Prep Championship - Day 1 Recap

by A.J. Stokes | Monday, March 4th, 2013

Quarterfinal #1: Notre Dame Prep 78  Massanutten Military 76 (OT)

In what was a hard-fought, back n' forth affair throughout, Notre Dame Prep defeated Massanutten Military Academy in OT of the first quarterfinal match-up of the day to advance on to the National Prep Showcase Semifinals.  Massanutten came out of the gate with fire, winning the battle of the boards in the 1st half to take a seven-point-lead into the break, but the 2nd half was a different story, as Notre Dame turned up the volume to swing the momentum-pendulum back their way.  

Jaylen Brantley and Aaron Parks were 2nd half catalysts for NDP as they provided a scoring punch which changed the complexion of the game.  Brantley had 10 in the 2nd half to finish with 16 while Parks scored all 14 of his points in the 2nd, including what became the winning-basket in OT.  Also playing well for the Crusaders were Jamel Artis and Jarvis Garret, who split ball-handling duties and did a terrific job of facilitating for Parks and Brantley.  On the other end of the spectrum, Massa was led by 19 point from Miami-bound scoring guard Deandre Burnett, while Kansas-bound floor general Frank Mason added 13 and Maryland-bound Damonte Dodd provided a menacing presence inside.

Quarterfinal #2: St Thomas More 96  Hargrave Military Academy 76

The second quarterfinal match-up of the day pitted a pair of prestigious prep programs against one another as St Thomas More squared off against Hargrave Military Academy.  The first half of the ball-game was all STM as Marquis Moore and Duane Notice got it going in the back-court right away while Gabe Levin and Dylan Haines scored the ball consistently from the front-court, guiding the Chancellors to a 44-29 lead heading into halftime.

The 2nd half was a different story as Hargrave came storming back behind the sensational play of Louisville-bound lead-guard Terry Rozier, who finished the contest with a total of 29 points to lead all scorers.  Hargrave battled all the way back to close the deficit to 4 with about 7 minutes to play, but St Thomas More was able to close the game on another run, this which allowed them to cruise into a convincing 96-76 victory.Leading the Chancellors in the scoring column with 18 was Moore, while Levin dropped 16, Haines had 11, and Notice finished with 10 while doing a terrific job running the offensive attack.  For Hargrave, in addition to Rozier's 29, Evans scored 14, Clark had a dozen, and they also got 10 from another Louisville back-court commit in Anton Gill....St Thomas More moves on to face Brewster Academy in the Semifinals in what will be a rematch of this past Sunday's NEPSAC AAA Championship thriller in which Brewster prevailed.

Quarterfinal #3: Brewster Academy 86  Believe Prep 80

After a dramatic OT win this past Sunday to capture the NEPSAC AAA Championship, Brewster came into today's quarterfinal looking to extend their win-streak to 18 while also beginning on the path towards repeating as National Prep Champions.  Standing in their way was a Believe Prep Squad out of South Carolina which made Brewster fight for absolutely everything from the opening bell to the final horn.  The 1st half was tight for the duration, with Kyle Washington leading Brewster with 12 and Dominique Williams answering for Believe with 13.  the 2nd half was more of the same, except the storyline here was Brewster continuously attempting to run away before Believe would storm back to re-tighten the ball-game.  However, in the latter stages of the  game, Brewster was able to create the necessary separation which landed them safely on the tarmac with a hard-fought 86-80 victory which advances them on to the semifinals where they'll face St Thomas More in a rematch of Sunday's Championship Game.

On the leader board, Washington finished with 16 for Brewster while Martez Harrison had 17 while running a nice shop from the point.  Meanwhile, Elijah Macon continued his dominant play inside, aggressively patrolling the glass and viciously attacking the rim with two hands.  Macon finished with a dozen.  Also for the Bobcats, Ron Patterson registered 13 while Kevin Zabo and Jared Terrell each tallied 9.  On the other end of the spectrum, Williams finished with a game-high 23 to lead Believe while scoring guard Shaddell Millinghaus was terrific in transition as he finished with an impressively-efficient 19. Leroy 'Truck' Fludd and Tony Mayfield also got into double-figures for Believe while Shamgod Wells played very well in stretches at the point.

Quarterfinal #4: Northfield Mount Hermon 92  Fishburne Military School 86 (OT)

In the final quarterfinal match-up of the day, Northfield Mount Hermon and Fishburne Military Academy squared off in what was a rematch of a game played back in November at the National Prep Showcase, which Northfield narrowly won.  Tonight, Northfield controlled the ball-game through the first half and into the second, until a furious Fishburne rally tightened the score considerably as the game creeped under 8 minutes.  Northfield was able to stem the tide and held a 73-59 lead with 1:53 remaining.  That's when Fishburne turned on the full-court pressure cooker and Zach Lewis took over on the offensive end, ripping off 14 points in a minute-and-a-half stretch to tie up the game and force OT.  

After squandering a 14-point lead in the final 2 minutes, one might think that NMH would be in trouble in overtime: however, from the opening tip of the extra session, the Hoggers regained control of the game and were able to extend out and earn a 92-86 win to advance to the semifinals, where they'll meet Notre Dame Prep tomorrow.

Zach Lewis had an incredible night for Fishburne in defeat, finishing with 38 points off an assortment of long-range bombs and drives to the hole.  Meanhwile, Northfield Mount Hermon was led on the night by a monster-game from Zena Edosomwan, who finished 23 points and an unofficial 16 rebounds and also for the Hoggers, Anthony Dallier played an excellent floor game and finished with 18 and Josh Herlihy scored 12 and did a nice job of facilitating from the point from the perimeter and in the paint.

Wednesday's Schedule

11am - Notre Dame Prep vs. Northfield Mount Hermon
1pm - St. Thomas More vs. Brewster Academy
7pm - Championship Game