Homestead Tournament – Game Recaps + Top Performers

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The time between Christmas and New Year's Eve is one of the busiest in the state of Indiana. Holiday Tournaments take place all over the state which is the <a href="https://prephoops.com/2023/12/prep-hoops-indiana-holiday-tournament-viewing-schedule/">perfect opportunity for Prep Hoops Indiana to take in a ton of games in a short period of time</a>. Today, Wednesday, <a href="http://@kylerstaley">@KylerStaley</a> will have coverage from the Noblesville Tournament while I have boots on the ground at Homestead High School. Be sure to follow along both on Twitter and here on the website as we will be providing live coverage from throughout each event.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here at Homestead, there will be two games taking place simultaneously during each time slot. Teams will play two "seeding" games today and one more tomorrow morning before being placed into seventh, fifth, third, and first place games based on their record in those first three contests. Stay tuned as we recap each game and highlight top performers throughout the day here at the annual Homestead Tournament. We will do our best to offer some information from those games that we do not get to see live at Homestead as well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">10:00 a.m. - Hamilton Southeastern 64 Mishawaka Marian 54</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ready to roll here in the back gym of Homestead High School. Admittedly, for as beautiful as their main facility is, this gym is a pretty major letdown. Playing these games simultaneously doesn't make a ton of sense to begin with, but if you are going to do it just partner with another high school or nearby gymnasium to provide a nicer experience. Just my two cents as we get the day tipped off!</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sleepy start for the Royals as they fell behind Mishawaka Marian 12-0 to begin the game. HSE couldn't get an outside shot to fall, turned it over multiple times, and gave up a couple of second chances to the Knights. It was an all systems failure in the first several minutes of Wednesday morning. Finally, over five minutes into the first quarter, [player_tooltip player_id='1275826' first='Donovan' last='Hamilton'] got the Royals on the board finishing a nice cut to the basket with a layup. On the next possession he got to the foul line to start to give them a little life, but that was all they could really muster. Marian led 20-5 after the opening period.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Hamilton Southeastern showed a little more life in the second quarter, but they still are behind Mishawaka Marian 36-22 at the half. William Owens II has been excellent for the Knights scoring 15 points to go with 5 rebounds and a pair of assists. [player_tooltip player_id='2079501' first='Nate' last='Orr V'] leads Hamilton Southeastern with 10 points at the half.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here come the Royals. They began the second half on a 17-3 run as [player_tooltip player_id='2079501' first='Nate' last='Orr V'], [player_tooltip player_id='2056301' first='Braeden' last='Totton'], and [player_tooltip player_id='2398989' first='Maverick' last='Young'] all knocked down triples. Then, Young added a floater in the lane to tie it up 39-39 with just under three minutes to play in the period. Another three-pointer by Young even gave the Royals their first lead of the game at the 1:45 mark, but Mishawaka Marian took a 45-42 lead into the fourth quarter.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A flurry of three-point shots from the Royals lifted them on top 54-49 with 2:52 to play. [player_tooltip player_id='2056301' first='Braeden' last='Totton'] hit back-to-back triples and then [player_tooltip player_id='2079501' first='Nate' last='Orr V'] forced a Mishawaka Marian with his three from the left wing. For as down and out as they looked the in the first half Hamilton Southeastern responded in a major way in the second half. [player_tooltip player_id='1201800' first='Michael' last='Griffith'] put the exclamation point on the comeback with an alley-oop slam in transition. Ultimately, the Royals came away with a 64-54 victory despite scoring just five points in the first quarter and trailing by 14 points at the half.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='2079501' first='Nate' last='Orr V'] led all scorers with 19 points including four three-pointers. Purdue signee [player_tooltip player_id='1275826' first='Donovan' last='Hamilton'] added 12 points and 7 rebounds while [player_tooltip player_id='2398989' first='Maverick' last='Young'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1201800' first='Michael' last='Griffith'] chipped in 11 and 10 points respectively for Hamilton Southeastern. Williams Owens II finished with 15 points and 6 rebounds in the loss for the Knights.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">11:45 a.m. - Valparaiso 62 Homestead 51</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1297042' first='Jack' last='Smiley'] was doing [player_tooltip player_id='1297042' first='Jack' last='Smiley'] things early and often in this one for Valparaiso, but Homestead kept hanging around as the Vikings couldn't get things figured out defensively. [player_tooltip player_id='1578483' first='Wyatt' last='Weaver'] had a couple of crafty moves inside to score, then [player_tooltip player_id='2622131' first='Owen' last='Smith'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2485712' first='Josh' last='Rodgers'] got loose from three-point range to give the Spartans a 23-22 lead with 3:54 to play in the first half. The Vikings went to a 2-3 Zone defense and slowed down the tempo to finish the half and ultimately took a 29-25 lead into the locker room with a last second steal and two-handed flush from Smiley. Smiley led the way with 12 points and 2 assists while sophomore guard [player_tooltip player_id='1561090' first='KJ' last='Avery'] added 6 points. [player_tooltip player_id='1578483' first='Wyatt' last='Weaver'] had 8 points to lead Homestead.