOS!
Saturday wasn’t kind to Ohio teams at the Flyin to the Hoop as only Columbus Marion-Franklin beat an out-of-state opponent. Today the Buckeye State tries again for better results.
PHOTOS! PHOTOS! PHOTOS! (CLICK HERE)
Winton Woods senior gets Ohio State offer, makes game-winning shot
Kettering Flyin’ To The Hoop Tournament (Results and complete Box Scores)
Cincinnati Winton Woods 72, Garfield Heights 70, OT
Columbus Marion-Franklin 83, Centennial, Ga. 75
Findlay Prep, Nev. 64, Cleveland Benedictine 60
Miller Grove, Ga. 69, Cincinnati Aiken 48
Montverde Academy, Fla. 55, Trotwood-Madison 51
Pine Crest, Fla. 64, Cincinnati Princeton 61
GAME RECAPS
Day 1 of the Flyin’ to the Hoop was filled with sparkling individual efforts, game-winning shots, overtimes, potential NBA prospects, and several remarkable teams.
Six games are complete and 12 remain in one of the country’s Top 10 best high school events rated by USA Today.
Columbus Marion Franklin 83 Centennial (GA) 75
Saturday got started with a high-scoring contest featuring Columbus Marion Franklin against Centennial out of Georgia.
Marion Franklin, a Columbus City League school, was able to shoot nearly 51% from the floor, get to the foul-line 37 times, and out rebound the Knights (41-31) en route to an 83-75 triumph.
The Red Devils used a decisive 24 to nine margin at the charity stripe to over 10 Centennial three-point field goals. As the old adage goes, when a team makes more free-throws than the opponent shoots that usually equals success.
Things looked scary at first as Centennial jumped out to a 26-16 lead after one quarter led by senior guard Devonta’ White. The Georgia State commit scored 14 points in the first period including four triples.
The Red Devils (7-2) were able to slightly cut into the lead in the 2nd quarter behind 6-foot-8 sophomore Elijah Macon’s six points. Still, the Knights took a 41-33 lead into the locker room.
Marion Franklin was able to flex its muscles in the 3rd quarter eventually knotting the score at 47 and taking the lead on a Trevon Youngblood top-of-the-key triple with 2:49 remaining in the quarter. Senior guard Dejaun McGaughy scored 11 points in the quarter for the Red Devils giving them a 56-52 advantage after three.
Franklin would score 27 points in the final quarter to seal the deal. Macon, a WVU commit, scored nary a basket in the final quarter but was 5-of-7 from the free-throw line and yanked down six caroms. McGaughy scored seven more in the fourth and senior Jeremy McCoy and 6-foot-5 junior Nate Spears evenly divided 10 counters.
Guard Jeremy Burgess and White tried to keep things interesting in the final frame, but their efforts came up short. Burgess had nine in the quarter on three bonus balls and White equaled Burgess’ output.
For the contest, McGaughy led the Red Devils with 22 points on 7-of-14 shooting, while Macon added 15 points and 11 rebounds and Spears contributing 13 and 11. Youngblood chipped in with 11 points and Raimaire Brown had 10 markers. McCoy added eight point and seven dimes.
Centennial (11-4) got a game-high 28 points from White along with six rebounds and six assists. Junior Nathan Harries scored 13 points and ripped down seven boards and senior Adrian Rodgers had 11 and 10. Burgess finished with 11 lightings.
Cincinnati Winton Woods 72 Garfield Heights 70 OT
In the only game of the day featuring two Ohio schools, Cincinnati Winton Woods and Garfield Heights decided 32 minutes wasn’t enough for these two D-1 outfits.
Winton Woods needed an extra four minutes to remain unbeaten (9-0) thanks to a hard-fought 72-70 triumph of Garfield Heights.
It was a great week for senior Dominique Brown as the Winton Woods senior was offered a football scholarship to the Ohio State University, but things got even better Saturday afternoon for ultra-talented athlete. Brown scored the game winning bucket including 23 points for the day and 12 rebounds.
