Kelly and Yenor Duel in Season Opener

<p>On December 3rd, Ambrose hosted Garden Valley for their first game of the season. With <strong>Covy Kelly</strong> from Garden Valley and <strong>Paul Yenor</strong> from Ambrose being among the top players in 1A basketball, I'm sure it helped drive the competition. Garden Valley only trailed by 3 points until the 3rd quarter when Ambrose scored 20 to Garden Valley's 12 points. Garden Valley was able to fight back making it close towards the end until they ran out of time and were forced to foul Ambrose and send their players to the charity stripe. Kelly and Yenor both had great games, scoring 27 and 29 points. Both players looked confident and ready for the 19/20 season. Both teams showed they can run an offense efficiently and play tough defense; I think they each have a good season ahead of them. Garden Valley did a little better moving the ball at times, but Ambrose has more weapons on their team. Ambrose is an excellent 3 point shooting team, they do a great job at feeding their post, Paul Yenor, and they also ran an effective full-court press, causing Kelly to turn the ball over in a critical moment. Here is some information on the two stars' games as well as some other players that stood out. </p> <p><strong>Covy Kelly #11 Jr/SG</strong></p> <p>Garden Valley</p> <p>The very first thing I noticed about Kelly is his ability to handle the ball. There were multiple times throughout the game where he was able to dribble between defenders in tight spaces and get to the hoop for the score or to draw a foul. He forced a couple of bad shots, but the rest of them were pure. I saw a quick dribble and slight fade jumper at the top of the key, he hit a 3 pointer in someone's face, and nailed a stop and pop 3 to put them within 5 in the 4th quarter. He seems to be athletic, strong and has good shooting form. </p> <p><strong>Joaquin Fuhriman #13 Sr/PG</strong></p> <p>Garden Valley</p> <p>Fuhriman is a small player, standing at 5'4, but it works to his advantage for the point guard position. He was the quickest guy out on the floor and did an excellent job running the offense and fast breaks. He dribbles the ball well, nothing too fancy, but gets to where he needs to be to make a play or assist for his team. He chipped in a 3 pointer and 2 field goals, played unselfishly, and played tough defense. </p> <p><strong>Paul Yenor #30 Sr/SF</strong></p> <p>Ambrose</p> <p>Yenor is a solid post player for Ambrose and someone you can rely on to get buckets in the paint or draw more defenders to him. He plays with a lot of passion and doesn't give up on rebounds, tips, and second-chance points. His post moves were simple pivots, a dribble or two and a bank shot. I am curious to see how creative he gets with his moves when he has stronger and taller defenders on him. He didn't take very many outside jumpers, but the one he did take at the top of the key was in the defender's face and he knocked it down with ease. In addition to being a solid player underneath, he is also a great passer whether it was a full-court fast break pass or a clean bounce pass to his teammates cutting back door. I am looking forward to watching him play again. </p> <p><strong>Hudson Hughes #23 So/PG</strong></p> <p>Ambrose</p> <p>When you take a look at Hudson Hughes you might think he's more of a mathlete than an athlete, but he killed it in Tuesday's game. Hughes is a great point guard because he dribbles well, is very shifty with the ball, and is a threat from the 3 point line as well as driving to the hoop. He is an excellent decision-maker and has a great feel of where to drive to allow himself or his teammates to score. Hughes finished the game with 18 points total which included three 3 pointers, one of which was in a defender's face and nothing but net. Towards the end of the game, he wasn't able to finish his drives to the hoop, but they were still good takes. He does well commanding the ball after a defensive rebound and doesn't waste any time getting the ball down the court, seizing any opportunity he sees. I hope he keeps it up and I look forward to watching him play these next three years. </p> <p><strong>Sam Roberts #13 So/G</strong></p> <p>Ambrose</p> <p>Sam Roberts deserves a shoutout because he came off the bench and hit four 3 pointers in a row in the 2nd quarter. I don't think they were lucky either because his shot looks great and almost all were contested. His 3 pointers got their team and crowd jacked up, especially since he hit one after another and his last one was right before half time putting Ambrose up by 3. In addition to getting on fire from downtown, he had a clean steal and layup in the 3rd quarter, finishing the game with 14 points. </p>