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After a close first half the Vikings pulled away to lead by nine after three quarters and went on to win 62-51. It was a 14 point game before some "garbage time" buckets with the backups in during the final minute. Junior guard [player_tooltip player_id='1297042' first='Jack' last='Smiley'] continued his excellent season scoring 26 points to lead all scorers. [player_tooltip player_id='1578483' first='Wyatt' last='Weaver'] finished with 14 points in the loss for Homestead while [player_tooltip player_id='1277732' first='Alex' last='Graber'] added 11 points. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">6:00 p.m. - Munster 61 vs. Zionsville 42</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Zionsville jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead which included [player_tooltip player_id='1525678' first='Maguire' last='Mitchell'] burying a defender underneath the basket on the opening play and a three-pointer from [player_tooltip player_id='2282380' first='Luke' last='Reasoner']. Munster was forced to use an early timeout to stop the bleeding. Coach Hackett's pep talk clearly did the trick as the Mustangs would answer and end up leading after the first quarter 17-15. Spring Arbor commit [player_tooltip player_id='1275808' first='David' last='Cundiff'] assisted on five of eight made field goals in that first period. Then, Munster started the second quarter off with a 6-0 run. They would go on to take a 32-26 advantage into the locker room. [player_tooltip player_id='1384395' first='Jermaine' last='Coney'] led the way scoring 11 points while [player_tooltip player_id='1384419' first='Nolan' last='Kinsella'] added 8 points. Both [player_tooltip player_id='1525678' first='Maguire' last='Mitchell'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2282380' first='Luke' last='Reasoner'] had 8 points for the Eagles while [player_tooltip player_id='1525679' first='Drew' last='Snively'] added 6 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This one was never in doubt in the second half as Munster cruised to a 61-42 victory over Zionsville. Senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='1384395' first='Jermaine' last='Coney'] finished with 21 points to lead all scorers while fellow senior [player_tooltip player_id='1384419' first='Nolan' last='Kinsella'] added 13 points for the Mustangs. They executed offensively at a very, very high level against a good Zionsville team. For the Eagles, [player_tooltip player_id='1525678' first='Maguire' last='Mitchell'] and Jackson Tielker each scored 10 points while [player_tooltip player_id='1525679' first='Drew' last='Snively'] added 9 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">7:30 p.m. - Carroll (Fort Wayne) 68 South Bend St. Joseph 65</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bowling Green bound [player_tooltip player_id='1158216' first='Jaxon' last='Pardon'] scored 14 of the Chargers 18 first quarter points, but South Bend St. Joseph held a 19-18 advantage after the opening period. Freshman guard [player_tooltip player_id='2140359' first='Elijah' last='King'] came off of the bench and drilled three three-point shots to lead the way with 9 points. [player_tooltip player_id='2379838' first='Jayce' last='Lee'] added 6 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>South Bend St. Joseph came out on fire in the second quarter. Nick Shrewberry hit a three. [player_tooltip player_id='1297002' first='Chase' last='Konieczny'] hit a three. [player_tooltip player_id='2140359' first='Elijah' last='King'] hit his fourth three of the game to force a Carroll time out with 4:51 to play in the half and the score sitting at 34-20. 15-2 run to start the second period. They would go on to take a 40-27 lead into the halftime locker room. King led the way with 15 points on five three-point shots. Konieczny has 7 at the half. For Carroll, [player_tooltip player_id='1158216' first='Jaxon' last='Pardon'] is still at 14 which he scored all in the first quarter. [player_tooltip player_id='1270990' first='Cannen' last='Houser'] has added 7 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>What a finish we had to this one! Carroll, who had trailed since the first quarter, finally tied the game on a [player_tooltip player_id='1270990' first='Cannen' last='Houser'] bucket with 3:22 to play and took the lead on a [player_tooltip player_id='1525665' first='Jaiyre' last='Sampson'] And-1 with 2:17 left in the fourth. South Bend St. Joseph would retake the lead as late as 33 seconds with a little left-handed floater from [player_tooltip player_id='2485799' first='Brashaun' last='Woods'], but Grant Peters gave the Chargers the lead back with about 21 seconds and then [player_tooltip player_id='1158216' first='Jaxon' last='Pardon'] and Sampson iced it at the free throw line. Carroll finished off with a 68-65 victory.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Bowling Green signee [player_tooltip player_id='1158216' first='Jaxon' last='Pardon'] finished with 22 points to lead all scorers. [player_tooltip player_id='1525665' first='Jaiyre' last='Sampson'] added 17 points while Grace bound [player_tooltip player_id='1270990' first='Cannen' last='Houser'] chipped in 16 points for the Chargers. In the loss for SBSJ, freshman [player_tooltip player_id='2140359' first='Elijah' last='King'] scored 16 points, [player_tooltip player_id='2485799' first='Brashaun' last='Woods'] added 15 points, and [player_tooltip player_id='1297002' first='Chase' last='Konieczny'] finished with 12 points and 7 rebounds.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->