Section 7 Recap: Democracy Prep, Liberty, And Centennial

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Below are recaps on Democracy Prep, Liberty, and Centennial.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Democracy Prep -</strong> While I'm sure the Blue Knights would have liked to have finish better than 1-3 at Section 7, they did fight hard in each game that I watched. Game 1 came against Notre Dame (CA) who were without Tyran Stokes. But they did have Bishop Gorman transfer [player_tooltip player_id='1278506' first='Ilan' last='Nikolov'] suit up. Democracy Prep did their best to keep it close in the first half. Then Notre Dame went to work on offense in the second half and pulled away. Then in game 2, they played Liberty (AZ) and got a 28 point performance from [player_tooltip player_id='1529852' first='Josiah' last='Stroughter']. They ended up losing game 3 to Davis (UT) and the score was 69-63. Then to wrap up their weekend, they played Mesa (AZ). Jakyi Miles was doing his thing and helped the open up a 15 point lead. But the Blue Knights didn't quit and they got into the press with about 8 minutes left. Slowly but surely they chipped away at the lead and they made it a 2 point game in the last minute. They called a timeout, and got the look that they wanted. [player_tooltip player_id='2918862' first='Benjamin' last='Brown'] found himself open in the corner, and he buried what was thought to be the game tying 3. But the refs noticed that his foot was on the line, and Democracy Prep ended up losing by 1. With all of the skilled guards that they have, I believe they'll be one of the most agile teams in Nevada next season. Which should help them cause turnovers a good amount of turnovers. But they'll need to get stops and find ways to limit opposing bigs.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Liberty - </strong>The Liberty Patriots are another team that has added a number of transfers. Since the end of the school year, they have brought on [player_tooltip player_id='1463230' first='Tyus' last='Thomas'], Tayshawn Cesaer, Hudson Yakubik and Da'aron Thompkins. Unfortunately Thomas is out for the time being. But I did get a better feel for how the Patriots will look next season after seeing them play a few times. I was a big fan of the way that Ceaser played. He makes the right passes and put his shooting on display as well. Meanwhile, I noticed Thompkins bringing energy on defense and rebounding. Then Liberty also still has [player_tooltip player_id='2642334' first='Jalen' last='Parker'], [player_tooltip player_id='1493480' first='Dante' last='Steward'], and [player_tooltip player_id='2145851' first='Evan' last='Hilliard']. Who are all reliable two players that performed well at Section 7 and helped the Patriots pick up wins over San Ramon Valley (60-57) and St. Monica Prep (47-46). With 2 more talented guards and a versatile forward on the team, they are much more dangerous. I also expect that Thomas will be handed the reigns to the PG spot once he's available and he'll be tasked with facilitating the offense and distributing the rock to Liberty's shooters. Although it will be a minute before we see this team at full force, they are definitely a team to watch out for next season. The Patriots finished Section 7 with a 2-2 record. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Centennial -</strong> The Centennial Bulldogs had the best weekend out of any Vegas team, going 3-1. They won their first 3 games of the weekend by getting some great play from their guards. [player_tooltip player_id='1253141' first='Jayonni' last='Durrough'] came up in the clutch in game 1, and sank the game winning free throw. They then faced a strong Francis Parker (CA) team in game 2, and secured the win after playing some solid defense on one of the top 2027's in the country on the last possession. The Bulldogs then got their third victory of Section 7 when they defeated Brentwood 85-60. Game 4 was the championship against Crespi (CA) and it was a tale of two halves. Crespi was slightly sharper than Centennial early on, which allowed them to jump ahead quite a bit. The Bulldogs turned it on in the second half though and almost came all the way back. But Crespi did just enough to close things out and win the Championship. Looking ahead to next season, I think the Bulldogs will absolutely be one of the teams to beat. I really liked what I saw from [player_tooltip player_id='1253141' first='Jayonni' last='Durrough'], [player_tooltip player_id='1667943' first='Zyon' last='Harris'], [player_tooltip player_id='1965273' first='Jaxon' last='Price'], Jayden Cesar, and [player_tooltip player_id='2881566' first='Cooper' last='Jenkins'] (all of whom made all-tournament teams). Their only really gap in the lineup is now at the forward position, now that Bryce Iwuoha has transferred to Santa Monica Prep. So they may need to rebound by committee.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->