Behan Strong Invitational-Takeaways

Last night St. John's College High School hosted the Behan Strong Invitational to help bring support to St. John's DC head coach Pat Behan's fight against ALS. It was a great cause and a great set of games that brought the spotlight to the DMV once again. Let's check out some takeaways from the eventful evening.   <a href="https://www.behanstrong.com/waystohelp">Please join in helping support Coach Behan on his journey.</a>   St. John's pulls out the win   It was story book fashion and it took overtime to achieve, but the hosting Cadets prevailed with a 80-73 win over IMG Academy. Being a powerhouse prep program that is known on a national scale, IMG enters any hosting building with a target on their backs. This was a game of runs and St. John's made theirs when it counted most in bonus frame. The effort was led by 2024 [player_tooltip player_id='1089572' first='Daquan' last='Davis'] and 2023 [player_tooltip player_id='957026' first='Malik' last='Mack'] who both contributed 20 points a piece and were menaces on the defensive end of the floor.   Davis took immense pride in his individual matchup against 2024 five-star [player_tooltip player_id='2232230' first='Bryson' last='Tucker']. Davis gave him little to no space to operate on the perimeter and was extremely physical when Tucker would try and establish in the mid-post. Davis was just as impactful on the offensive end and it was capped off with a dagger three in overtime that came well beyond the arc to set the St. John's faithful into a frenzy.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/CapitolHoops/status/1610467072454148096?s=20&t=0EFTHX4advEV5B3BEuu-pQ </div></figure>   Mack is as calm as they come in pressure environments and that's why he will be an instant impact contributor at Harvard next season. On top of his 20 points, the southpaw senior grabbed five rebounds and dishes out four assists.   2024 forward [player_tooltip player_id='1127309' first='Donavan' last='Freeman'] continues to make strides with his game offensively and seems to be playing with the most confidence that I've seen. He hit a few of his patented fall away jumpers from the middle of the paint, converted on a few face-ups from 15 feet and finished a couple of over the shoulder hooks where he absorbed contact effectively. He recorded 15 points and six rebounds.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-medium"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/08/Jacoi-Hutchinson.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/08/Jacoi-Hutchinson.jpg?w=300" alt="" class="wp-image-1555786" /></a></figure>   IMG's committed prospects shine   Despite the loss, George Washington commit Jacoi Hutchinson returned to the DMV and put on a show. The two of his 16 points that proved most emphatic was his one-hand throw down in transition over a contesting Davis that looked to be the potential turning point of the game. He operated tremendously in high ball screen actions and displayed patience, yet aggression as he got into the paint for scores or assists. With George Washington head coach Chris Caputo and assistant coach Brendan Straughn in attendance, it's safe to say they'll be looking forward to adding Hutchinson to the mix next season.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/CapitolHoops/status/1610460985298411521?s=20&t=0EFTHX4advEV5B3BEuu-pQ </div></figure>   Georgia Tech pledge Blue Cain helped spark an IMG squad that found themselves down 15 at the half. He finished a handful of creative lay ups at the rim coming off of penetration or sound off-ball movement. When his defender didn't close out with a hand up, Cain made him pay knocking down two of his three looks from deep. St. John's has a slew of guard who can defend at a high level, but when Cain made his mind up, he got to the bucket at will.   Paul VI flexes   Simply put, there hasn't been many teams in the DMV more stacked than this Panthers team. They took on St. Mary's Ryken in a WCAC matchup and won by a convincing final score of 85-32. Maryland had three coaches in attendance including head coach Kevin Willard and two assistants in Tony Skinn and David Cox to watch 2023 commit [player_tooltip player_id='999616' first='DeShawn' last='Harris-Smith'] completely dominate this game. The 6'5 brute guard bullied his way to the rim with relative ease and finished through contact as if nothing happened. Harris-Smith led the effort with 27 points and looked like the most put together prospect in the event.   It was also a nice showing from 2024 center [player_tooltip player_id='1259631' first='Patrick' last='Ngongba']. The 6'10 big towered over opposing matchups and used that size to his advantage when finishing around the rim with soft touch. He was also collecting offensive rebounds for quick put backs to add salt to the womb.   PVI is a who's who sort of roster, which is no secret especially if you reside in the DMV. 2026 [player_tooltip player_id='2148767' first='Jordan' last='Smith'] showed some elite defensive traits and willingness to impact the game offensively without the ball. 2024 [player_tooltip player_id='1259542' first='Ben' last='Hammond'] came off the bench and immediately made his presence felt at both ends. 2024 [player_tooltip player_id='1259630' first='Garrett' last='Sundra'] and 2025 [player_tooltip player_id='1409272' first='Christian' last='Gurdak'] both used their size along with Ngongba inside to command the painted area.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/ColbyGHoops/status/1610437872506798081?s=20&t=0EFTHX4advEV5B3BEuu-pQ </div></figure>   Boston answers the call for Bullis   Bullis escaped with a two-point victory over Jackson-Reed to begin the night thanks to 2024 [player_tooltip player_id='1225255' first='Tyler' last='Boston']'s last second heroics. The 5'10 point guard converted on the game-winning bucket after driving into the paint, spinning off his defender and lifting a soft floater into the basket. Boston finished with 10 points in the win, but it was 2023 Nick Viquiera who caught eyes with his 20-point outing. The unsigned senior guard connected on four three's and used the gravity he demanded from the defense to attack closeouts with a couple of nice 1-to-2 dribble pull-ups from the mid range.   On the Jackson-Reed side of things, another unsigned senior in Marvin Brimage led the way with 18. He converted on five three's, four of which came in the second half to keep his team in distance of pulling out a win. Brimage is a confident shooter and scorer overall. That confidence contributed to knocking down big shots in the crunch time of the game.   Recent Texas A&M commit [player_tooltip player_id='1127310' first='Rob' last='Dockery'] showcased his versatility on the offensive end throughout with a number of drives in quick isolation looks from the perimeter. He's becoming a more secure ball-handler than in year's past and once he gets into the paint, his length, creativity and ability is difficult to contain. Dockery scored 15 points in the loss.

Last night St. John's College High School hosted the Behan Strong Invitational to help bring support to St. John's DC head coach Pat Behan's fight against ALS. It was a great cause and a great set of games that brought the spotlight to the DMV once again. Let's check out some takeaways from the eventful evening.