Phil Cox Memorial Holiday Tournament – Quarterfinals Live Blog

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prep Hoops Indiana will have boots on the ground coverage from the historic Kokomo Memorial Gymnasium for the fourth annual Phil Cox Memorial Holiday Tournament. The quarterfinals of the eight-team, two-day tournament tip-off at 11:00 a.m. on Friday with the championship game being played on Saturday evening at 7:45 p.m. Kokomo's five-star center [player_tooltip player_id='1363488' first='Flory' last='Bidunga'], a Kansas signee, is the name that everyone knows, but there are a handful of other Division I level prospects to watch as well as a few additional players who have committed to in-state NAIA programs. For more coverage throughout the day follow <a href="https://twitter.com/BRamseyKSR">@BRamseyKSR</a> on Twitter, but we will also keep the live blog rolling here with game recaps, player evaluations, top performers, and much, much more.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>***All rankings are from the Week 5 Prep Hoops Indiana Poll***</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">11:00 a.m. - #6 Kokomo 81 vs. New Haven 49</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This one started with [player_tooltip player_id='1363488' first='Flory' last='Bidunga'] doing [player_tooltip player_id='1363488' first='Flory' last='Bidunga'] this for the Wildkats. He dunked the ball on Kokomo's first two offensive possessions and ended the first quarter with 8 points on three dunks while also grabbing 4 rebounds. New Haven was trying to zone them, but Kokomo had too much size and athleticism.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Wildkats have done a great job of placing some shooters around Bidunga on the perimeter to take some interior pressure off of him. Junior guard [player_tooltip player_id='1381461' first='Zion' last='Bellamy'] is an excellent shooter while [player_tooltip player_id='1561074' first='Baris' last='Moore'] and A'Dayveon Young have also hit early triples. The ceiling of their guard play might not match that of the best couple backcourts in the state, but when you put them around a front court of Bidunga and [player_tooltip player_id='2282357' first='Karson' last='Rogers'] it gives Kokomo a chance to beat anyone in the state of Indiana.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It was a two-way domination in first half from [player_tooltip player_id='1363488' first='Flory' last='Bidunga'] scoring 10 points, grabbing 5 rebounds, and blocking 6 shots. Kokomo leads New Haven 37-18 at the break as [player_tooltip player_id='1381461' first='Zion' last='Bellamy'] nailed a pull-up three-point shot off of the dribble at the buzzer. Bellamy also has 10 points for the Wildkats. [player_tooltip player_id='2882680' first='Marquaylon' last='Johnson'] leads the Bulldogs with 5 points at half.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Kokomo led by as many as 32 points but couldn't quite get the running clock going heading into the fourth quarter. They leads New Haven 61-33. [player_tooltip player_id='1363488' first='Flory' last='Bidunga'] now up to 19 points, 9 rebounds, and 8 blocks. We are officially on triple-double watch.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The running clock went into effect with about 3:30 remaining in this first game of the Phil Cox Memorial Holiday Tournament when Kokomo took a 76-40 advantage. The Wildkats would go on to win 81-49. Kansas signee [player_tooltip player_id='1363488' first='Flory' last='Bidunga'] finished with his fifth career triple-double of 19 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 blocks. [player_tooltip player_id='1381461' first='Zion' last='Bellamy'] added 18 points for Kokomo while sophomore guard [player_tooltip player_id='1561440' first='Korbyn' last='Hammel'], a transfer from New Haven, shot 4-6 from three-point range on his way to 14 points. [player_tooltip player_id='2882680' first='Marquaylon' last='Johnson'] scored 9 points for New Haven in the loss.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">12:45 p.m. - South Bend Riley 62 vs. Mishawaka 49</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It has been all South Bend Riley early on in this one as they simply have too much firepower for the Cavemen. Bethel commit [player_tooltip player_id='1547394' first='Payton' last='Baird'] has 9 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists while dynamic junior guard [player_tooltip player_id='1297088' first='Marvin' last='Schindler'] has also scored 9 points for the Wildcats. [player_tooltip player_id='1297056' first='Jaylen' last='Barbara'] has added 6 points. For Mishawaka, [player_tooltip player_id='1276469' first='Rasauun' last='Johnson'] leads the way with 5 points at the half. South Bend Riley leads 33-16.