Mt Si vs Bellevue Game Recap

<p>There was a big top-5 matchup set up at Mt Si High School Saturday night, so I had to make the trek out to see these 3A and 4A contenders go at it. It was largely the matchup it was made out to be although Mt Si was able to control the flow for much of the game and headed into the half with a 12-point lead. They steadily built on that lead in the third and took complete control in the second half, enduring a little run from the Wolverines in the fourth, but eventually coming away with the big 90-68 win at home. Here are some of the storylines from the night.</p>   <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><em>[player_tooltip player_id='1450486' first='Trevor' last='Hennig'] 6'4 G 2024</em></h3>   <p>The senior guard put on a show for the home crowd, ending the night with 44 points, missing just three shots all game and finishing 15/15 from the foul line. He makes you guard every option when he gets the rock, employs really tight moves off the bounce and great change of speed to make sure eventually, he's going to get free. Early on he was drawing fouls and got to the line for 11 attempts in the first half. But he was getting separation all night and it only got easier as the night went on. He cemented the win late in the fourth with a deep 3 from the top right over his defender. Then capped the next possession with a huge two-hand slam in transition off the nice give and go from [player_tooltip player_id='1450494' first='Blake' last='Forrest'].</p>   <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><em>[player_tooltip player_id='1685491' first='Lattimore' last='Ford'] 6'6 F 2026</em></h3>   <p>Ford was a physical force inside but also was able to use some explosion with the ball to knife in from the perimeter and get to the rack. Whether he started in close or heading in from outside, he did a great job shifting direction and remaining powerful off of two feet and continued to power through swiping hands or drive defenders under the rim with his strength before rising up high for finishes. He finished the night with 19 points and seven strong rebounds.</p>   <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><em>[player_tooltip player_id='1450494' first='Blake' last='Forrest'] 6'0 G 2024</em></h3>   <p>Forrest never seems to be a big focus of the offense but he still puts up numbers and it goes to show how smart he is in picking his spots and his ability to make plays for others. He made a killing in transition just spurting by defenders in the open court with his speed and exploding up to the rim on numerous occasions to smoothly finish above contests. He's a guy who always seems to make the timely play on either end of the floor and came up big again tonight, ending with 16 points, eight assists, and four steals.</p>   <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><em>[player_tooltip player_id='1485587' first='Bryce' last='Smith'] 6'1 G 2025</em></h3>   <p>One of the best matchups that took form after the tip was Smith and [player_tooltip player_id='1450494' first='Blake' last='Forrest']. They are both super-athletic guards that play with big engines on both ends of the floor and guarded each other tough for much of the game until Bellevue went zone later on. Smith was aggressive getting inside and making things happen at the rim, going straight at guys near the rim from in the halfcourt and pushing the pace in transition. He's another guy who makes some sneaky plays, picking dribbles and timing passes well, and he also got some boards by darting in unaccounted for to get a couple of put-backs offensively.</p>   <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><em>[player_tooltip player_id='2140825' first='Jimmie' last='Haywood III'] 6'3 G 2027</em></h3>   <p>Haywood got off to a slow start, getting looks but not converting a bunch early on. But he's not one of the top freshmen in the state for no reason. He kept at it and showed off some excellent shot-making, burying several pull-ups from midrange and using a debilitating left-handed in-and-out to get to the rack and score inside. </p>   <h3 class="wp-block-heading"><em>[player_tooltip player_id='1615160' first='Kenyan' last='Jackman-Thomas'] 6'5 F 2024</em></h3>   <p>Thomas sank three 3s in the game and looks like he's really solidified that area of his game, but his main impact came inside with some bully buckets. Bellevue was outsized inside but Jackman-Thomas was big for them with his fight and ability to finish with lots of bodies around. He got low and outleveraged guys at the rim and made some tough rebounds on both ends.</p>

There was a big top-5 matchup set up at Mt Si High School Saturday night, so I had to make the trek out to see these 3A and 4A contenders go at it. It was largely the matchup it was made out to be although Mt Si was able to control the flow for much of the game and headed into the half with a 12-point lead. They steadily built on that lead in the third and took complete control in the second half, enduring a little run from the Wolverines in the fourth, but eventually coming away with the big 90-68 win at home. Here are some of the storylines from the night.