PHD Scout: Washington over Roosevelt
Washington had a head start on the season with Friday/Saturday defeats of RC Stevens and St. Thomas More. Roosevelt made their debut this evening and you would think it was Washington that had the advantage but after a turnover and…
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Continue ReadingWashington had a head start on the season with Friday/Saturday defeats of RC Stevens and St. Thomas More. Roosevelt made their debut this evening and you would think it was Washington that had the advantage but after a turnover and official dominated first part of the game it was Christopher and Christophe (Manny Christopher and Christophe Bwayna) that controlled the flow.
Christopher’s pair of early treys and energy building gave the Roughriders at one point a three score lead. Washington, who is without Sam Siganos because of a broken jaw (and no Matt Farniok and Ty Smith on the roster as they didn’t go out for the team), seemed to take a little time to adjust but things seemed back to normal when the hot hand of Carter Keller took over the game.
Keller has a reputation for changing games with his shooting hand and the Warriors needed him to. He was scoreless in the first half before scoring three times around the basket to give Washington a second half lead. Carter is no silent assassin, when he gets going the fists are pumping and the teammates are bouncing. In the second half, he got the entire gym bouncing as Carter was able to match the five three-pointers from Bwayna with four of his own.
Down the stretch the Warriors had too much balance for the Rough Riders to overcome. Keller hit from deep, sophomore Logan Uttecht did a great job distributing as well as finishing on attacks, Isaac Goeman scored six times inside, and senior Sam Gezehagne worked for 11. Washington moved to 3-0 on the season with a 68-56 victory.
Washington Notes
Sam Siganos. Did not play and is out for six weeks because of a broken jaw. How tough is this guy? He broke his jaw early in the game on Saturday, came back in the second half leading his team to a win, and then went to the doctor to care of things at a later date.
Jack Talley. Long at 6-foot-4, runs well, plays like a 3/2, and always has plays that really make you wonder what he could be down the line. Those plays tonight included a pull-up 17-footer in transition and a backdoor cut finishing well above the defense before it could react.
Carter Keller. Scoreless in the first half. At times you forgot he was on the floor. And then he exploded. He changed the game, pumped up his fans and teammates, and switched the momentum. That is what Carter does. We saw him do it in the spring, in the summer, now continuing into the winter. Scored seven early in half two highlighted by an And1, then scored curling tight off two screens losing his guy to catch and hit, and then was followed by four treys half of which had defenders all over him. The guy is a game changer. Can’t wait to see which college program gets him. Had a game high 18 points.
Sam Gezehagne. It was nice to see the worker senior grind for success. At one point during the fall when we did previews we wondered if he was going to be around as we hadn’t heard much about him and know here Sam is in the middle of all the action doing the grind work. Sam had a weak technical foul call early in the game but that didn’t stop him from hustling on both ends leading to his 11 points.
Logan Uttecht. The sophomore lead guard has grabbed our attention. He has a fantastic hesitation attack, his change of direction is better than expected, his first step caught the defense off-guard, and overall he’s a bursting lead guard with another gear. Did a great job taking over for Siganos looking like a veteran even though it was his first varsity game of big minutes at PG. Scored 11 but his ball control was more important.
Isaac Goeman. The 6-foot-6 low post junior was immovable. Roosevelt could not get him off balance therefore every time Goeman anchored down for position he was an easy target for teammates to hit and Isaac’s release off his defender came with a bump allowing him space to hit a short touch bucket on balance. Very good performance against some senior forwards from Roosevelt.
Roosevelt Notes
Christophe Bwayna. The sophomore played his first varsity game and you would have to say it was a success. He started both halves with a three, had a run of three treys made in the second half, and scored 17 overall in his debut. Not to mention at times he brought some defensive energy. Bwayna stands about 6-foot-2 and is agile so he has no problem getting shots off. When he gets more experience at this level he should become quite dangerous.
Alex Fiegen. Thought Alex brought some defensive energy to the floor in the first half. Seemed to move laterally well and do a nice job forcing the attacking dribbler into bad spots. A 6-foot-1 junior to keep an eye on.
Manny Christopher. The strong 5-foot-11 guard brought the energy that lifted his team in the first half. He himself was a defensive game changer early forcing a couplet turnovers with his pressure and he made a pair of treys in the first half that were at important times giving his team momentum and some offensive rhythm. Had ten points for the game.
Tristan Teichmeier. Just about every time the ball was pushed to him or rotated to him in space he was able to put the ball down once and use his agility in a 6-foot-6 body to get to a spot to release for a quality attempt. Had a dozen points and was fouled a lot because the rotating defender had no chance to defend his attack properly.
Tyler Van Voorst. He’s a battler. About a 6-foot-5 guy that works against centers, sets screens, rebounds quite well, and sets good screens. Really like his box-out contact followed by ability to strongly secure boards.