Top Sectional Guard Performances

<p>Read about the top sectional guard performances Monday night.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="775625" first="Jaheim" last="McDonald"] (Clarksville) -</strong> <br /> The hosting Wildcats needed guard defense.  McDonald made shots difficult for the Franklin guards.  Unfortunately for Clarksville [player_tooltip player_id="775559" first="Reed" last="Kemp"] makes difficult shots often.  McDonald scored 13 points.</p> <p><strong>Jaheim Berry (Clarksville) -</strong><br /> Berry scored five of Clarksville’s first eight points.  In the opening four minutes, Clarksville played a touch timid and wildly erratic from the field.  Berry’s wing three-pointer was critical for the Wildcats to keep within reach early.  He guarded [player_tooltip player_id="775559" first="Reed" last="Kemp"] straight up much of the night.  </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1006439" first="J.J." last="Wheat"] (Clarksville) -</strong><br /> Wheat started very, very poorly.  His possession was sound and he didn’t turn the ball over, but Wheat simply missed his first 3 shots. Nerves?  As the second quarter opened he settled in and scored frequently.  Wheat finished with 23 points, many of them free throws.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="537247" first="Grant" last="Hurst"] (Cleveland) -<br /> </strong><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Considering how effortless his shot looks, [player_tooltip player_id="537247" first="Grant" last="Hurst"] is a completely working man.  The senior spends as much time in the gym alone tinkering as anybody in the state.  Monday he was special.</span></p> <p>"He did a little bit of everything on both ends of the court," said Cleveland High Head Coach Reggie Tucker.  "His effort was phenomenal.  He applied pressure attacking their defense with some composure, getting our guys in the right spots.  He hit back-to-back big 3’s.  We are down 2 and he hit a big one in the corner to go up 1.  He hit an NBA three from the left wing, in front of our bench with 17 seconds left."</p> <p>Hurst is part of a small but meaningful Runnin’ Raider senior class.</p> <p>"He just wasn’t going to let the blue and white lose," said Coach Tucker.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="775559" first="Reed" last="Kemp"] (Franklin) -<br /> </strong>Even though the Wildcats rotated defenders against Reed they were unable to keep him down. Kemp made his open shots, which there should be virtually none at this point in his prolific high school career, and either made or nearly missed all his layups in the opening half.  Those near misses often found the hungry hands of an Admiral rebounder.</p> <p>It was far from a classic Kemp performance.  He struggled through long patches (third quarter) and yet Kemp figured out how to manufacture buckets against the guard-driven Wildcats. Kemp scored on the secondary break and muscled up an and-1.  He used his screens to get by a hunkered-down Wheat and fought his way to the free throw line, down 48-47.  Kemp was able to scroll through plenty of attacking styles to find a couple that were effective. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="775573" first="Jaylan" last="Wetzel"] (Siegel) -</strong><br /> Jaylan made his shots look easy.  Siegel is a juggernaut offensively and Wetzel is certainly responsible for much of that. He made a lovely floater in the lane.  Wetzel is a wonderful outside shooter too. He finished with 17 points in the win.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="787649" first="Brandon" last="Miller"] (Cane RIdge) -<br /> </strong>Brandon scored 11 in the opening half and handled the ball more than any other Raven throughout.  He showed off the casual, smooth penetrating and somehow defended effectively without adding to his three fouls.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="775545" first="Zion" last="Swader"] (Siegel) -</strong><br /> Zion scored 17 points in the win, helping his wonderfully deep ’21 class reach Murfreesboro for the their first time. Swader also contributed 6 rebounds and 6 assists in the win.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1118977" first="Aidan" last="Smylie"] (Franklin) -</strong><br /> Wonderful defender.  The long-armed wing guard was relentless on attack in his few moments.  Rebounded well.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="775580" first="Kley" last="McGowan"] (Cleveland) -<br /> </strong>As one of the consistent contributors for the exceptional Cleveland High program, Kley is no stranger to big scoring nights.  Monday he had another.</p> <p>"Kley finished with 17 points," said Cleveland Head Coach Reggie Tucker.  "He hurt his wrist. He started off great.  He got us going early.  The second half he landed on his wrist.  It swelled up on him, so he wasn’t aggressive offensively in the second half...He scored 14 of them in the first half."</p> <p><em>Follow <a href="https://twitter.com/AndrewForce8">@AndrewForce8</a>.</em></p>