Walsh Jesuit 59 @ Copley 58 Recap

<p>The Copley Indians welcomed Walsh Jesuit for a non-conference battle in the season opener for both teams. The game was tight throughout, as neither team held much of an advantage all night with the lead swinging back and forth. In the final two minutes, the teams came alive from downtown as each team traded 3-pointer after 3-pointer for an exciting finish. In the end, Walsh Jesuit held a four point advantage before a [player_tooltip player_id="867954" first="Khoi" last="Thurmon"] 3-pointer as time expired cut the deficit to one point. Here were the top performers from the game.</p> [caption id="attachment_1091918" align="alignright" width="300"]<a href="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/11/IMG_1588-rotated.jpg"><img class="size-medium wp-image-1091918" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/ph/uploads/2020/11/IMG_1588-300x225.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="225" /></a> Walsh Jesuit defeated Copley on their home court to open the 2020-21 season for each team.[/caption] <p>[player_tooltip player_id="867954" first="Khoi" last="Thurmon"], 6’1 PG Copley 2023: Thurmon plays with great pace to his game, switching speeds to keep the defense on their toes. He showed his evolving outside shooting range tonight, splashing multiple 3-pointers off the dribble and the catch. I’d like to see Thurmon use his right hand more when attacking the basket, many of his moves are going left then one dribble with his right then instantly back to his preferred left hand. For him to consistently get to the basket at the next level, he’ll need to be able to go both directions with the basketball.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1078689" first="Erik" last="Stern"], 6’7 PF Walsh Jesuit 2021: Stern showed off his impressive passing ability in this one, finding the open man when Copley sent double teams his way. Scoring wise, Stern used his height advantage to get shots around the basket through post-ups or put-backs. Stern is somewhat limited offensively as he doesn’t have much of a right hand and had the ball poked free when trying to handle on the perimeter. Despite this, he’s a productive high school big and the leader of a Walsh Jesuit team that should win a decent amount of games this season.</p> <p>Matthew Dente, 6’1 SG Copley 2021: Dente is known as a shooter but his driving ability is what stood out to me throughout this game. Dente had a couple tough finishes around the basket, avoiding defenders and finding the bottom of the net. Dente is a senior leader on this Copley team filled with young talent, look for them to compete for a conference title in the Suburban league this season.</p>