D4 - Region 14 - Northwest 1 District Semifinals Top Players

Last night I was at the Division 4 Region 14 Northwest 1 District Semifinals double header. Winners play each other on Friday in the District Finals. That match-up will be Elida vs Shelby as Elida got the tough fought-for win over Lima Bath 52-38 and Shelby completed a late-game comeback over Upper Sandusky 60-58. Here are my top players from these two games.    Homan was Mr. consistent throughout the game for Shelby as he provided the scoring throughout. This was massive because the Whippets were down most of the game and Upper could never pull away because of Homan's scoring. He has great size and strength. This allowed him to do most of his damage in the paint. He is a nice throwback and big to watch. He can put the ball on the ground and can score off the dribble. He played the entire game and with a high motor the entire time.     Hill did most of his damage in the first half as he had 13 at the half and finished with 16. Bath's face guarded him in the second half, but you could see the offensive skill that was there. He has a smooth shot and is a tough player to stop in transition. One thing that impressed me with the junior was the fact that they took him away offensively he decided to impact the game defensively. He applied great full-court on-ball pressure and often made someone else bring the ball up. He did not allow anyone to score on him.     Montgomery was great for Upper Sandusky. He did a great job all game of getting to his spot on the floor and creating for himself outside of the offense. He knew when to attack when the defense relaxed. He was very fundamental as he got to his spot, landed on two feet, and was patient. He knocked fadeaway shots, pump fakes, and jump into you, and drew fouls. He finished with 26 points. He then did a good job of jumping the passing lanes and causing turnovers. Played his tail off the entire game.     Wash was someone Elida needed to lean on due to some foul trouble and he more than delivered. He is a short but stocky and extremely strong guard. This allows him to get low and slash through the lane. He did a good job of exploding to the basket. Finished through and absorbed contact well. When the game was tight, he had the ball in his hands and made the right decision with it. Tough player.     I like what players like Heilman bring to a team. He is a point guard that you have trust in with the ball in his hands. He did not make any mistakes in the game and made the right decisions. He got the ball out of his hands quickly they got the offense running. He is a tough kid that played hard. Toward the end of the game when Shelby was trying to speed the game up I often found myself thinking they just needed to get it to Heilman and let him decide what to do.     Markley is a nice player that has some potential to make the jump to become really good. He has good size and length that allows him to be versatile on both ends of the floor. He is tough to stop when he gets to his right and drives to the rim. He finished at the rim well in traffic. He knocked down a pair of toughly contested pull-up jumpers when the lane wasn't there for him to continue to drive. He did a nice job of being aggressive but never forcing it.

Last night I was at the Division 4 Region 14 Northwest 1 District Semifinals double header. Winners play each other on Friday in the District Finals. That match-up will be Elida vs Shelby as Elida got the tough fought-for win over Lima Bath 52-38 and Shelby completed a late-game comeback over Upper Sandusky 60-58. Here are my top players from these two games.