Cincinnati’s Ten Best: Shroder visits Woodward at The Blue Palace
A big game in the Cincinnati Metro Athletic Conference Friday night as the number six ranked team in Division III Shroder went on the road to face the number nine ranked team in Division II Woodward. Woodward, looking for its…
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Continue ReadingA big game in the Cincinnati Metro Athletic Conference Friday night as the number six ranked team in Division III Shroder went on the road to face the number nine ranked team in Division II Woodward. Woodward, looking for its first conference win of the season, controlled the game from start to finish and walked away with a comfortable 71-56 win. The Bulldogs used their size to dominate the boards to the tune of a 43-28 edge. Shroder had a very difficult time finishing at the rim over the taller Woodward front court and rushed a lot of shots due to the shot blocking capable of the Bulldogs front court. Let’s take a look at the 10 best from Friday night’s action:
Game MVP- Terry Durham (Woodward)
The big fella contributed in a variety of ways for the Bulldogs finishing the game with 21 points (9-15 from the floor) and 12 rebounds to go along with 4 assist, 3 steals and two blocks. The junior dominated the paint altering the shots he could not block while finishing in the paint even while facing a double team all night. Durham on multiple occasions showed the ability to initiate the offense for Woodward as well and on multiple occasions made the correct decision which usually resulted in one of his teammates getting on open shot.
Best Offensive Performance- Will Coker (Woodward)
One of the top offensive talents in the city and Marshall Football commit Coker lived in the lane throughout the whole evening. Tying Durham with a team high 21 points while going 9-17 from the floor, Coker showed the ability to finish in the lane with both hands and kept his foot on the pedal for the entire game.
Best Defensive Performance- Terry Durham (Woodward)
Durham as stated earlier did a good job of making it difficult for the Jaguars to finish at rim. Even though he finished the game with only two blocks, he altered numerous shots at the rim and did a good job of keeping guards in front of him when in switch situations. To go along with his two blocks Durham also finished the game with 3 steals.
Under The Radar Performance- Derrick Heard (Shroder)
It’s easy to get lost in a game where your school lost by 15 and that just might be the case for the Jaguars Heard, who finished the game with 20 points on 7 of 17 shooting. Heard scored in a variety of ways shooting 3 of 6 from the three and finishing 3 of 3 from the line. Heard did a good job finishing in traffic at the rim and also showed good handles when dribbling in traffic. Heard finished the game with 4 assist and could have had many more had teammates been able to show good hands and catch his passes and/or finish at the rim. The 5’11 inch c/o ‘18 guard is a name college coaches might want to keep on their radar in the future.
Best Bench Performance- Trey Reliford (Woodward)
Reliford time and time again made winning plays that helped the Bulldogs sustain or gain momentum throughout the evening. Reliford finished the game with 8 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assist and 2 steals. Reliford hit two three’s in the second half which helped min runs by the Jaguars. The senior also did a solid job of advancing the ball with the pass in order to help the Bulldog break.
Best Under-Classmen Performance- Dionte McBride (Woodward)
The 6’3 inch sophomore was all over the court for the Bulldogs and filled up the stat sheet in many categories finishing with 13 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assist and 3 steals. McBride did an outstanding job handling the ball when Shroder tried to press the Bulldogs and did a great job of making the correct decision on multiple occasions. McBride also did a very good job of attacking the rim and putting pressure on the Jaguars defense. The c/o ’19 guards 5 assist were a team high for the Bulldogs.
Best Intangibles- Dionte McBride (Woodward)
As stated in the article McBride did a little bit of everything in the Bulldogs victory over the Jaguars. The sophomore did an outstanding job handling the ball on the press break and found his teammate on a few occasions for easy lay-ups. McBride made intelligent basketball plays throughout the evening and will be a name I feel you will hear about more and more over the next couple of years.
Best Shooter- Derrick Heard (Shroder)
Heard put a very good shooting line in the loss going 7 of 17 from the floor which included going 3 of 3 from the line and 3 of 6 from three point range. Heard shooting form was very nice and fluid without much of a wasted motion. When off the ball Heard also had his hands up and ready to shoot before the pass even came his way.
Best Play of the Game- Durham baseline dunk
In the fourth quarter of the game Durham catches a pass on the baseline, takes three dribbles and glides over a Shroder for the dunk. Durham took off from the left block while also avoiding the charge on the defender.
Best Story Moving Forward-
The race for the CMAC championship will definitely be a good one. With four teams within 2 games of each other and a little over two months to go, expect this race to possibly go down to the last week of the regular season. Terry Durham has mentioned for all-city and conference POY honors as this was his 5th double-double in 6 games. For the season the junior is averaging over 19 points and 11 rebounds a game. Woodward must continue to get a balanced attack going forward, especially with the return of senior guard Lonnie Berry still a few weeks away. For Shroder they must re-group from their first loss of the season and must find a way to improve on the boards for their next game.
Woodward Next Game: 7:30pm Tuesday 12/20 versus Purcell Marian (H)
Shroder Next Game: 7:30pm Tuesday 12/20 versus Deer Park (H)