Paul VI tops O’Connell

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The #1 (PVI) and #3 (O'Connell) teams in our rankings squared off in a marquee WCAC matchup Friday night that entertained from start to finish. PVI got out to an early 11-3 lead by turning defense to offense and did not look back, with seniors [player_tooltip player_id='1259618' first='Isaiah' last='Abraham'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1259620' first='Darren' last='Harris'] leading the way with [player_tooltip player_id='2148767' first='Jordan' last='Smith']. An O'Connell run early in the second half cut the lead to 6 on a Swinton made 3, but PVI's defense turned up a few notches to propel them to a 17-point lead heading into the final quarter and a final score of 68-52.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Senior PVI guard [player_tooltip player_id='1259620' first='Darren' last='Harris'] turned in his most complete performance of the season, finishing with 19p 3r 3a 2s. His ability take advantage of his scoring gravity and move the ball created a ton of easy looks for teammates. [player_tooltip player_id='2148767' first='Jordan' last='Smith'] Jr turned in a dominant 2-way performance with 17p 9r 2a 2b, attacking the glass on both ends and flying around defensively--his shooting improvements from the elbow continue to impress, going 3/4 on free throw line jumpers. [player_tooltip player_id='1259542' first='Ben' last='Hammond'] conducted his usual maestro role to the tune of 14p 9r 4a 1s-- some of the microskills of the angles that he comes off of screens and how he drives to certain spots on the floor just to draw help were fully on display. [player_tooltip player_id='1259618' first='Isaiah' last='Abraham'] turned in the best defensive performance that I've seen from him in AAU or HS basketball, additionally chipping in 8p 5r 1b. [player_tooltip player_id='1259630' first='Garrett' last='Sundra'] added in a well-rounded 3p 6r 2a 1b performance while [player_tooltip player_id='1956071' first='Adlan' last='Elamin'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1494103' first='Jaquan' last='Womack'] both guarded at a high level and each added 4 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Alfred Swinton Jr turned in his best performance in an O'Connell uniform with 20p 2b 1s 1r 1a off of 7/9 shooting, flashing the 3+D potential that he will hopefully continue at Florida State next year. [player_tooltip player_id='2232329' first='Bryson' last='Tucker'] struggled from the floor but hit some tough shots and free throws down the stretch to finish with 15p 4r 3a 1b. But the underrated impact performance of the night went to O'Connell's [player_tooltip player_id='1371866' first='Tim' last='Walker'] as he turned in a well-rounded 6p 3r 4a 2s 1b performance, hitting shots off the ball but finding teammates in the halfcourt with precision passes.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Paul VI (17-2,4-0) will play at Bishop Ireton tomorrow at 2:30, O'Connell (15-4, 4-2) will play their next game at home versus St. John's next Monday at 5:30 pm.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->