Tilton Defeats Cushing in Battle of Class B Favorites

NewEnglandRecruitingReport.com | Friday, January 4th, 2008

After a long holiday lay-off the prep school season resumed today with many teams at all levels in action.  One of the marquee match-ups featured two of the top programs in Class B as Phil Pressey led his Cushing Academy team to Tilton where they took on Alex Oriakhi, Jamal Coombs, n’ company. 

Cushing showed no signs of rust as they jumped out to a quick 10-2 lead behind the playmaking abilities of their talented point guard.  But the Rams fought back and ultimately were able to even the score at 26 going into halftime. 

Tilton continued their strong play coming out of the locker room as they had taken an 8 point lead after only two minutes of play in the second half.  Although Cushing would make a series of runs throughout the remainder of the game, the Rams never let go of the lead after that point and ultimately secured a 63-48 victory.  

Jamal Coombs played a very balanced game scoring 27 points, gathering 7 rebounds, dishing out 4 assists, blocking 4 shots, and coming up with 3 steals.  Dominic Scurry was also crucial, especially in the second half when he scored 10 of his 12 points.  Alex Oriakhi and Jamal Turner anchored the Rams defensive effort as they finished with a combined 7 blocked shots. 

With the win Tilton has won 8 straight games to earn an overall record of 10-2, including a perfect mark of 7-0 in class B.  The loss is the first of the season for a Cushing team (7-1) that is sure to bounce back after returning to the practice court.  Although these two teams will not see each other again during the regular season, they could be in store for a re-match come playoff time in March.

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