In this 6A 2^nd Round game Barnes (Loyola commit) had a significant size advantage on the interior and took advantage of it. Barnes dominated the glass at both ends and registered 12 rebounds (unofficially). At the offensive end, he cleaned up Judge’s missed FGAs and turned them into buckets. Barnes (7 points) also finished with authority from the dunker spot. Defensively, Barnes provided intimidating rim protection.   

He wasn’t relied upon as a focal point offensively, but there’s no doubt that Barnes was key toward Judge coming away with the win. The much-improved two-way big was essential to keeping the Crusaders in the game during its early offensive drought. He put a lid on the rim with six blocks and consistently made life difficult for Roman centerpiece Shareef Jackson Shareef Jackson 6'9" | C Roman Catholic | 2025 State #249 Nation PA . With the improvement and two-way impact he continues to show, it’s beyond fair to say Loyola got a steal in securing Barnes’ services.

With the clock ticking down in the fourth quarter and the last wind being taken out of Prep’s sails, Barnes provided the highlight of the night with his emphatic hammer dunk off the roll right on the head of the contesting defender. It served as the exclamation point on another night in which Barnes controlled the paint on both ends, serving as a consistent rim protector and dumpoff threat. He’s gotten his body to a great place to where he can consistently keep up with the breakneck pace of a game like this as the only big man on the floor. Still just 17 years old and with his best basketball clearly still ahead of him, Barnes looks like a potential steal heading into the Patriot League for Loyola.