Prep Hoops 10 Best: Trinity Episcopal vs. Walsingham
In the nightcap of the Dale Travis Invitational, host Trinity Episcopal faced a young but talented Walsingham team, and they gave the Titans more than what they bargained for. After trailing 16-11 after the first quarter, the talented Trinity team…
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Continue ReadingIn the nightcap of the Dale Travis Invitational, host Trinity Episcopal faced a young but talented Walsingham team, and they gave the Titans more than what they bargained for. After trailing 16-11 after the first quarter, the talented Trinity team pulled it together and ended up defending their home court with a 68-60 win, but not before Walsingham made a huge run in the fourth quarter. It was a hard fought game that was fun to watch with some big time performances. Here’s some of our takeaways.
MVP: Jason Wade | Trinity Episcopal ’18
His transfer to Trinity may have been the biggest shake up in Richmond area hoops, and he showed why as he stepped up huge in the second half for Trinity. Wade is a “do it all” kind of player, and he showed that by setting the tone on both ends of the floor and willing Trinity to a victory. More on his big night shortly.
Play of the Game: Zach Jacobs | Trinity ’17
The athletic Jacobs had a couple of questionable plays where he didn’t know whether or not to dunk it around the rim, but when he did it brought the house down. Late in the third quarter, Wade penetrated and hit Jacobs on a dime, and Jacobs took care of the rest. He elevated off a stand still or “vertical”, cocked it all the way back with one hand and viciously threw it down to set the Trinity crowd crazy. I’m sure that if any JMU fans saw that play they were excited for the next four years.
Best Offensive Performance | Jason Wade | Trinity ’18
There were some small discrepancies on his stats, but from what we all agreed on Wade almost ended up with a triple-double in his Travis Dale opener. The point guard finished with (unofficially) 16 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists. After moving him on the ball in the second quarter, he came alive and made play after play to help lead the Titans to a victory. They’ll need more of that if they’re going to get a win over a talented Hargrave team tonight.
Best Defensive Performance | Armando Bacot | Trinity ’18
Bacot slimmed down this summer, and it shows on the defensive end as much as the offensive end. Midway through the first quarter, Bacot had a deflating block as Walsingham was on a run that brought the Titans crowd to life. Despite foul trouble on a couple of questionable calls, Bacot manned the paint well and had multiple big blocks for Trinity.
Best Guy off the Bench | Matt Nelson | Trinity ’17
The senior guard is a crowd favorite, and from what I’ve been told it’s well deserved. Nelson has worked his tail off the last couple of years just to make the team, and with the injury to Army commit Aaron Duhart his number will continue to be called. He gave all out effort on both ends, and showed a nice stroke from deep hitting two three-balls in the second half.
Best Intangibles | Jaylin Stewart | Walsingham ‘19
He didn’t shoot it particularly well from the field, but Stewart was relentless on both ends. The sophomore opened the game on fire, scoring seven of their first 11 points, and when they needed someone to go get a bucket he went after it with no hesitation. He finished with 22 points, 13 of which came in the second half.
Best Under the Radar Performer | Sam Jones | Walsingham ‘19
Who? Yes don’t forget the name, because Sam Jones can HOOP. He came out the gates on fire, scoring seven points in the first quarter as he was a big part of them getting the lead early. While he didn’t score it as well in the second half, he did a great job creating for his teammates and setting the tone defensively. He finished with 11 points, seven assists and six rebounds.
Best Underclassman | Armando Bacot | Trinity ’19
One of the top bigs in the country in the 2019 class, Bacot showed his promise despite spending much of the game on the bench in foul trouble. He showed some good back to the basket moves, passed it well out of the post and protected the rim with multiple blocks. He finished with 11 points and six rebounds.
Best Rebounder | Tariq Balogun | Walsingham ’19
In any other game he likely would’ve won the “Best Underclassman” title, but Bacot’s national recognition won out. Still, Balogun can play and will only get better moving forward. The UK native manned the paint well, pulling in 11 rebounds and finishing with 15 points. He showed a high motor on the glass and was relentless getting after it on both ends.
Best Aspect of Environment | Trinity Band
Not many schools have a live band, but any home game you go to Trinity has one that rocks the house. They do choreographed songs with the student section, and during any timeout they rock it out making it hard for opposing coaches to talk to their team during timeouts. It’s worth the price of admission to see them (there is no price of admission at TES).