5 Takeaways: Rockhurst vs Liberty (3rd Place Game)
Both Rockhurst and Liberty both lost in the Semi’s and they were both heartbreakers. Rockhurst blew a 12 point 4th quarter lead against the Lee’s Summit West Titans while Liberty lost on a buzzer beater to the Park Hill Trojans. Rockhurst would enter into the 4th quarter on Friday with another double digit lead, but they had no issues closing this game out. This game was in the hands of Rockhurst pretty much from the start. Liberty was able to make a little push and was able to close the gap to make it a 4 point game at the half. The Rockhurst Hawklets quickly pushed the lead back up to double digits and carried a 15 point lead into the 4th quarter and never looked back. Jalen Lewis for the Liberty Bluejays was able to hit his first 3 shots in the 4th quarter and cut the lead to 9, but that is the closest they would get. Rockhurst was led by their up and coming junior guard Tyler Nelson who netted 17 points. The Bluejays were led by Senior guard Jalen Lewis who finished with 22 points.
Meet the Rockhurst Guards
It’s not surprise that the Rockhurst Hawklets are full of talent at the guard position. Xavier Rhodes, a senior guard, is the leader of this team, and it goes as he goes. Rhodes is a shifty athletic guard who has no problem getting to the bucket. He handles the ball very well and can step it out to knock down a 3 if needed, but that typically isn’t his game. He is a slasher who likes to score, but will dump it off if he draws defenders in the lane. Rhodes finished in double figures with 11 points. Glenn McClintock is usually one of those guards we talk about here and there. He has a nice smooth pull up game and handles the ball pretty well. He really isn’t a point guard, but more of the two guard type. He didn’t have his best game shooting the ball, but came up big with loose balls and rebounds. The guy that is rising very quickly and coaches really need to take notice on is Tyler Nelson. Nelson is only a junior and is just now becoming a star. He’s kind of a late bloomer, and a lot of that might have been due to confidence. He still doesn’t know how good he is, but he’s really starting to make a name for himself. He is a quiet guard with good size, and he has the ability to play above the rim whenever he wants. His shot has really improved and he gets good spacing on his jumper. He was pretty efficient on Friday night shooting 5-8 from the field and knocking down all 6 free throws giving him a total of 17 points. He led the Hawklets in scoring and it won’t be the last time.
Jalen Lewis is buckets
I’m not sure if we could say enough about this kid if we tried. Jalen Lewis definitely isn’t the biggest kid on the court, but I would put my money on him being the hardest worker. He’s got one of the smoothest strokes around and is one of the best scorers around the area. That’s really nothing new though, he’s been one of the best scorers for years now. On Friday night, he did start a bit slow and had to force up a couple of contested 3’s to try and keep the Bluejays within reaching distance. When Lewis drives to the bucket, he also draws quite the crowd and made some great passes to open teammates, but it just wasn’t Liberty’s night. The 4th quarter is where Lewis really started to shine. He scored 7 quick points which allowed the Bluejays to get off to a little run and get the game back to single digits. The Hawklets were just too much in the end. Lewis was still able to put together a pretty good game. He scored 12 of his game high 22 points int he 4th quarter.
Darrius Hughes is full of talent
Hughes who stands at a very solid 6’5″ has a high ceiling and possibly D1 talent. He has really improved his shot and on Friday he showed the ability to take it beyond the arc as he went 2-2 from three point land. Most games Hughes is really able to dominate the paint on both sides of the ball, but the shots weren’t falling on the offensive end. He was huge defensively with some big blocks down the stretch, but more importantly getting offensive and defensive rebounds. Although Hughes has decent handles for a big man, his dribbling still can and does get him in trouble at times. If he does put the ball on the deck, he is capable of blowing by almost every big around. Hughes has a lot of potential and he continues to improve as he showed on Friday. He finished the game with 13 points.
Liberty Bluejays are still good
Liberty really struggled on the offensive side of the ball on Friday night. The Bluejays played pretty solid on the defensive end only allowing the Hawklets to score 56 points, but the shots just weren’t falling in their favor. The Bluejays shot just under 35% on the night which won’t win you very many games, but this is no need for anyone to panic. Liberty is still one of the better teams in the nation and probably the best team in their conference. The CW Stessman Invitational was loaded with talent and some of Missouri’s best high school teams this year. The Bluejays have great shooters on their team in Logan Steenstra, Brock Matson, and even Jordan McClellan when he gets hot. I expect Liberty to bounce back next week and get back on the winning train.
Rockhurst Defense
Rockhurst was on their game on Friday night, and their defense was a big reason why. When Rockhurst plays great defense, it leads to great offense and it really showed in the 3rd place game. The Hawklets have great size at every position with all of their guards standing at about 6’0″ or taller and their bigs are all at least 6’4″. They play a solid man to man defense that is tough to score on. Their guards are all over the place jumping towards the ball and getting deflections which in turn cause fast break points. Their bigs box out really well and don’t allow too many offensive boards which is a key to winning. Rockhurst has proven to be one of the best teams around the area and can be one of the better teams in the state when they play well. They have been inconsistent at times, but look for them to really make a run at a state title this season.