“That is thunder right there that is my man,” joked Winton Woods senior Allen Payne. “He (Brown) is our workhorse. We gave him the ball early and he got to the free-throw line. He struggled at the line early but made them in big key situations down the stretch. We try to stick together and playing together because we have been playing together for three years now and it is finally paying off with this season.
Brown is certainly a talented football, but people may not realize how much he means to his basketball team.
“He means everything to this team,” Payne stated. “He needs to start getting some basketball scholarships. He is that good and our workhorse. He rebounds for us and plays great post defense. He is just a real good player.
From the onset, it didn’t appear any heroics were going to be needed as Winton Woods stormed out to a 16-4 lead before Heights answered with seven-straight to end the quarter. Brown had eight points and five rebounds in the 1st quarter alone. Though, Garfield Heights junior Will Weeks was able to keep things interesting with eight points and sophomore Mike Davis hit a big triple as the quarter was closing.
Garfield got a strong 2nd period from 6-foot-1 junior Trey Lewis after being shutout in the first eight minutes. Lewis hit two threes and tallied eight in the quarter with Davis adding another six. Six Bulldog players scored in the frame allowing them to take a 34-33 halftime lead.
Brown and Payne evenly split 10 points in the second.
The Bulldogs extended their lead in 3rd quarter thanks to 11 more from Lewis giving Heights a 49-42 lead after 24 minutes of play. The Warriors were held to just two field goals in the quarter.
All of this set up a wild final stanza that saw the Bulldogs squander away a nine-point lead with just over three minutes to go in the game.
Brown was huge on the offensive glass and the silky, smooth Payne was slashing and creating for others.
The Bulldogs had plenty of chances to the seal the game at the foul-line at the end of regulation, but it wasn’t meant to be and the game went to overtime with the score knotted at 70.
In the extra session, several big shots were made by both teams, but none bigger than Brown’s lay in off an assist from Payne to nail down the victory.
The Warriors seemingly refusing to lose found a way to make one more play when it mattered most.
“I told the guys at halftime that we were not going to lose this game,” Payne said. “As far as adversity goes, we have been beating teams by thirty points but today we had to fight back. There was a lot of stuff going wrong with foul trouble but we just stuck together and pulled it out.”
The 6-foot-6 Auburn signee, Payne, finished with 18 points, six rebounds, and four assists. The efficient lefty had no bigger assists than the final two.
“It started out struggling a little bit with finding my rhythm,” Payne mentioned. “They did a heck of a job guarding me and taking away stuff that I like to do. I just kept playing and made two assists at the end that helped us win the game. It’s not always about scoring. I just want to win. Whether I have two points or a hundred points the object is to win.”
Athletic 6-foot-4 junior Nate Mason aided the cause for the Warriors with 16 points and six boards.
Garfield Heights was led by Lewis with 25 points on just 6-of-18 shooting and four assists. Davis added 11 and Weeks contributed 10. Mike McQueen scored five points, hauled down 11 rebounds, and dished out three assists.
Freshman Tony Farmer showed signs of why he is one of the state’s top 2013 prospects scoring seven points including a dunk and a three-pointer along with grabbing five boards before fouling out in less than 13 minutes of action.
Miller Grove (GA) 69 Cincinnati Aiken 48
Game 3 of the day featured a long and athletic Miller Grove outfit against a talented Cincinnati Aiken team. However, for the Aiken Falcons the Wolverines’ size and length was too much to overcome as the team from Georgia was able to run away with a 69-48 win.
The Wolverines, who showcase a team with six guys 6-foot-5 or taller including two 6-foot-9 kids and one 6-foot-8, were able to continuously score in the paint using high-low sets to get the ball into the ‘bigs.’
One of those ‘bigs’ happens to be one of the best sophomore centers in the country in 6-foot-9 Tony Parker. The 260-pound big man scored 12 points, grabbed 11 rebounds, and dished out two assists.
