NCISAA Top Games of the Week- 1/16

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Martin Luther King Day will be celebrated by lots of basketball across the state, and big time matchups will occur later in the week. Check out the top games and players of the private school slate for the upcoming week.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The Burlington School (16-8) vs. Greenfield (19-5)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>TBS will take on Greenfield at the Farmville Central MLK classic, with an awesome point guard matchup between [player_tooltip player_id='1098355' first='Zion' last='Walker'] for the Spartans and [player_tooltip player_id='1277989' first='Matt' last='Kirby'] for the Knights. Walker will be supported by a deep cast and crew that includes backcourt mate [player_tooltip player_id='1373705' first='Cam' last='Flippen'], sharpshooting wing [player_tooltip player_id='1167705' first='Savion' last='Taylor'], big man [player_tooltip player_id='992925' first='Steven' last='Lassiter'] and shot blocker Ty Outlaw. [player_tooltip player_id='1131338' first='Kaden' last='Hammond'] will be questionable with an injury, but if he plays, he will be another presence inside that makes Greenfield struggle. [player_tooltip player_id='1076333' first='Hampton' last='Evans'] will lead the Knights, guarding multiple positions and providing an interior presence. 2023 [player_tooltip player_id='1391677' first='Kyshon' last='Atkinson'] will provide more scoring pop in the backcourt, and 2024 Nik Edwards will draw assignments on the wing.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Greensboro Day (21-3) @ Forsyth Country Day (15-7)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Greensboro Day heads to Winston Salem to take on conference rival Forsyth Country Day Tuesday evening. Virginia Tech commit [player_tooltip player_id='577888' first='Jaydon' last='Young'] has led the Bengals so far, but has a good group of running mates also. [player_tooltip player_id='854907' first='William' last='Otto'] and <strong>Julius Reese</strong> are in the backcourt as high IQ guys that excel on different ends of the floor; Otto offensively and Reese defensively.&nbsp;On the interior, <strong>Joseph Bachmann</strong> will provide a physical presence at 6'8 and help combat the powerful wings FCDS has. The Furies are led by 2024 [player_tooltip player_id='997745' first='Iverson' last='King'], who's gaining a reputation for being a big physical wing that has a good interior scoring game. Senior [player_tooltip player_id='854891' first='Enzo' last='Geremski'] is the glue that holds the team together, and guys like [player_tooltip player_id='854910' first='Draven' last='Pilson'], <strong>Jahon Foster</strong>, and [player_tooltip player_id='1556663' first='Q' last='Williams'] are all accomplished offensively to where they will have a big night if the team they're facing isn't able to guard them. This should be a great matchup between two conference foes, and the FCDS gym should be rocking for it.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Gaston Christian (14-7) @ Gaston Day (10-5)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The rivalry continues, with Gaston Christian making the crosstown trip to face Gaston Day on Tuesday. Christian is led by 2026 [player_tooltip player_id='1672429' first='Cameron' last='Newman'], who I've touched on earlier in the year as an electrifying point guard. Backcourt mate <strong>Joe Rhyne</strong> is one of the deadliest snipers in North Carolina, and him hitting 3's at a 43% clip will be a huge key to either Christian winning or Day losing. <strong>Gabriel Mabor</strong> will man the low post for the Eagles and will be tasked with defending ETSU commit [player_tooltip player_id='854914' first='Callum' last='Richard']. Richard will be the key to success for Gaston Day, and his backcourt of [player_tooltip player_id='1155694' first='Colin' last='Fayed'] and [player_tooltip player_id='993656' first='Evan' last='Montanari'] will be key to scoring buckets and feeding Richard inside.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Cannon (21-5) @ Providence Day (13-8)</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cannon will be another team to face a difficult road game, heading to Providence Day. The Chargers are led by 6'11 Western Kentucky commit [player_tooltip player_id='1180816' first='Riley' last='Allenspach'], a skilled big with a great low post game, and [player_tooltip player_id='854899' first='Trey' last='Horton'], the UTEP commit is a great shooter. However, I'm not sure that they have enough weapons to keep up with this loaded Cannon team. [player_tooltip player_id='1030010' first='Austin' last='Swartz'] has become elite this year as an all around guard, and [player_tooltip player_id='1226605' first='Isaiah' last='Henry'] provides defensive pop. [player_tooltip player_id='1742881' first='Sean' last='Birmingham'] is a big who will probably draw the matchup on Allenspach, but he's much more skilled and athletic, almost more of a big wing. Expect him to have another big night and for the Cougars to make a statement.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->