(2) CATS Academy defeats (7) Wilbraham & Monson

CATS was simply too big and strong for W&M to handle on Wednesday. Thought Wilbraham kept the contest close for a half, CATS pulled away in the second and galloped away to a 73-55 victory. They'll have another game on their home floor against Kimball Union Academy on Saturday.   Here are my standouts from Wednesday's game.    As I stated in my <a href="https://prephoops.com/2025/03/napsac-class-aa-playoff-preview/">NEPSAC Class AA playoff preview</a> article, I thought that Curtis would have a field day against Wilbraham & Monson's zone and small front line – and that's exactly what he did. The 7-footer moved around the free-throw line and on the baseline to find gaps in the zone and also pounded them on the offensive glass. When he got a touch in the paint, he finished consistently with both hands and was simply too tall and long for [player_tooltip player_id='2818561' first='Chinedu' last='Okpara'] to contend with. He also made a slew of nice passes out of the middle of the zone to shooters on the perimeter. In the next round, he'll face a KUA squad with a far bigger front line, which will be an interesting matchup.     Bellot was FEELING it from three against Wilbraham. The junior guard, as I've pointed out this season, has improved his shot greatly from the summer. He used to have a hitch in his release and didn't get it off very quickly at all; now, he has a smooth jumper that he's able to get off quickly and with very solid range. His shooting is getting to a place where it's more consistent and reliable, which will pay dividends in his college recruitment moving forward. And, as always, Bellot brings a competitive spirit and high effort level on the defensive end, which I love.     Harrell's the type of player who can score an unnoticed 20 points. Whether it be getting put-backs off of rebounds or sneaking behind the 2-3 zone on the baseline, he just finds a way to get the ball in scoring positions and finish it. He also has been known to get hot from three – he hit a few of those today against W&M's zone. Even though his shot doesn't have too much arc, I've seen enough at this point to say that it's consistent and lethal. I was also really impressed with his ability to pass out of the free-throw line area. He has good vision and can see above the defense with his size.     Williams-Crawford is one of the best defenders in the region, and he proved that against Wilbraham and Monson. Whether he was attached to Ryan Kranz's hip as he came off screens or sliding his feet with [player_tooltip player_id='2634089' first='Darius' last='Ajakaiye'] on the perimeter, JWC showcased his incredible versatility on that end – he's truly able to guard 1-4 successfully as a result of his combination of size, athleticism and hands. The offense will need to improve if he's going to get high-major offers, but the 6-foot-7 wing has another entire year to work on that. The future is so bright for him, and this'll be a very important spring and summer.     Despite being hounded by [player_tooltip player_id='2487641' first='Desmond' last='Bellot'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2396726' first='Jaylin' last='Williams-Crawford'] on the defensive end, Ajakaiye held his cool and was able to create some solid offense for Wilbraham & Monson throughout the game. He had a couple really nice lefty finishes on strong drives to the hoop and made some heady dump-down passes. He did make a three late in the game, but his shot is a bit wonky and needs to get more consistent. Defensively, I was really impressed with his activity at the top of the zone; he probably had 3 or 4 steals as a result of his quickness and hands.

CATS was simply too big and strong for W&M to handle on Wednesday. Thought Wilbraham kept the contest close for a half, CATS pulled away in the second and galloped away to a 73-55 victory. They'll have another game on their home floor against Kimball Union Academy on Saturday.