Borgia Turkey Tournament: Friday Standouts
On Friday night, I took in the action at the St. Francis Borgia Turkey Tournament in Washington, Mo., where I watched the two consolation semifinal games and the two championship bracket semifinal games. Here is a look at some of…
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Continue ReadingOn Friday night, I took in the action at the St. Francis Borgia Turkey Tournament in Washington, Mo., where I watched the two consolation semifinal games and the two championship bracket semifinal games. Here is a look at some of the top performances from Friday night’s action.
Xavier Womack 6’6″ Cardinal Ritter (2017): The long and lanky combo forward had 17 points and 15 rebounds in a big victory over host Borgia in the semifinals. Womack set the tone with a big alley-oop slam dunk on the opening possession of the game. He worked the middle of Borgia’s zone for buckets and attacked the offensive boards. His athleticism and activity were the difference in the game.
Jared Phillips 5’9″ Cardinal Ritter (2018): A ball-hawking point guard, Phillips is the catalyst for Ritter’s full-court pressure defense that wreaks havoc and causes turnovers. He keeps the game moving at a high rate of speed. He also scored 13 points with most of them coming on strong, penetrating drives to the basket. Phillips was also named the MVP of the tournament after Ritter won the championship against McCluer North on Saturday.
Andre Pruitt 6’2″ North Tech (2017): One of the standout performers of the night, Pruitt scored 33 points to lead the Golden Eagles to a thrilling overtime victory over Normandy in the consolation semifinals. Pruitt did a tremendous job of scoring on twisting drives and consistent attacks to the basket. He sent the game into overtime with a running 3-pointer at the buzzer of regulation.
Malek Davis 5’10” Cardinal Ritter (2019): An old-school point guard who plays the game with a lot of poise and savvy on both ends. He is an excellent shooter who excels in the mid-range area, but can also knock it down from 3-point range. His expression on the floor never changes. Davis scored a cool 13 points in the semifinal win against Borgia.
Gus Kleekamp 6’3″ Borgia (2017): The senior guard was under a lot of heat on Friday as he had to handle the ball against Ritter’s pressure defense. After some early struggles, Kleekamp just started to drive to the basket to beat the pressure and had a lot of success. He scored a game-high 19 points as he did a nice job of getting to the basket and finishing. He was strong with the ball.
Alex Movila 6’8″ Borgia (2018): After scoring a career-high 42 points against Normandy in the first round, Movila struggled a little bit against Cardinal Ritter in the semifinals with the pace of a faster game. He got things going in the fourth quarter as he scored seven of his 13 points. He is noticeably bigger and strong and has improved his shooting touch facing the basket.
Keon McGuire 6’0″ McCluer North (2017): A solid no nonsense point guard who scored 13 points in the victory over St. Louis Christian in the semifinals. McGuire is strong with the ball and does not turn it over and he also made three 3-pointers. He just goes about his business without being spectacular.
Cameron Van Leer 6’4″ Pacific (2018): A smooth combo guard who scored 14 points in the Indians’ easy victory over Washington in the consolation semifinals. Van Leer shot the ball well from long distance and did a nice job of controlling the offense and making sure all of his teammates got buckets. His size gives him an big advantage at the point guard position.
MeKei Ray 5’4″ McCluer North (2019): A quick little point guard who was a tremendous catalyst for the Stars in their victory over St. Louis Christian in the semifinals. Ray played with a lot of speed and knock down three early 3-pointers to stake the Stars out to an early 20-point lead. He also handled the ball well and dropped several nice dimes.
Raymond Smith 6’6″ St. Louis Christian (2017): A big strong combo forward who was very physical with the ball who had the ability to make plays on the dribble. He could also post up and make things happen in the paint.
Saturday Update:
Cardinal Ritter defeated McCluer North 67-62 for the championship. Jared Phillips of Cardinal Ritter was selected the MVP of the tournament.
Borgia defeated North Tech for third place. North Tech defeated Pacific for fifth place and Washington defeated Normandy for seventh place.