HARDWOOD: Saturday Recaps
HARDWOOD: Saturday Recaps
LAWRENCE, Kan. — The third day of the 2018 Hardwood Classic got underway on Saturday in Lawrence and featured bracket play throughout the day.
Here, Prep Hoops Kansas breaks down several of the games that stood out and takes a look at several of the standout performances.
10:00 AM: 16U — MoKan Elite 56, KC Spurs Black 45
The Spurs had a talented MoKan Elite squad frustrated throughout much of this morning contest and the highlight was the play of St. James Academy 2020 guard Jack Moellers,who had five first-half 3-pointers and finished the contest with 22 points. MoKan got a solid performance from 6’7 2020 forward Michael Peake, of Kansas City (Mo.) Northeast who finished with a double, double, and Andover 2020 point guard Xavier Bell, who put together a solid all-around performance, going for 13 points.
11:10: 17U — The City Rocks EYBL 17U 67, Primetime Ballerz 40
The City Rocks jumped out to a 16-2 lead and while Primetime battled back to cut the lead to five midway through the first half, it was mostly all City Rocks from there. The EYBL squad made things look easy, knocking down 3s, getting to the basket at will and throwing down a host of dunks. The highlight of the contest was a poster slam by 2020 forward Andre Jackson, who after winning the Hardwood dunk contest Friday night, brought out some highlight reel in-game dunks on Saturday. The City Rocks also got a strong performance from 2019 guard Noah Hutchins who holds several offers. Primetime Ballerz, which features players in the 2020 class, had some solid performances, especially shooting the ball from distance. Lawrence guard Max Adams knocked down three 3-pointers and finished with 11 points, while Free State guard Dakari Middleton showed good size, handles and all-around play.
1:20: 17U — SSA Elite Black 17U 67, WSC Team Driven 17U 48
Two of the more underrated grassroots programs in Kansas squared off in a 17U championship bracket game on Saturday. The contest featured a good individual match-up in the paint between Topeka’s Trey Duffey and Grant Cooney for SSA Elite, and Inman’s Mason Thiessen and Salina’s Elex Banks for Team Driven. Team Driven did a terrific job on the offensive glass to keep the game close, but SSA Elite eventually pulled away midway through the second half putting together a 24-7 run with 9:45 remaining to take control of the game. Coming up big were Topeka’s Levi Braun and Silver Lake’s Mason Griffin who each hit a pair of 3-pointers for SSA Elite during the run, while Duffey knocked in three mid-range jumpers and scored six quick points during the stretch. WCS fir a strong performance from 2019 guard Trace Leners who scored 11 points and brought energy to the floor for Team Driven.
230: 17U — MoKan Elite 17U def. Heat Elite
This one was all MoKan Elite from the tip as they played with coaches from Oregon, Creighton, Purdue, St. Louis, Colorado and a host of other colleges in attendance. MoKan went inside to Sunrise 2020 N’Faly Dante early and often and the 2020 big man had eight quick points as MoKan opened up an early 17-2 lead. The Heat got a pair of big shooting performances from Buffalo, Kansas’ Corbett Kimberlain and Arkansas City’s Cevin Clark. Kimberlain went for 12 first-half points on four 3-pointers, while Clark had it all working after a slow start. He went for seven 3-pointers and 29 points to lead both teams. For MoKan, Grandview (Mo.) guard Deandre Sorrells went for 20 points, including six 3-pointers to lead a well-balanced attack.