Top Ten: Crossings Christian vs Mount St. Mary
Mount St. Mary defeated a feisty Crossings Christian team 60-52 Tuesday night. Led by the trio of Tony Elix, Stephon Hall, and Nick Martinich, the Rockets shrugged halftime deficit and came through in the second half for the win. MVP: Tony Elix…
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Continue ReadingMount St. Mary defeated a feisty Crossings Christian team 60-52 Tuesday night. Led by the trio of Tony Elix, Stephon Hall, and Nick Martinich, the Rockets shrugged halftime deficit and came through in the second half for the win.
MVP: Tony Elix MSM
Elix was a man among boys down low. He was the best athlete on the floor by far and he took advantage of that.
Elix is a sleeper in the 2017 class and he showed why coaches are interested in his potential. He finished everything around the rim and protected the paint on defense for the Rockets.
Best offensive performance: Stephon Hall MSM
Hall struggled with his shot in the first half but got it going after their pressure defense created some easy baskets for the 2018 guard.
Hall was serving his teammates all night. Hall set up Felix for open layups. He also found his shooters coming off the ball screens.
Best defensive performance. Tony Elix MSM
Elix was playing volleyball with Crossings’ layup attempts all night. He is a great athlete who gets off the floor quickly and has great timing.
Anytime a Crossings player got around the rim they automatically pump faked because of Elix which helped his Rocket teammates recover. He clearly changed the game for his team defensively.
Best Passer: Stephon Hall MSM
Hall wasn’t dominant scoring the ball but he was a key part in everything the Rockets do offensively. He didn’t force shots and he set up his teammates in areas where their strengths are which is key.
The 2018 guard is a maestro in ball screens and he used those skills to carve up the defense. Crossings was tough and stayed close but Hall’s offensive creativity was too much.
Best Shooter: Nick Martinich MSM
Martinich is a 6’6 forward who can stretch the floor. He is a key piece in what the Rockets do and he showed that Tuesday. Martinich had a huge second quarter scoring 8 points with two shots from deep and a floater in the lane.
The 2017 stretch forward can also put the ball on the floor and make plays. When MSM was reeling after a first quarter punch from Crossings, Martinich came up big in the second quarter to change the momentum for the rest of the game.
Best energy player: Logan Rhinehart Crossings
Rhinehart is Crossings best player and he tried to help keep the game close. He was hot from three and he also made some tough layups over MSM size.
Rhinehart was all over the floor which resulted in four fouls but his activity is also what made him difficult to guard.
Best young prospect: Grayson Ramer Crossings
MSM picked up the pressure in the second half and Crossings inexperience showed but the Saints have some good young prospects specifically Grayson Ramer.
Ramer made plays off the dribble and he hit a huge shot to tie the game up in the fourth quarter.
Best player off the bench: Cade Travis Crossings
Travis entered the game and made his presence know with an and-1 layup off an offensive rebound. Travis also showed some nice footwork in the post right before halftime.
Best storyline going forward: MSM’s frontcourt combination
Elix and Martinich is the best frontcourt in 4A. MSM will go far if these two talented bigs can play up to their potential from this day forward.