Mustangs top the Cadets in WCAC Showdown

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>McNamara (11-8, 4-2) hosted an upstart St. John's team that has gained the respect of the community with a 16-3, 4-1 start to the year with a very scrappy group led by interim Coach Pat O'Connor. The Mustangs into the contest looking to bounce back from a 3-game losing streak that saw a few key players miss games due to injury. The '26 trio was effective throughout this one for the Mustangs, who led by 1 at the end of the 1Q and went into halftime up 3. SJC duo [player_tooltip player_id='1414529' first='Omari' last='Witherspoon'] and Jonathan Barton continued strong junior campaigns in bigger roles and kept the Cadets within striking distance the entire game. McNamara led by as much as 7 but a strong run midway through the 4Q from Barton cut the Mustang's lead to 5 before McNamara put the game away with stops and made FTs with a score of 68-62.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1782660' first='Qayden' last='Samuels'] proved why he is a highly-coveted prospect by several high major schools with ability to get hot and stay hot from beyond the arc. The sophomore wing finished with 21p 8r 1s 1a, showing his ability to impact the game on the glass while providing secondary playmaking for McNamara. [player_tooltip player_id='1782655' first='Prince' last='Moody'] has the ball in his hands much more this season with the graduation/transfer of some of the guards ahead of him, clearing the way to proving that he has some distributing chops in addition to the scoring punch, finishing with 12p 5a 4r 1s 1b. [player_tooltip player_id='1782594' first='Jalyn' last='Collingwood'] continues to prove his 2-way value as a versatile piece that can play on the perimeter or in the paint both offensively and defensively- allowing McNamara to switch with ease on high ball screens. He handles it well enough to get by forwards, finishes well around the rim, and has a blossoming midrange pull-up game. Collingwood finished with 10p 5r 2a 1b. [player_tooltip player_id='1370501' first='Jaren' last='Curtis'] struggled from the floor but made up for it on the glass and as a distributor, finishing with 8p 13r 4a. I also enjoyed the contributions from freshman G [player_tooltip player_id='2353528' first='Kirby' last='Duran'] (8p 2r 1a) as a scorer and shooter off the bench, while [player_tooltip player_id='1782658' first='Donovan' last='Murphy'] provided great rim-protecting and finishing ability around the rim to the tune of 6p 6b 1r.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1414529' first='Omari' last='Witherspoon'] continues to turn heads with his ability to both score and distribute with good positional size, finishing with 16p 5a 4s 1r. Witherspoon is the straw that stirs the drink offensively but he also allows them to switch most ball screens on the perimeter while also frequently serving as a trapper in their full or halfcourt schemes. Jonathan Barton is a master of the little things- boxes out hard, gets to 50/50 balls, sets great screens, dives to the opposite short corner when teammates get up a 3, fights over ball screens- he does it all for the Cadets and that was apparent today with the final statline of 15p 17r 2a 2b. [player_tooltip player_id='1782593' first='Zyion' last='Chase'] struggled from the floor but contributed on the backboards and finished several putbacks around the rim (10p 6r 1s), and [player_tooltip player_id='1782663' first='Devin' last='Toatley'] pressure on the rim and got into gaps well (8p 1r) to round it out for the Cadets.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>McNamara (12-8,5-2) will host O'Connell Tuesday at 7:30 while St. John's will play back to back dates on the road at O'Connell Tuesday at 5:30 and PVI Wednesday at 7:30.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->