Five Takeaways: Lutheran East vs. Beachwood

Anthony Garcia December 3, 2017 @ 02:31 PM

A 21 point showing from freshman guard E.J. Farmer moved Lutheran East to 2-0 after beating Beachwood 70-64 at the Great Lakes Classic.

Now, here are the five things that stood-out in Sunday’s second game at the GLC.

Lutheran East can handle Division III
The reigning Division IV State Champion Falcons didn’t even have transfers David Gulley (2018) or Neahmiah Benson (2020) in this game. Adding them to a rotation that includes Jordan Burge, Farmer, 6’4″ sophomore Dayvon Adams, 6’4″ junior Samuel Johnson, and 5’8″ sophomore T.J. Blevins makes them tough. We don’t see anyone in Northeast Ohio’s Division III class taking them down at full strength.

Freshman E.J. Farmer is the real deal
The highly touted combo guard followed up a 16 point performance in his Thursday debut with 21 against Beachwood. Farmer, a lefty, was phenomenal in the fourth quarter, going on a personal 7-0 run when the game was within one possession.

The 6’4″ wiry guard can rise above good defense for his pull-up jumper. He delivered on a bounce pass in the pick and roll once but doesn’t quite have a lead guard’s feel. Regardless, his quickness, length and jumper looks like the whole package.

Playing inside-out with Jordan Burge
When 6’4″ junior Samuel Johnson went to the bench, Jordan Burge quickly became Lutheran East’s only option near the basket. Even though Beachwood mostly stayed in front of him, Burge went straight into the body of their guards and had countless layup attempts. Trusting his corner shooters will be crucial, as he could tally big assist numbers this season.

Beachwood competes
Even without their best player, 6’5″ junior Jayson Woodrich, Beachwood’s rotation of guards led halfway through the fourth quarter. The senior backcourt of Josh Sizemore, who led the team with 19, and Cam Thomas can handle the rock and hit from outside.

More than anything, all of their players committed themselves on the defensive end, making it difficult for Burge to get going. Until the fourth quarter when Farmer caught fire, Lutheran East was struggling to get separation for clean looks.

First look at Collin Albert
The 5’11” Beachwood freshman impressed in his second high school game. He went for 19 against Solon and had 9 today. Albert is tough to stay in front of with his ability to change speeds. He had a couple uncontested layups after getting the defense to bite on his pull-back move.