Hoops on the Hill Classic Day 1 Recap

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>High School Basketball is back in the State of South Carolina! My coverage of Feast Week in the Upstate concluded on Friday in Greenville County at the Hoops on the Hill Classic, hosted by Hillcrest High School.&nbsp;<strong>Take a look at a recap from Day 1's Games</strong>:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Friday's Final Scores:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Riverside (SC) 69, Collins Hill (GA) 44</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hillcrest (SC) 63, Easley (SC) 59</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Notable Performances:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1172765' first='Julen' last='Iturbe'] (Riverside): 14 Points 8 Rebounds 4-6 3FG</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Drew Cannon (Riverside): 10 Points 8 Assists</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1709995' first='Javyn' last='Smith'] (Collins Hill): 20 Points</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1624061' first='Caden' last='Coleman'] (Hillcrest): 20 Points 6 Rebounds 4 Assists 7-13 FG</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Cameron Pulley (Hillcrest): 16 Points</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1986980' first='RJ' last='Stack'] (Easley): 16 Points 10 Rebounds 1 Block</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Ethan Crews </strong>(Easley): 22 Points</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Hot Shooting Start Propels Riverside to Win Over Collins Hill</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Riverside Warriors came out on fire in their Season Opener. Prep Hoops SC's #2 Senior Julen Itrube, led the charge in the first quarter. He knocked down his first 3 attempts from beyond the arc to give him 9 first-quarter points. But when he picked up his 2nd personal foul just over halfway through the first, Drew Cannon and [player_tooltip player_id='1578660' first='Rylan' last='Jones'] stepped up with additional perimeter shooting to help Riverside continue to add to their lead. In total, the Warriors hit 10 First Half Threes and led by 26 at the break. The Eagles showed some signs of life as the Warrior shooting dried up, but Iturbe put down a thunderous put-back slam to regain momentum at the end of the 3rd Quarter. For the visitors from Georgia, [player_tooltip player_id='1709995' first='Javyn' last='Smith'] had a very impressive and efficient 20-point performance, but it wasn't enough as the Warriors would come out victorious by a score of 69-44. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Rams Defeat Green Wave in a Battle Down The Stretch</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Two of the Upstate's brightest young stars went to battle in the second game of Day 1 at the Hoops on the Hill Classic: Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1624061' first='Caden' last='Coleman'] (Hillcrest) vs Freshman [player_tooltip player_id='1986980' first='RJ' last='Stack'] (Easley). Coleman started the game on the bench for the Rams, but when he checked in after just two offensive possessions he immediately went to work. He scored 4 of the Rams' first 8 and helped them build an early lead. Stack also had a bright start to the game as he had 10 of the Green Wave's 12 points at the end of the first quarter. He had a clear size advantage and used it early and often in the paint to make his presence felt. The Ram lead began to grow during the second period during Stack's rest minutes, but when he checked back in the Green Wave went on a run to take the lead going into halftime. Preseason All-Region Junior Ethan Crews also began to heat up near the end of the first half, but his shooting found its peak in the 3rd Quarter including an 8-point solo run to take the lead in the middle of the 3rd Quarter. But the Rams continued to answer with buckets of their own. The biggest of which came in the 4th Quarter from Senior Cameron Pulley, who hit a clutch three to go up 5 with 1:25 remaining. From that point, the Rams would hold onto the lead and earn a spot in the Championship Game tomorrow afternoon. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Day 2 (Saturday) Schedule:</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Consolation Game - 12:00 - Easley (SC) vs Collins Hill (GA)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Championship Game - 1:30 - Hillcrest (SC) vs Riverside (SC)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->