Xavier Saturday Afternoon Standouts

The Cintas Center on the campus of Xavier University was the site of four regional championship games, in this article we'll break down the standout performers from the first two games of the day where Summit Country Day and Cincinnati Wyoming advanced to Dayton!    The difference for Summit Country Day in their playoff run, getting Martin back healthy has given Summit Country Day another long athlete, defender, rebounder and shooter. The future Rhode Island Ram found his most success as a rebounder and cutter today, getting a couple putback layups and a few runout dunks to get the Summit Country Day crowd off their feet. Maybe the highlight of the game came after Waynesville cut the lead to just four points in the third quarter, Summit Country Day went on a 8-0 run where Waynesville barely crossed half court and it was ended with a give and go dunk for Martin in transition.     A monster athlete, interior scorer, rebounder and defender at the high school level, all those skills by Joiner were on display on Saturday afternoon. Joiner blocked multiple shots at the rim, using his exceptional vertical explosiveness and timing. Joiner also had a couple steals in the full court press Summit Country Day used that led to easy layups. Two high school seasons for Joiner and two regional championships with Summit Country Day.     A prospect who has always intrigued me by his fluidity as an athlete and positional size, Tucker had maybe the best half I've seen him play in the first half on Saturday afternoon. Knocking down a pair of 3-pointers on the wing and scoring off a pickpocket steal, Tucker helped Summit Country Day more than double up Waynesville in the first half. Struggling as a scorer in the second half, Tucker needs to be more consistent but he did have a pair of sweet assists through traffic and a late dunk off the baseline to cap off the win.     After winning 22 straight games, Waynesville's historic season comes to an end in the regional title game. Sesslar had some bright moments for his team on Saturday afternoon, using his quickness to get to his spots and knocking down a couple mid-range jumpers. To open the second half Waynesville went on a 8-0 run to cut the lead to 4 and it was off two assists by Sesslar and a mid-range jumper. End of an impressive high school career for Sesslar who was named SWBL Buckeye player of the year.     Known as the elite shooter of the Wyoming core four seniors, I was incredibly impressed with Evans decision making and passing on Saturday. Making smart decisions attacking closeouts and in transition, Evans helped swing the ball and get the Northridge defense moving. It also wouldn't be an Evans performance without him hitting a few shots and he knocked down a pair of triples from the corner. Impressive showing by a Wyoming team that has been rolling through the southwest region.     A dominant first quarter by Smith, he came out the gates with two early 3-pointers and a pair of blocks in the first quarter to help Northridge hold a 14-13 lead at the end of one, their last lead of the game. Smith continued to impact the game as a shot blocker and rebounder but didn't get the scoring help from his teammates to allow Northridge to keep it close enough to make a third consecutive second half comeback at the Cintas Center.

The Cintas Center on the campus of Xavier University was the site of four regional championship games, in this article we'll break down the standout performers from the first two games of the day where Summit Country Day and Cincinnati Wyoming advanced to Dayton!