NPSI Day Three Recap

New England Recruiting Report | Saturday, February 6th, 2010

The day’s action began with two games from out of region teams as Christian Faith (NC) knocked off Progressive Christian (MD) in the opener and then Mack Academy (NC) defeated Rise Academy (PA).
 
The third game of the day would be a match-up between two of the better teams in the event as Notre Dame locked up with Humble Christian Life Academy from Texas in a match-up of two big and athletic teams who like to get up and down the court.  Notre Dame opened up an early lead but Humble would strike back in a hurry, utilizing a size advantage up front to control the offensive glass.  Humble’s lead hovered around ten for the majority of the second half until Prep cut it to five in the final few minutes of action.  But that would be as close as Notre Dame would get before Humble pulled away in the last three minutes. 

Jordair Jett was the star for Notre Dame, rising to the challenge and seemingly being all over the court on both ends of the floor.  Offensively he handled Humble’s pressure without a problem, attacked the rim and either bounced up to finish at the rim or kicked out to shooters for open looks.  Jett also rebounded above the rim and made plays on the defensive end as well.  He finished with 19 points.  Marco Antoine Bourgault also stood out for Notre Dame, knocking down a variety of shots from the three-point arc.  Cleveland Melvin, Ron Giplaye, and Antonio Barton had their moments for Prep as Melvin had a couple of highlight reel finishes and blocks, Giplaye played above the rim to score second chance points, and Barton made plays north to south. 

Lawrence Academy scored a pretty easy win over Massanutten Military Academy in the next game.  While Shabazz Napier didn’t have his typical shooting performance, he nonetheless controlled the flow of the game and made a variety of jaw dropping plays with the ball.  Marcus Grant and Denzel Brito on the other hand both had their offensive games clicking.  Grant made a couple of deep jumpers and then slashed to the rim in both directions while Brito got going early in transition and was able to get his pull-up jumper at virtually anytime, connecting both in the mid-range area and then at the arc.  Dan Giovanchini went down with a nasty fall late in the second half but did a nice job of spacing the court, making open shots, and putting force the hustle plays. 

The fifth match-up of the day featured two class A programs as Northfield Mount Hermon faced off against Bridgton Academy.  Northfield established a small lead in the first half and then gradually pulled away in the second.  Majok Majok showed his explosive athleticism on a couple of different occasions, finishing several alley-oops with authority including one that came literally on top of Ruben Kanya’s head.  Majok finished the game with his latest double-double of 19 points and 13 rebounds while Laurent Rivard made his fair share of open shots for 14 points while also doing a lot of the dirty work on the glass with 12 rebounds.  Aaron Cosby finished with 8 points and 10 assists as he did a nice job of running the show for Northfield.  Alexander Harris continued to be the centerpiece of the Bridgton attack as he has developed into one of the better long distance marksmen around while also using his length and athleticism to make plays on both ends of the floor.  Paul Dick and Ron Blossomgame were also impressive in stretches for Bridgton. 

South Kent got all they could handle from Canarias Academy and escaped with a one point win after Canarias’ 6’9” forward Patrick Auda missed a runner to win the game as time expired.  Four players scored in double figures for South Kent but J.J. Moore was the show as he continues to take his game to new levels.  With great size for the wing and absolutely explosive athleticism, Moore was able to rise above the defense not just to finish at the rim, but also to get off his pull-up or three ball.  Moore finished with 31 points on 11-21 shooting from the floor including 4 three-pointers.  Russell Smith didn’t have a particularly impressive shooting night, but still made a variety of plays off the dribble creating for himself and others.  Vernell Blackman and Djurisic Hemanja both battled valiantly on the interior finishing with double figures.