Standouts from Harding & Hopewell’s Tournament wins

<p>Harding High School faced off against a talented Myers Park team after their big win over Olympic High School Monday. Strong scoring performances from Quincy Dunn(16 points) and Kendarion Thomas (15 points) were on-brand in a feisty matchup between conference rivals. Thomas has the chance to take a jump this summer. A corner three-point specialist that is playing his best basketball of the year at the right time. Their matchup Wednesday was a test to see how well they can fair against teams with size like [player_tooltip player_id="997734" first="Elijah" last="Strong"] and the Mustangs of Myers Park. Strong is a sizable forward that is an offensive threat from 14 feet with-in, with a signature spin move that he uses to get to the rim from the elbow in.</p> <p>His defensive prowess and full-court one-man fast breakability on their front line will make him an impressive prospect for the future. The Rams played the Mustangs close, a one-point lead going into the fourth. Once again Kendarion led his team with a career-high 20 points, as they prepare to face off against South Meck for the Conference championship. Thomas the reliable shooter has found himself coming up huge at the end this season.</p> <p>LJ Johnson from Harding put on a heck of a coaching display last night, but it only comes in as the second-best coaching performance of the day. The Titans of Hopewell led by JaRon Goodson upset the regular-season conference champion, Julius Chambers. Goodson has a small group of upperclassmen that have rallied around three sophomores this season that have the Titans' future looking very bright. The worse shooting night he may have had all season, however when the Titans were in need of a bucket [player_tooltip player_id="1281454" first="Quay" last="Watson"] got his second three to go down.</p> <p>Watson is the leading scorer and has the potential to make a big jump playing on the Nike circuit this summer again. The 22 point guard who cannot be sped up or slowed down, with a really good shooting stroke. Despite the size, he has a really good knack for getting to the midrange and drawing defenders as well. He is an above-average passer and you will have a better indication of how well he can manage an offense I believe next year. Senior Anthony Moore had one of the most impressive games you will see out of him on both sides of the court.</p> <p>Taking on the responsibility to guard South Carolina commit [player_tooltip player_id="787676" first="Daniel" last="Sanford"] and Mario Hanson. Hanson and Sanford could not get past the good fundamentally sound play from Moore on both ends of the court. His timely pump fakes and his defense were the keys to the titans winning. Coach Goodson drew up two incredible out-of-bounds plays, the first at the end of the first half and the second is below. A four across set that found [player_tooltip player_id="1281454" first="Quay" last="Watson"] dishing a timely assist to another sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="1281455" first="Derrick" last="Eley"]. A player we talked about earlier this year has a high ceiling. His feisty defense and his timely layups were the deciding factors. <br /> <br /> A big matchup against the Vikings of North Meck Friday, after they took their first lead of the game since the fourth quarter with about three minutes left. [player_tooltip player_id="1154560" first="Isaiah" last="Evans"] and [player_tooltip player_id="1121033" first="Jordan" last="Crawford"] kept their team afloat. Evans finished with 23 points and 7 rebounds, as he struggled with foul trouble the whole game. Crawford had 17 and a ferocious dunk at the end to celebrate the comeback. Hopewell loss big the last time they played the Vikings, this time I expect Coach Goodson to come in with a solid game plan and test them. I know Coach Johnson will have the Rams ready for South Meck as well.</p>