SRC - Day 1 Recap

Friday, December 7th, 2018

The 2018 Scholar Roundball Classic tipped off with four games on Friday at Babson College. 

True to form the event was well attended by college coaches from top academic colleges. Brown, Dartmouth, Cornell, and Princeton were in attendance from the Ivy League. Boston University, Holy Cross, and American represented the Patriot League. Numerous division II and III coaches included Bentley, St. Anselm, Southern New Hampshire, Brandeis, Assumption and others. 

Here's a recap of the action:

Rivers 81 Wilbraham & Monson 80

Rivers sophomore Camaron Tongue delivered an inspired 30-point performance to lead Rivers to a major win. Tongue opened the game by showing his soft touch and shooting range from the top of the key and ended up making a handful of threes before the night was over. He had his total game going though as he put the ball on the floor, played through contact, and showed footwork to match. Junior wing Jay Dieterle went scoreless in the first half but took over down the stretch, scoring all 22 of his points in the second half. Junior Jack Staiti started to make a name for himself with 14 points as well. Wilbraham and Monson was led by Harvard bound guard Idan Tretout, who had a huge second half of his own, scoring 22 of his team high 26 points in the final 18 minutes. John Adams anchored the interior with 19 points while post-graduate guard Saxon Thompson introduced himself to New England with an 18 point performance. 

Holderness 49 Pomfret Academy 39

A young but talented Holderness team came out with a gritty win over a much improved Pomfret squad in what was a defensive oriented contest. Muhamed Kante was the primary playmaker for Holderness, creating opportunities for himself and others while also being a threat from behind the three-point line. Junior wing Carter Storey didn't put up huge individual numbers but proved himself to be a heady floor spacer while Yansel Reyes was a consistent threat to get downhill off the dribble and Karl Jeannot anchored the interior. Pomfret post-graduate big man Nate Karren was impressive, even in defeat. The California big man is extremely skilled and proved it by knocking down four threes and making a number of high-level passes. Jack Srinivasan and Marcus von Recklinghausen also had good moments from Pomfret, who played without starting point guard Ricky Martin, and promise to attract plenty of recruitment this year. 

Cushing Academy 74 Canterbury 69

Canterbury led the way for the better part of the first three-quarters of the game but Cushing came storming back down the stretch as their depth started to become a factor and sophomore guard Bensley Josseph caught fire from behind the three-point line. Joseph scored a team high 19 points, including five threes, while Kyle Murphy scored 17 points and was perhaps even more critical down the stretch as he took smaller guards into the post and scored at will. Daman Tate's size and athleticism in the backcourt allowed him to make plays going to the rim, as well as on the defensive end, as he finished with 13 points including a critical three down the stretch. Sophomore Alexis Reyes also continued to string together some high-level plays to the tune of 11 points. Despite the loss, it was a very impressive performance for Canterbury. Junior guard Charlie Campbell scored a team high 18 points but more importantly showed a great motor from start to finish. Joe Hoch and Trayvon Alexander didn't put up gaudy numbers but were heady and efficient. Up front, Bryan Powell was his versatile and efficient self with 16 points while post-graduate big man Eric Massing and junior wing Marlon Short both showed signs of their long-term tools. 

Phillips Andover 64 Brimmer & May 62

Brimmer jumped out to a first-half lead behind an inspired defense effort but Andover found their offensive rhythm in the second-half. Dallion Johnson delivered some late game heroics, drilling a pair of threes and what looked like it would be the game winning 8 foot runner but Jordan Minor had other ideas as his put-back forced overtime. The game remained tied with just 30 seconds left in OT before Kyrell Luc delivered the old-fashioned three-point play, converting a double-clutched lay-up and being fouled. Andover still wouldn't go away though and they had one final possession. Johnson had the ball with time ticking away but Brimmer sent two defenders to get it out of his hands. He found Matteo Whelton in the corner who launched a three just as time expired. The ball swished through the net and gave Andover the dramatic win. Johnson finished with a team high 21 while Brenton Mills finished with 15 and Whelton 11. Brimmer had a balanced attack as Minor finished with 17, Luc 12, Jayden Okorougo 11, and Gianni Thompson 10.