CHCA, Taft, and Lakota East Advance to Districts
Saturday was a day full of basketball in Cincinnati as the sectional tournament was wrapping up. Western Brown hosted a pair of games for Div-3, and Lakota West hosted a sold-out Div-1 game. The d-3 games were still slightly lopsided…
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Continue ReadingSaturday was a day full of basketball in Cincinnati as the sectional tournament was wrapping up. Western Brown hosted a pair of games for Div-3, and Lakota West hosted a sold-out Div-1 game. The d-3 games were still slightly lopsided between the seedings that were relatively close as Taft handled Mariemont and CHCA shot lights out against Gamble Montessori. Lakota East played Turpin in what was one of the worst shooting nights I had seen in a long time through the first three quarters. In the fourth quarter, both teams started to heat up and outscored their own scores through the first three quarters combined.
Taft (76) vs Mariemont (52)
Rayvon Griffith Rayvon Griffith 6'6" | SF AZ Compass Prep | 2023 State #78 Nation AZ – 2023, 6’6″ G (20pts, 12reb)
Rayvon is a lengthy guard that can get to the rim. He has excellent rebounding abilities and is a physical player. While a lot of his points come at the rim, he has shown the ability to hit from deep. Right now, he is the top player in the 2023 class in Ohio. He has the entire skillset to play at the next level.
Nekhi Smith Nekhi Smith 6'6" | PF Taft | 2020 State OH – 2020, 6’6″ F (16pts)
Nekhi possesses an athletic frame that he uses to his advantage in the post. His physical play style allows him to back defenders down and create separation for easy lay-ins. When he isn’t laying it in, he also shows off his mid-range shooting ability with an impressive turn around jumper.
Leroy Walker Leroy Walker 6'4" | SF Taft | 2020 State OH – 2020, 6’4″ G (22pts)
Leroy is quick, bouncy, and a competitor. He possesses a great ability to finish at the rim and will throw down every chance he gets. Defensively, he is a pest like most of his teammates. They swarm opponents with their quickness and get into transition as well as any team out there.
CHCA (87) vs Gamble-Montessori (66)
Ben Southerland Ben Southerland 6'7" | PF Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy | 2022 State #247 Nation OH – 2022, 6’6″ G (20pts)
Ben is a lengthy, athletic guard that has a lot of upside to his game. He can finish from anywhere on the offensive end of the floor and get up and down the court in transition. As he matures, gets stronger, and improves his handles, he will start shooting up the rankings. He already possesses a strong foundation of skills tom play at the next level, but these improvements will be huge when he is playing on the circuit this summer in front of college coaches.
Billy Southerland – 2020, 6’5″ F (17pts)
Billy was a major part of the draining of three’s for CHCA. He couldn’t miss and neither could his teammates. His ability to get open off the ball and the unselfish play by him and his teammates is what creates open shots that they all take advantage of.
Cole Fisher Cole Fisher 6'0" | SG CHCA | 2020 State OH – 2020, 6’1″ G (17pts)
Cole is a fundamental perfectionist. He uses his athletic frame to create good separation while driving to be able to kick out to his teammates. He has a mature set of decision-making skills and vision. He is a leader and sets the tone for his team. He also can shoot lights out as he was hitting from deep and even added some nice drives to the rim.
Blake Lloyd Blake Lloyd 6'1" | SG CHCA | 2020 State OH – 2020, 6’1″ G (19pts)
Blake continually found himself open in the corner where he found a sweet spot. At one point he gave the good ol’ Michael Jordan shrug after a hit three because he didn’t know why he couldn’t miss. Blake is unselfish and makes good decisions as well. He is another senior leader on this mature team that could help them go on a deep tournament run.
Lakota East (50) vs Turpin (41)
Alex Mangold Alex Mangold 6'7" | PF Lakota East | 2020 State OH – 2020, 6’7″ F (13pts, 8reb)
Alex started off the game hot with an easy lay-in and hitting a deep ball to show off his range. He was an inside presence all night and held Turpin’s Owen Spencer Owen Spencer 6'8" | C Turpin | 2020 State OH to just 6pts. In a game where Nate Johnson Nate Johnson 6'3" | PG Lakota East | 2021 State OH couldn’t get going, the senior leader stepped up and showed why he is playing at the next level. He was taking charges, getting offensive rebounds, and took care of the ball when he had it.
Kaden Fuhrmann Kaden Fuhrmann 6'3" | SG Lakota East | 2020 State OH – 2020, 6’3″ G (16pts, 5reb)
Kaden had a quiet first half offensively but erupted into a second-half hero for East. He was hitting big shots, playing lockdown defense, and most importantly, he was getting to the line and hitting his free throws. East shot 83% from the line, with the 13 more made free throws being a major difference in the game. Kaden’s physical presence was a game-changer, and helped lead to some of Turpin’s best defenders fouling out down the stretch.