First Round Friday @ iS8
In the final Friday night of action for the iS8/Nike Spring HS Classic, the Panthers and Sports University lived another day by use of different means. The Panthers' Hail Mary offensive onslaught pushed them past The Bunky Reid All-Stars, while Sports U didn't hit a single three pointer, instead smash-mouthing their way past 2 The Rack.
Panther Power Pounds Bunky Reid
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Jeffrey Short's iS8 nickname is "Numbers". Pitt-bound J.J. Moore is one of the most dynamic offensive players in the tournament. That said, the one thing the Panthers will probably never have a problem with is scoring points. Simply put, they fill it up. A lot. Similar to the Denver Nuggets of the early 80's, attempting to beat the Panthers by way of dropping buckets is an uphill battle, and for what it's worth, Bunky Reid managed to reciprocate the onslaught early on. But ultimately, the Panthers had too much firepower, and the added steadiness of Maryland-bound PG Sterling Gibbs made them that much harder to keep up with. Even without the services of high-scoring guard Russ Smith, the Panthers eclipsed the 100 point mark, dropping Bunky Reid 103-80.
The Moore-Short show got rolling early, and neither of the assassins had trouble filling it up. In the paint, at the line or from deep, the duo rolled the Panthers out to a ten point advantage at one point, taking a 23-13 lead. But Bunky Reid had some weapons of their own in Sheldon Hagigal and Dominican College-bound Khaleev Ginyard. On his 18th birthday, Ginyard did a little celebrating by drilling three treys in the first quarter, and the three fest was in favor of the Panthers after one, 23-18.
Rising senior Shamoy McIntosh picked up where Ginyard left off, as the 6'1 Floral Park HS combo guard caught fire in his first ever iS8 game. His three triples gave Bunky Reid life, with the second and third giving them one point leads. But a tech on Bunky Reid and a number of foul calls sent Gibbs to the line, and he calmly went 8-8 from the stripe, opening the Panthers' lead back up inch by inch. The crisp free throw shooting was contagious, as Moore and Short chipped in for a 15 of 16 team performance at the line in the second quarter alone. Bunky Reid in turn went flat, and the Panthers held a 56-42 halftime advantage.
Turnovers and poor shot selection hindered Bunky Reid early in the second half, and with the exception of McIntosh and forward Tim Brandon, the LI team had gone quiet. Meanwhile, Gibbs ran the Panthers offense, and the downpour from Short and Moore continued. A dose of good defense from Bunky Reid late in the third quarter got New Paltz-bound guard Lamard Herron a few steals and Bunky Reid a bit of hope. But in a game where defense didn't get much stage time, Moore and Short (with some added clean up work from center Ryan Rhoomes) answered with another tsunami of offense to close the coffin.
JJ Moore and Jeff Short led the Panthers with 30 and 26 points, respectively. Jeff Short hit 6 three pointers. Sterling Gibbs added 19 points, shooting 13-14 from the free throw line. Bunky Reid were led by Shamoy McIntosh -who was impressive in his IS8 debut- with 22 points (including 5 three pointers) and 5 assists. Khaleev Ginyard and Sheldon Hagigal added 16 points each. Ginyard also hit 5 threes. The Panthers will play Rich Soil at 9AM on Saturday.
Sports University Muscles 2 The Rack
The night cap was by no means the point party that the opening game was. The pairing of the two towering, imposing and downright physical teams meant there would be plenty of blocked shots, bulldozer moves and plays that looked physically painful. Ultimately, the heavyweight bout style game went in favor of Sports University, as they got past 2 The Rack, 71-65.
2 The Rack's early 7-0 lead was closed once Sports U got going, thanks to the paint tactics of Derrick Williams. A fast break bucket and old school three point play from PG Elijah Carter gave Sports U a 10-9 lead, and despite a number of runs from 2 The Rack, Sports U never relinquished control. The brute force and power of the 6'6 260 pound Williams held down the interior, and the defensive rebounding of Andres Mister limited 2 The Rack to one and done possessions. 2 The Rack managed to stay in the game mainly due to 6'6 rising sophomore Jordan Washington (Pathways Prep), an imposing figure on the block in his own right.
2 The Rack cut into Sports U's lead in the third quarter, thanks to a pair of threes from Isiah Massey. But Sports U stuck to what put them out front, as Carter slashed his way to the hoop a few times to help open their lead back to 12 points, 51-39. A block party for Sports U -namely Daveon Boardingham- put the clamps on 2 The Rack momentarily, but they had some fight left in the tank. A burst of hot three point shooting from Shelton Mickell (Cardozo) coupled with some full court pressing brought them back within five, 61-56, as the game would down and the pressure mounted. A long two from Washington with 10 seconds left made it a 69-65 game, but Carter won the war for Sports U at the foul line as time wound down.
Derrick Williams' 20 points and Elijah Carter's 18 led Sports University, who will face Metro Hawks at 10:30 AM on Saturday. Daveon Boardingham chipped in with 10 points. 2 The Rack were led by Jordan Washington's 18 points, while Shelton Mickell and Isiah Massey added 16 each.
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