Holderness Dominates in NEPSAC Class B Small Championship

Holderness School dominated Kingswood Oxford School 74-52 for a wire-to-wire win in Sunday's Class B Small NEPSAC championship at Western New England University in Worcester, Massachusetts.   Below are 5 standouts from the game.    Paquette was probably the best player for Holderness in Sunday's championship game against one-seed Kingswood Oxford. The 6-foot-3 wing hit shots from the perimeter and made the defense chase him around the floor on screens and cuts, but he also showed the ability to drive closeouts and made pull-up jumpers and layups. He has a super strong body and takes contact well, and he never overdribbles or takes poor shots. Paquette is an awesome role player who should find a home at the D3 level because of his two-way ability and offensive instincts. He won MVP for Holderness, who put a beat down on K.O for the championship.     Cruz is a shifty, quick point guard who really impressed me on the offensive end. Though he didn't dominate from the perimeter, he consistently used his low center of gravity and active off hand to breeze past his defender. When he gets into the paint, he makes really nice spray out passes to his teammates but also does a good job taking contact and finishing at the rim. The lefty has crafty footwork and feel in the paint and a knack for getting fouled at the rim. Some added strength and weight would be huge for Cruz, but the junior has some more time to build that.     Langley scored the ball well in Holderness' championship win, but it was his passing instincts and feel for the game that really stood out to me. He made multiple super advanced passes across the court out of pick and roll and nail touch reads, and his accuracy and vision was on point. Langley also made some outside shots and showed off his athleticism and length on multiple drives to the rim, and his offensive rebounding was one of the biggest points of success for Holderness. He'll be a really solid player at the next level, and his game should translate very well.     Whittley-Ligon was his usual hard-playing self in Sunday's championship game, but he just didn't have quite enough help from his teammates. The 6-foot-5 forward showed off his versatility on both ends by knocking down shots from the perimeter and the paint but also by defending all positions effectively. Whittley-Ligon's physical tools—which help him defend and rebound far better than his height would suggest—should earn him some minutes right away at Wash U in St. Louis next season. Heck of a high school career for a really solid player.     Biggins is committed to Boston College for football as a wide receiver, and you can see why. He has incredible strength and quickness and is super difficult to keep off his line on drives to the rim. The lefty also flies and takes contact quite well in the air, and he can even make the defense pay from the perimeter (though his shot wasn't falling in Sunday's championship game). Biggins is a leader for Kingswood Oxford, and they'll certainly miss him next season as they look to aggressively rebuild. Excited to see what Biggins does on the football field next season.

Holderness School dominated Kingswood Oxford School 74-52 for a wire-to-wire win in Sunday's Class B Small NEPSAC championship at Western New England University in Worcester, Massachusetts.