Forest v. Trinity Catholic Game Notebook (1/11/21)

<p>With the season in full swing, the matchup between Forest (9-2) and Trinity Catholic (4-5) was a highly anticipated one. The showdown between two of Ocala’s best recruits, Jacques Njeanwobe (TC) and [player_tooltip player_id="829386" first="Brenen" last="Lorient"] (Forest), was great for a budding Ocala hoops scene. Njeanwobe, a French immigrant who transferred to Trinity Catholic this year, has been gaining traction in the recruiting scene, has been balling this year and is the main offensive threat for the Celtics. Lorient, a D1 recruit in his junior year for the Wildcats, is Ocala’s most coveted recruit and has been having D1 coaches trying to capitalize on his length, athleticism and 6’8" frame. </p> <p>The first quarter belonged exclusively to the Wildcats, who ran crazy against a Trinity Catholic zone defense. Forest, a usually slow shooting team, came out hitting from three, knocking down 5 triples in the first frame. Guards [player_tooltip player_id="1068610" first="Josh" last="Cuspard"], [player_tooltip player_id="829463" first="Calvin" last="Davison"], Brandon Baxley, and Aaron Stelogeanis all contributed to the three-pointer barrage. The Wildcats ended the first quarter with a 14-point lead. </p> <p>The second quarter was much slower than in terms of offense, with the Celtics being able to recoup a 1-point advantage. [player_tooltip player_id="955806" first="LJ" last="Pugh"], the Celtics newest pure shooter, knocked down 2 threes on way to the Celtics’ advantageous quarter. The half ended with the score at 31-18, Wildcats leading. [player_tooltip player_id="955806" first="LJ" last="Pugh"] led the Celtics with 9 points, and the Wildcats were led by Elijah Russel’s 7 points. </p> <p>To open the second half, the Wildcats were more stagnant than they were to open the game. Njeanwobe opened up his quarter with a 3-pointer, his first of the night, and got the Celtics rolling. However, Forest’s pure shooter [player_tooltip player_id="829463" first="Calvin" last="Davison"], hit 2 three-pointers on route to a 5-point advantage for the Wildcats. The Celtics went into the 4th quarter with a 27-45 lead.</p> <p>The final quarter was the bright spot of the night for a struggling Celtics offense. Jacques Njeanwobe, who had a slow start to the game, had a 7-point fourth quarter despite missing a good deal of free throws down the stretch. However, the Wildcats, led by freshman guard [player_tooltip player_id="1055768" first="X’Zavion" last="McCoy"]’s 8 points, held off any hopes of a Celtics comeback and finished the game with a commanding 61-43 win. Elijah Russel and [player_tooltip player_id="829386" first="Brenen" last="Lorient"] finished with 11 points a piece for the Wildcats, and Jacques Njeanwobe finsihed with 17 points for the Celtics. Forest improves to 10-2 while Trinity Catholic falls to 4-6.</p>