Standouts: Keswick Christian Suncoast Classic (Day 2)
Day 2 of the Keswick Christian Suncoast Classic went down.
I made it out to St. Pete to watch the two semifinal matchups. First, Mount Dora Christian beat Northeast 78-57 and then Manatee took down Keswick Christian 66-34. The winners will battle it out for the tourney title at 8:30 p.m. ET on Saturday night.
Here are the top standouts from the evening.
Taylor Trudeau (Mount Dora Christian)
The purest scorer of Day 2 and perhaps the entire tournament was Taylor Trudeau. The junior guard dropped 44 points in the victory over Northeast. That included 18 first quarter points and 29 at the break. He hit 3’s to end both the first and second quarter, including a buzzer beater to go into halftime. Trudeau is a superb outside shooter. He also showed his abilities as an attacker and as a shutdown defender.
Jermaine Graham (Manatee)
Standing at 6’4″, Manatee forward cruised to a 19-point performance in the semifinal win over Keswick Christian. He didn’t play much of the second half with a running clock intact and for the most part, he did his damage over the first two quarters. He had a pair of powerful dunks. Graham’s long arms give defenses fits. He is an explosive player.
Joseph Martz (Mount Dora Christian)
Martz, a senior Warner commit recorded a triple double for Mount Dora Christian in the win. He had 13 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds. Most impressively, Martz’s vision set up some really easy buckets for his group. He anticipates the next play and his passing skills are fun to watch.
Jermaine Phillips (Northeast)
The junior guard led the Vikings with 16 points. He hit a pair of 3’s in the third quarter and did some damage offensively for his side. He made the most plays for Northeast, who played from behind much of the night because of defensive issues. However, Phillips has been a reliable piece for his group.
Aaron Trill (Keswick Christian)
It wasn’t an enjoyable night if you are a Keswick Christian player or fan, but sophomore guard Aaron Trill had a nice outing. He scored a team-best 17 points for his team. Trill isn’t the quickest player, but he has good instincts and fundamentals. As he gains strength, he’ll be able to be even better. The Crusaders must find ways to create plays to make space for Trill.
Terrell Ballard/Alfonso Franklin (Northeast)
Ballard, a senior guard paced his offense with 12 points while Franklin, a junior forward had 11 points. Both players did their damage near the basket. Ballard attacked the rim often and made some really tough buckets. Franklin is a big 6’4″ forward who found his way inside at times.