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<p>Friday, January 6th I attended the 6A match-up of the<strong> Pinnacle Pioneers</strong> hosting the <strong>Liberty Lions</strong>.</p>
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<p>The Pionners were ranked #1 in 6A at the time and the Lions were #4 in 6A. </p>
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<p>The Lions won the game <strong>91-76</strong> with a super balanced attack from their talented starting-5. </p>
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<p>As close as the game was from start to finish, the Lions led throughout every quarter. [player_tooltip player_id='814516' first='Bryce' last='Ford'] kept them in it with 31 points but a couple of their bigs did not play and [player_tooltip player_id='1131814' first='Ring' last='Nyeri'], [player_tooltip player_id='814037' first='Ky' last='Green'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1216984' first='Caden' last='Hunter'] cashed in inside the paint. </p>
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<h2><strong>Here were some of the players who stood out:</strong></h2>
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<p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1132004' first='Davis' last='Hester'] Liberty</strong> <strong>(Pictured right)</strong></p>
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<p>Their 3 and D type just keeps getting better each season. He defends at a high level moving his feet and using his length. He collects steals and is improving his offense too. He is ripping thru better and scores in traffic with good body control. He stepped into a few threes with a quicker release. He is improving his passing skills and got on glass for important offensive rebounds. He finished with 21 points. </p>
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<p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='814037' first='Ky' last='Green'] Liberty </strong></p>
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<p>The high wire act is another defensive minded type. He scored on catch threes, had a couple dunks in traffic and he leaps up so easily over his defenders most of the night. He had a nasty tip dunk in traffic and is starting to create a little for himself. He will defend the 3-5 for them. He finished with 24 points. </p>
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<p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1131814' first='Ring' last='Nyeri'] Liberty</strong></p>
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<p>A long power forward springs up quickly to block shots at its highest point. He can step back off a created dribble and then play the passing lanes to steal the ball and finish it off with an incredible dunk high above the rim with very long strides. He is slowly getting more physical in the paint despite his leaner build. He will grab rebounds with two hands high above the crowd and he passes the ball well out of the double team. He finished with 10 points. </p>
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<p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1216984' first='Caden' last='Hunter'] Liberty</strong></p>
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<p>A physical forward is a quick second jumper to clean the glass. He dominated the Pioneers on the boards. He creates his own offense with an improved handle and very good body control. His thicker build and height affected the game without a couple of their bigs suiting up. He finished with 17 points. </p>
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<p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1674293' first='Nick' last='Zambito'] Liberty</strong></p>
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<p>The undersized pure point guard has his head up the whole game and is a true facilitator. He was finding players up the court all night. He has a sneaky quick burst to get into the paint and will score thru contact showing some toughness. He finished with 7 points. </p>
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<p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1334788' first='Brennen' last='Neal'] Liberty </strong></p>
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<p>One of the top scoring six men in the AIA is Neal. He is a true specialist with nearly flawless ball rotation. He made two threes and scored on one deep mid-range. He rarely will take a bad shot and comes in and fights on defense and makes shots. He finished with 8 points. </p>
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<p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='814516' first='Bryce' last='Ford'] Pinnacle</strong> <strong>(Pictured left)</strong></p>
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<p>One of the top scoring combo guards in the AIA. He has made many subtle improvements. He is quicker off the dribble than last year and his handle has gotten tighter and is deceptively quick and will finish off tough crow hops. He has real range with pretty ball rotation. He is a very good rebounder for a guard and plays with high energy and a big time motor. His defense and intensity have kicked up a notch. He finished with a game high of 31 points. Stock up. </p>
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<p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='814526' first='Ashton' last='Reese']</strong> <strong>Pinnacle</strong></p>
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<p>A bigger guard finesse shooter is tough to defend. Once he gets to his spot and rises up high from mid-range, he is very hard to defend. He can step back on his three with a super quick release. His step back is fun to watch., you know it's coming and you still can't defend it. He goes through stretches rattling off shot after shot. He finished with 19 points and is averaging 20.5 ppg on the season. He committed to <strong>Trevecca Nazarene.</strong> </p>
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<p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1366315' first='Jack' last='Treasure'] Pinnacle</strong></p>
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<p>A strong downhill guard loves touching the paint. He uses his strong upper and scores easily thru contact. He has a nice burst with his dominant right hand but he can also find teammates. He found cutters for dimes and played with a lot of energy. He plays a physical brand of ball and was a nice compliment to Reese and Ford. He finished with 16 points. </p>
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<p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1138591' first='Brandon' last='Stokes'] Pinnacle</strong></p>
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<p>A strong power forward is an out of area rebounder. He is patient in the post and then will go up to score. He can score on the pick and roll and will usually finish in traffic. His hands are improving to catch passes in traffic and he finished with 4 points but had a lot of rebounds and many hustle plays. </p>
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Friday, January 6th I attended the 6A match-up of the Pinnacle Pioneers hosting the Liberty Lions.
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