Valley Christian advances to the Copper Chip

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>On Friday, Feb 20th I watched the playoff match-up of 3A&nbsp;<strong>Valley Christian Trojans</strong>&nbsp;taking on 3A&nbsp;<strong>Benjamin Franklin Chargers</strong>&nbsp;in the semi finals of the Copper bracket.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Trojans came back down a little in the 1st quarter to end up almost pulling away in the 3rd quarter by as many as 13 points but the Chargers stormed back in the 4th quarter to make it an exciting finish. The Trojans held on and won&nbsp;<strong>58-56</strong> in a great finish. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Here were the standouts on the night&nbsp;</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>All the stats are unofficial.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1900362' first='Colby' last='Jessup'] Valley Christian (Pictured right) </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The top performer of the semi finals was Jessup. He puts so much pressure on the defense with his scoring but also his pinpoint passing. He had dump off assists, needle threaders and drive and kicks. His scoring obviously stands out with his deep three point shooting, side step layups in traffic, hesitation and then will blow by his defenders, back door cuts, mid-range pull-ups and crossovers into a tough basket. He finished with a team high of 23 points 8 rebounds 5 assists and 3 steals.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2333012' first='Devin' last='Morganfield'] Valley Christian&nbsp;(<strong>Pictured left) </strong> </strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A super athletic power forward may be a baseball stud but showed that he is a vital part of their teams success. He is their true rim protector and rim runner of the team. He scored with quick moves to the basket, contested layups and way above the rim dunks. He finished with an impressive 9 points 7+ rebounds with a jaw-dropping 6 blocks.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1768201' first='Paxton' last='Tamlyn'] Valley Christian&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A defensive combo guard can play on or off the ball. He can make plays for others but is looking to score. He has a nice mid-range pull-up off the dribble, makes fall aways, back door cuts, he gets downhill with a super quick first step and will rebound better than most guards in the senior class. He finished with 17 points and 6+ rebounds.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2759091' first='Calvin' last='McCrory'] Valley Christian&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A combo guard with a lot of skill. He will most likely lead this team next year in points with his polished mid-range pull-ups and he can take contact well driving to the basket with his dominant left hand. He will make plays and rebound. He finished with 7 points.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2883785' first='Ethan' last='Sang'] Ben Franklin&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The standout for the teams was definitely Sang. The late bloomer showed off his full arsenal with 26 points. He scored with multiple threes, mid-range jumpers, floaters, and-1 buckets and transition scores. He also grabbed 5+ rebounds.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2533653' first='Bennett' last='Christensen'] Ben Franklin&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A pure point guard who can score. He threw up the court passes and he had multiple bail out passes perfectly in stride. He scores it with runners kissing it off the glass and loves using the mid-range jumper, which is definitely his sweet spot, with a couple of them using a high arc and good elevation. He has quick hands on defense and will even block a shot. He scored 10 points.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2249646' first='Talan' last='Speir'] Ben Franklin&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The three sport standout had a great career for the Chargers. He did it all from playing many positions to defending. He rebounds well and will score with threes off the catch, he gets downhill well and will take the ball off the glass and go coast to coast. He scored 9 points.  </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2333014' first='Brody' last='Hansen'] Ben Franklin&nbsp;</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A decent sized wing forward who can defend, rebound in and out of his area and score. He will hit the three off the catch with confidence, score with and-1's thru the contact and in transition. He also has sneaky good court vision and finished with 7 points 3 assists and 5 rebounds. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->