Mattingly's too much for the young Pride

Friday, March 7th I attended the 5A Chip with the #4 seed Central Bobcats taking on the #3 Moiuntain Pointe Pride.   From the jump [player_tooltip player_id='1873639' first='Grant' last='Mattingly'] made his mark in the game and the Bobcats took a 21-14 lead after 1. The Pride settled down a little but Central led 35-26 at halftime. The 3rd quarter belonged to Central by a slim margin and led 52-40 heading into the 4th quarter. [player_tooltip player_id='2194481' first='Justin' last='Kimbrough'], [player_tooltip player_id='2134290' first='Mark' last='Wiltshire Jr'], [player_tooltip player_id='1956218' first='Marcus' last='Isaac'], [player_tooltip player_id='1351130' first='Amous' last='Price'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2466075' first='Jayvein' last='Moody'] tried keeping it close but [player_tooltip player_id='1150901' first='John' last='Mattingly'] made eight important free throws to hold off the young Pride 69-58.   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Here were the Standouts</h2>   [player_tooltip player_id='1873639' first='Grant' last='Mattingly'] Central   One of the top scoring freshmen point guards in the AIA makes it look easy in stretches. He scores with polished euro steps into a reverse layups on either side, fall aways in the post, threes off the catch and his pace he plays at is next level stuff. He is very calm and he will make his teammates around him better. He scored 17 points with 3 assists and 3 steals.   [player_tooltip player_id='1150901' first='John' last='Mattingly'] Central   The super crafty and always in control scoring lead guard led the way with 21 points. His jumper was a little off on this night yet he still poured in 20+ to go along with 6 rebounds and 6 assists. He will drive and kick it straight into a shooting pocket and has such an easy pace. He will score with hesitations into a floater and his pull-up is always on point.   [player_tooltip player_id='2466744' first='Eric' last='Butler'] Central   The strong power forward came up big in this game with 10 points and 9 rebounds. He carves out space with his size and girth and will score with offensive rebound put backs, layups in traffic and outworking his opponents on the glass.   [player_tooltip player_id='1759332' first='Dom' last='Rojas'] Central   One of the tougher undersized point guards in the AIA has that inner confidence and toughness to make the winning plays for his team to be successful. He will often dribble drive to the basket and he can go behind his back to the cup. He earns trips to the free throw line putting pressure on the defense with his drives. He also pressures the ball handlers making it difficult for them. He scored 10 points with 3 assists and 3 steals.   [player_tooltip player_id='2223458' first='Anthony' last='Maciel'] Central   Another important piece to the puzzle was Maciel. He scores with fall aways in the paint, offensive rebounds to keep possessions alive and he earns trips to the free throw line with his high effort getting position to get on the glass. His size allowed his guards to gamble a little and he would wall up to the opposing teams potential scorers. He scored 6 points with 12 rebounds 1 block and 1 steal.   [player_tooltip player_id='2134290' first='Mark' last='Wiltshire Jr'] Mountain Pointe    An athletic wing forward did a lot of damage inside the paint. He scored with layups in traffic, offensive rebound put backs in bunches with his bounce and lively body. He can also step out and shoot the three. The lefty scored 11 points with 11 rebounds.   [player_tooltip player_id='1956218' first='Marcus' last='Isaac'] Mountain Pointe    The big man in the middle. He just missed a double-double with 9 points 9 rebounds with 3 blocks 2 assists and 1 steal. He scores with fall aways, rip thrus with his long strides, and-1's in traffic and is one of the best, if not THE best, shot blocker in the class locally.   [player_tooltip player_id='2194806' first='Zen' last='London'] Mountain Pointe    A tough defensive minded guard may have only scored 3 points but pestered the opponents guards all game long. The Bobcats only shot 36% as a team and he had a lot to do with that with his quicker feet, stocky frame and toughness.   [player_tooltip player_id='1351130' first='Amous' last='Price'] Mountain Pointe   The tough senior scored 12 points with a whopping 9 rebounds for a guard and 3 assists and a steal. He really played well on both ends of the court bringing his natural energy and athleticism to the court. He found his young teammates for assists but scored with mid-range jumpers and floaters. The nephew of the coach laid it all on the line for the Pride.     [player_tooltip player_id='2194481' first='Justin' last='Kimbrough'] Mountain Pointe    The dynamic undersized pure point guard had some special stretches of play during the game. He scores with and-1's in traffic using his great body control. He loves the mid-range pull-up off the dribble and will facilitate for his teammates. He led the team with 4 assists to go along with 10 points 1 steal and even 1 block.   [player_tooltip player_id='2466075' first='Jayvein' last='Moody'] Mountain Pointe   A scoring combo guard is one of the rare young players who can flip the switch and go on his own personal runs to bring a team back. The sharp shooting lefty will rattle in threes off the catch or pull. He sizes his defenders up and gets it off his hands quickly. He will also hit the mid-range pull-up and defends. He scored 11 points with 4 rebounds 2 steals and 2 blocks.

Friday, March 7th I attended the 5A Chip with the #4 seed Central Bobcats taking on the #3 Moiuntain Pointe Pride.