Whitman v Richard Montgomery: Standout Prospects

Last night, the top-ranked Montgomery County program in Walt Whitman hosted Richard Montgomery. The visiting Rockets hit a huge triple with seconds left and handed the hosting Vikings their first loss in league play by a final score of 57-56. Richard Montgomery improved to 15-4 overall while Whitman fell to 17-2. Below are the standout prospects from the tightly contested thriller.    Vaughn-Cooper's loud senior campaign continued as he led Richard Montgomery in their biggest win of the season behind 25 points, four rebounds and two assists. Although he's known for his potent three-level scoring prowess, it was impressive to see him quickly locate the open teammate as the clock winded down and deliver the game-winning assist to 2027 [player_tooltip player_id='3075821' first='Jayceon' last='Smith'], who would connect on the three-pointer that gave them a one-point advantage as the buzzer sounded. The savvy lead guard is a blur with the ball in his hands and can quickly get from end-to-end, supplying significant pressure on the rim. His burst and wiggle made him a handful to contain in 1-on-1 scenarios where he creates the space needed to get his shot off from deep or create driving lanes where he can finish through the contact of the rotating big who contests his attempt in the air.     Williams has consistently answered the call as a junior in assuming the responsibilities as the lead guard and primary offensive option for a Whitman team who came into last night winning a 15-game winning streak. Watching him go head-to-head against Vaughn-Cooper was as entertaining as you'd predict as Williams scored 23 points, hauled in four rebounds and dished out three assists in the close loss. Williams' uses his effective change-of-pace attack off the bounce paired with his strong frame to command angles on drives. He has enough wiggle to gain an edge and twitch in his counters to keep his defender guessing. As we've seen throughout this season, the further development of his jumper off the catch has forced his matchup to aggressively closeout, which can play towards his strength in getting into the paint and playing off two.     Davis has quietly put together one of the more consistent junior seasons in MoCo and his floor-spacing ability alongside Vaughn-Cooper is proving to be most valuable now more than ever. He connected on three three's in last night's win and finished the contest with 13 points. His effort in the second quarter helped Richard Montgomery build momentum and cut the Whitman lead to one point at the break.     Shapiro is the ultimate glue-guy as a senior leader who contributes in ways that box score wouldn't be able to indicate. However, even in last night's game, his stat line was a solid indication of his activity as he recorded 12 points, seven rebounds and five assists. He's no stranger to diving on the floor for 50/50s, making the hockey assist or setting textbook off-ball screens that open up teammates for lay-ups. Whitman executed as they usually do in the half court and Shapiro darted passes to teammates cutting backdoor with crisp, on-target deliveries before the defense could recover. He won extra possessions for his team on the offensive glass and also knocked down a couple three's in the contest.     Last, but certainly not least, the hero from last night's game goes to Smith as his three-pointer tickled the twine and caused the Richard Montgomery traveling fanbase to explode. He had it going prior to that last possession and similar to Davis mentioned above, brings incredible value to the floor for the Rockets as Vaughn-Cooper can get to the paint whenever he pleases to breakdown the defense. The junior guard finished with 14 points on 63 percent shooting from the field.

Last night, the top-ranked Montgomery County program in Walt Whitman hosted Richard Montgomery. The visiting Rockets hit a huge triple with seconds left and handed the hosting Vikings their first loss in league play by a final score of 57-56. Richard Montgomery improved to 15-4 overall while Whitman fell to 17-2. Below are the standout prospects from the tightly contested thriller.