The reigning 4A Georgia state champs, Miller Grove, got 16 points from 6-foot-3 junior Devon Provost and 11 from 6-foot-3 sophomore Justin Colvin.
The Wolverines out rebounded the Falcons, 25-14 and held Aiken to just 29% shooting thanks to their length bothering a lot of the shot attempts.
6-foot-4 junior Aaron Thomas led Aiken with 17 points on just 5-of-17 shooting. Thomas also grabbed a team-high eight rebounds. Senior Nick McCoy added 12 and 6.
Pine Crest (FL) 64 Cincinnati Princeton 61
It was a good day to be Brandon Knight of Pine Crest High School, who is arguably the best guard in the country.
Knight, who is an electric 6-foot-3 guard, scored his 3,000th-point of his career on three-point field goal in the first half and then proceeded to knock down a 22-foot triple with 10 seconds remaining in the contest to give Pine Crest a 64-61 victory.
Knight, who is undecided on his college choice, struggled from the field for much of the game but found a way when it mattered most. Knight was just 10-of-29 from the floor but managed an 11-of-13 performance at the free-throw line. By attacking the rim, Knight was able to get fouled and convert some freebies which appeared to help his stroke.
The high-major D-1 recruit’s, Knight, 36 points rank him 4th for most points scored in a single-game at the Flyin’ to the Hoop event. He also recorded eight caroms and dropped six dimes.
Backcourt mate Traveon Henry was to support with nine markers and 6-foot-7 junior Tevin Westbrook added seven points and 10 rebounds.
For Cincinnati Princeton, it was heart-breaker, but they certainly played well enough to win. The Vikings led by as many as 12 points (25-13) in the 1st half, before the Panthers were able to rally.
Ohio State signee Jordan Sibert came out smoking scoring 11 1st quarter points including hitting his first four shots of the game. However, Sibert went cold over the next three quarters, and wouldn’t make another shot until a late 4th quarter triple. Sibert finished with 15 points but was just 1-of-11 from the field over after hitting his first four shots. The 6-foot-4 senior also grabbed four rebounds and handed out three assists.
Offensive rebounding machine, Darrien Wilkins, was able to score 14 points and pull down 13 rebounds including six on the offensive boards. Wilkins, a 6-foot-5 senior, really has a nose for the basketball.
6-foot-2 junior Ulysses Thomas added 11 points for the two-loss Vikings.
Montverde Academy (FL) 55 Trotwood-Madison 51
Game 5 was a match up of two polar opposite teams in that Montverde is a team with four D-1 college signees and plenty of other mid-to-high major prospects while Trotwood is a team filled with some scrappy, hard-nosed kids that maybe have one or two D-2 to low D-1 prospects.
A Montverde blowout, you ask? Of course not, the Rams are always up for a good challenge just look at their track record.
Montverde has a roster entrenched with nine players 6-foot-5 or taller along with signees to Villanova (James Bell), Marquette (Jamail Jones), Boston College (Papa Samba Ndao), and Harvard (Ugo Okam). Okam didn’t even get off the bench.
Montverde jumped out to a 26-15 lead at halftime and then expanded its largest lead to 30-15 before the Rams 6-foot-3 senior Darnell Tubbs got going. Tubbs, who was shutout in the 1st half, scored 10 points in the 3rd quarter and five in the 4th to help lead a charge that came up just a bit short. Tubbs ended with 15 points and five rebounds.
Teammate DaWuan Thomas was able to get jump started in 2nd half after just five points in the first 16 minutes. Thomas scored 12 in the final two quarter and had 17 for the game along with six boards.
Though, eventually, the energy spent coming back was too much to overcome the talented Eagles. 5-foot-9 senior Kaleb Clyburn sealed Trotwood’s fate with a 6-of-6 performance at the foul-line in the 4th quarter and 12-of-12 for the game. Clyburn only attempted three field-goals the entire game but managed to scored 14 points and pass out six assists.
Bell added 14 points and five rebounds while Jones finished with 11 counters.
Strangely, the Rams were able to get a draw on the boards (24-24).
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