Exceptional DII-A Tuesday Player Performances

<p>Quarterfinal game results both eliminated and escorted DII-A teams Tuesday evening. Read about many of the exceptional individuals that made the key wins possible. </p> <h3><strong>Lakeway Christian 46</strong><br /> Boyd Buchanan 42</h3> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>First Baptist Academy 39<br /> <strong>Notre Dame 52</strong></h3> <p><strong>Starters:</strong> <br /> PG Kenny Hammond Jr.<br /> SG Ben Houston<br /> SF [player_tooltip player_id="1179287" first="Tim" last="Vaughn"]<br /> F [player_tooltip player_id="1387509" first="Cole" last="McCormick"]<br /> C Ty Wilkerson</p> <p>Who were the key players?<br /> <strong>Head Coach Jonathan Adams: </strong>Today, Tim had a double-double. We needed every bit of that. Cole didn’t score it well or shoot it well, but he had seven assists.  That was big for us.  Kenny played well and then we had Jordan Jacks come off the bench and really help us. </p> <p><strong>Head Coach Jonathan Adams: </strong>Tim was doing a really good getting to the rim and getting to the free throw line.  It was getting to the rim and finishing at the rim and getting fouled, which was huge for us.  </p> <p><strong>Head Coach Jonathan Adams: </strong>He is a good free throw shooter.  His percentage has improved. He started out shaky from the free throw line, but he has picked it up the last 5 to 10 games.</p> <p>What is the tone in the locker room right now?<br /> <strong>Head Coach Jonathan Adams: </strong>I think we are just finding ways to win, We have had three really, really tough games in a row.  Grace Baptist, who doesn’t have a great record, gave us a hell of a fight and it takes a buzzer-beater to win the District Championship.  And then tonight, they gave us all they had.  We have  had three tough games. </p> <p>Are seniors playing with urgency?<br /> <strong>Head Coach Jonathan Adams: </strong>We have played pretty consistent. We understand that it is post-season, but I try to make sure they stay in the moment and not add any unneeded pressure to themselves.  That have been able to do that. </p> <p>How did Kenny play tonight? What has he done this year?<br /> <strong>Head Coach Jonathan Adams: </strong>Kenny Hammond. He had four assists tonight, no turnovers. He has been a steadying force for us.</p> <p>He was versatile tonight. He played the 1 for us tonight. He played the 2 for us. He has provided a steady hand these last ten games.  Against Boyd Buchanan he hit four big threes and a layup that put us up.  He has been a steadying influence.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>Grace Baptist 58<br /> <strong>Concord 69</strong></h3> <p>&nbsp;</p> <h3>Lausanne 24<br /> <strong>FACS 69</strong></h3> <p>FACS pounded Lausanne.  Both Alex Harris and [player_tooltip player_id="1019407" first="Daniel" last="Egbuniwe"] tugged down double-figure rebounds. Harris finished with 19 points and 10 rebounds. Egbuniwe recorded a 12-12.  TJ Thomas scored 12 points. </p> <h3><strong>CAK 50</strong><br /> Silverdale 39</h3> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1387586" first="Luke" last="Carter"] helped with three assists. Senior forward Matt Murray really battled tonight with seven rebounds despite standing 6-foot-0.  The other forward Malachi McNeil-Harrison (Emory and Henry football commit) was strong with 11 points, two rebounds, and two assists. Denzel Jackson lead the team with 13 points and tied for the team lead with three assists. </p> <p>Statistically, it looked like you had a strong game rebounding tonight.<strong><br /> Head Coach J.D. Johnson: </strong>We had a couple bad possessions at the very end of the game where we gave them multiple chances at the basket, but overall we did a pretty good job. </p> <p>Do you have lot of football guys? And, do they play with a different mentality than the other players?<br /> <strong>Head Coach J.D. Johnson </strong>All of our guys are football-first guys, but they help us out a lot. </p> <p>Who played well tonight?<br /> <strong>Head Coach J.D. Johnson: </strong>Denzel led us with 13. Malachi McNeil-Harrison had 11.  He is pretty athletic. He is probably our biggest guy and most athletic guy.  Pretty aggressive. </p> <p>Our best player is [player_tooltip player_id="1387586" first="Luke" last="Carter"]. He passed 1000 points earlier this month. He only had six tonight.</p> <p>Were they keying on him? Was he having a bad shooting night?<br /> <strong>Head Coach J.D. Johnson: </strong>He always have to deal with being face-guarded, but he had fouls too, but he had six points.</p> <p>Who is somebody that has ramped up in the last couple of weeks?<br /> <strong>Head Coach J.D. Johnson </strong>I would say Denzel. He has to handle the pressure the entire game. He has to guard the other team’s guards the entire game. He has to help us with scoring.  He is a senior, so he is leading us.</p> <p>https://twitter.com/cak_basketball/status/1489781833696952324?s=20&amp;t=UYX9kPwhzOzHzy4uy-ZOvQ</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>CAK and Notre Dame last met CAK in the playoffs or otherwise was February 18th, 2000. CAK won 58-49. </p> <p>Concord Christian vs. Lakeway Christian<br /> CAK vs. Notre Dame</p>