Ten Best: Wichita South (45), Highland Park (35), third-place TIT
TOPEKA, Kan — Talk about a defensive battle — Wichita South pulled out a 45-35 win over Topeka Highland Park to capture the third-place game of the Topeka Invitational on Saturday at Topeka High. Wichita south pulled out the win…
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Continue ReadingTOPEKA, Kan — Talk about a defensive battle — Wichita South pulled out a 45-35 win over Topeka Highland Park to capture the third-place game of the Topeka Invitational on Saturday at Topeka High.
Wichita south pulled out the win despite playing without 6’5 2017 wing Jariah Taylor, one of the Wichita area’s top seniors.
Highland Park: Will White 11, Kenny Stewart 3, Dasani Giardina 10, Larry White 10, Da’Vonshai Harden 5.
Wichita South: D’Andre Adkism 8, Malcolm Tate 5, Deahvian Manning 10, Remy Lamovou 6, DJ Jones 5, Matthew Papamie 7.
MVP: Remy Lemovou (Wichita South). A physical and athletic 6’8 2018 post player, Lemovou didn’t score much, chipping in six points, but was a force on the boards and at the defensive end. He finished with 12 rebounds and five blocked shots and his presence inside made it difficult for Highland Park to get much going to the basket.
Best offensive player: Will White (Highland Park). To be frank, there were’t many offensive standouts for either team, but White had a game-high 11 points, including a 3 and a pair of free throws. A 6’1 2018 wing player, White is a standout defensive player that is a versatile defender.
Best defensive player: Remy Lemovou (Wichita South). He’s a force at the high school level in the paint. Highland Park doesn’t really have a big guy and that freed up Lemovou to roam the paint and challenge anyone that got inside. He’s an impressive player with some upside at the next level.
Best shooter: Deahvian Manning (Wichita South). There wasn’t really a lot of competition for this title. Highland Park Dasani Giardina had a pair of 3-pointers in the first half, but was scoreless in the second half. Manning, a 5’9 2018 guard, had two huge 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and went 2 for 2 at the free throw line to lead South with 10 points in the game.
Best passer: Dasani Giardina (Highland Park). He struggled with his shot in the second half, but Giardina is a nice all-around guard that makes plays and runs the Highland Park offense.
Best rebounder: Remy Lemovou (Wichita South). At the risk of being redundant, this one is all Lemovou. He finished with a game-high 12 rebounds in a contest in which there were a lot of missed shots and rebounds to be had. That’s an impressive total considering how hard and physical Highland Park plays. Even on a day in which they struggled to put the ball in the basket, Park really gets after it and to haul in 12 boards against them is no easy task.
Best off the bench: DJ Jones (Wichita South). The point total doesn’t really do justice for how well Jones played in this one. He scored five, but was second in game-high rebounds with seven as a guard. And, he mixed it up at the defensive end, playing a big role for South on the perimeter.
Best underclassman: Da’Vonshai Harden (Highland Park). Probably didn’t have his best performance in this one, scoring five points and hauling in three rebounds, but Harden is a talented 6’4 2020 wing player with perimeter skills as well as the ability to mix it up in the paint. He’s one of the better freshmen in the state.
Name to remember: Jariah Taylor (Wichita South). He didn’t play in this one as he was out with an apparent for injury, but Taylor is a long, athletic wing player that can handle the ball and play multiple positions all over the court. He’s one of the better prospects in the Wichita area.
Play of the game: Dasani Giardina (Highland Park). A 5’9 2018 point guard, Giardina knocked down an NBA range 3-pointer off a quick catch-and-shoot at the end of the first quarter buzzer to give Park a 10-9 advantage.