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>South Bend Riley led by as many as 29 points late in the third period, but the Cavemen hung around and got it as close as 13 in the fourth. However, there was no comeback story to this one as the Wildcats would hold on to win 62-49. Bethel bound [player_tooltip player_id='1547394' first='Payton' last='Baird'] finished with a double-double of 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Wildcats. Mancell Hill added 15 points as well for Riley while [player_tooltip player_id='1297088' first='Marvin' last='Schindler'] chipped in 14 points. Cooper Pritchett was the team-leader for Mishawaka finishing with 9 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">2:30 p.m. - Mount Vernon (Fortville) 68 vs. #9 Plainfield 62</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Quick start for the Quakers got them out to a 9-0 lead and they extended it to a 16-3 advantage with under two minutes to play in the quarter. 6'7" sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1561513' first='Noah' last='Smith'] was active early, senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='1384422' first='Eli' last='Ellis'] was finding open teammates all over the floor, and Mount Vernon couldn't buy a free throw. The Marauders were able to settle in though and keep themselves in the game trailing 16-8 after the opening period. [player_tooltip player_id='1561513' first='Noah' last='Smith'] had 5 points and 3 rebounds for Plainfield while [player_tooltip player_id='1384422' first='Eli' last='Ellis'] dished out 3 assists.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Plainfield once led by a score of 16-3, but Mount Vernon (Fortville) has come all the way back to lead at halftime 20-19. [player_tooltip player_id='1561435' first='Julien' last='Smith'] leads the way with 7 points. [player_tooltip player_id='1561513' first='Noah' last='Smith'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2485792' first='Colton' last='East'] each have 5 points for the Quakers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Both teams picked it up offensively in the third quarter with [player_tooltip player_id='1561513' first='Noah' last='Smith'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1293396' first='Collin' last='Schmidt'] leading the charger for Plainfield and [player_tooltip player_id='1539552' first='Tanner' last='Teschendorf'] coming up big for Mount Vernon with a corner three as the two traded baskets. Plainfield goes into the fourth quarter with a 36-34 lead over the Marauders.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The pace to this game certainly picked up down the stretch. For much of the final 10-12 minutes these two teams traded baskets largely coming from freshman [player_tooltip player_id='2267048' first='Harper' last='Baker-Lands'] and sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='1561435' first='Julien' last='Smith']. Both young, talented players scored in double-figures in the fourth quarter alone for their respective teams. The Marauders forced a couple of turnovers late to overcome a six point deficit in the final minutes, but missed free throws continued to haunt them as they had all game long. However, Smith knocked in a pair when it mattered most to tie the game 55-55 and send the game to overtime.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Big win for the Marauders as they pulled it out in overtime 68-82 over Plainfield. Dynamic sophomore guard [player_tooltip player_id='1561435' first='Julien' last='Smith'] was excellent down the stretch finishing with 25 points to lead all scorers. [player_tooltip player_id='2252566' first='Elijah' last='Parra'] added 14 points for Mount Vernon. For Plainfield, [player_tooltip player_id='1293396' first='Collin' last='Schmidt'], an IU-South Bend commit, finished with 17 points and 8 rebounds while freshman [player_tooltip player_id='2267048' first='Harper' last='Baker-Lands'] added 13 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">4:15 p.m. - Jeffersonville 64 Warren Central 59</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Jeffersonville leads Warren Central at the half 25-21. [player_tooltip player_id='2099233' first='Jeremy' last='Rose'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1297093' first='Michael' last='Cooper'] each have 9 points to lead the Red Devils. [player_tooltip player_id='2089932' first='Robert' last='Walker'] also has 9 points for Warren Central. These two teams are a combined 7-14 from three-point range, but have also turned it over a combined 22 times.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1373104' first='P.J.' last='Douglas'] scored 11 points in the fourth to lead the Red Devils with 17 points and 10 rebounds for the game as they defeated Warren Central 64-59. [player_tooltip player_id='1297093' first='Michael' last='Cooper'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2099233' first='Jeremy' last='Rose'] each scored 15 points while [player_tooltip player_id='1388408' first='Tre' last='Singleton'] added 11 points. In the loss for Warren Central, [player_tooltip player_id='2089932' first='Robert' last='Walker'] scored a game-high 28 points on 7-13 shooting from three-point range.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->