ZG Prep Classic - Day 3 Recap
The third and final day of the Zero Gravity Prep Classic brought two courts of action, several local New England match-ups and another large crowd of college coaches in the stands to check out all the action. Here's a rundown of the action:
Northfield Mount Hermon 97, Brimmer & May 59
A.J. Brodeur took control of the game early for NMH with a dunk on the first possession of the game and then some deep twos. The 6-8 Penn commit later had a layup, steal, assist and charge drawn in a 50 second span. It was that kind of effort that kept NMH up all game long. Brodeur finished with 19 and 9, while Kellan Grady added 18 and Ian Sistare chipped in 17. Grady led the Hoggers with four of their 11 treys and got hot late in the first half with athletic plays, including a steal turned lay up in transition and a difficult floater in traffic. Sistare was aggressive driving early in the first and added three triples. Nick Seretta led NMH with 12 points in the second half and finished with 15.
Mark Gasperini had quite a game in defeat, demonstrating range and inside skill while dropping in a game-high 20. He was joined in double figures by teammates A.J. Reeves and Adam Mikula each with 14. Mikula added eight boards.
Cushing 62, MacDuffie 51
Greg Kuakumensah came alive for Cushing in the second half with 14 points to up his game-high total to 18. He scored six-straight Cushing points from 8:52 to 6:35 in the period and that included two explosive dunks. He later hit a deep two to put his team up nine with 3:24 to go. Wabissa Bede again played well while filling in for an injured Makai Ashton-Langford. The junior from North Andover, Mass. dropped in 17 points with two treys in the first half and only free-throw makes – five of them – in the second. MacDuffie’s 7-0 center Jordy Tshimanga had a size advantage in the contest and scored 11 with a game-high seven rebounds.
Worcester 58, Lee 43
In what was a well-rounded effort from Worcester’s perimeter players, 6-2 guard Nassir Barrino stole the show with 15 points, including an acrobatic 3-point play in the second half and a fall-away floater in the first. He also opened the game with a transition lay up in traffic and had two steals turned fast break baskets within 14 second of each other late in the contest. Tanner Johnson added 13 points for the winners off three treys. He led Worcester with 10 points in the first half after dropping in two 3-pointers and a free throw in the final 1 minute and 43 seconds of the frame. In the second half, the Hilltoppers went on a 16-0 run to help put the game out of reach.
Worcester raced out to a 10-1 lead behind two inside buckets from George Washington-bound senior Kevin Marfo. Marfo was shut down the rest of the half and had six points and a game-high eight boards in total. Darrick Boyd was the lone Lee Academy player in double figures with 14. He had two threes and nine points at the break.
Tilton 78, Bridgton 59
The best dynamic duo performance of the day came from Tilton, which received a combined 51 points from Robert Martin Jr. (29) and Brett Hanson (22). The pair dominated both halves and alternated scoring while moving through the Bridgton defense with ease. Martin Jr., who scored his team’s first basket on a 3-pointer, demonstrated some nice inside work early in the second to extend Tilton’s lead to 45-31. He and Hanson combined for 25 points in the first half to propel the Rams to a 39-29 advantage. Martin Jr. made a bank-floater at the buzzer of the opening stanza and Hanson was phenomenal throughout the frame with aggressive defense and drives to the basket. The 6-2 guard from Manchester, N.H. was the most athletic player on the court and his signature moment came just five minutes in when he readjusted on a rebound midair and finished with a monster dunk. Malcolm Moye (11 points) and Kai Toews (10 points) paced Bridgton.
Notre Dame 68, Marianapolis 54
Marianapolis junior guard Joe Del Ricci gave Notre Dame a scare with his seven 3-pointers and game-high 26 points. But in the end, Caleb Smith’s 16 points in the second half won the game for the Crusaders. Smith led his team with 22 points on the day and scored his first seven points of the second at the charity stripe, only missing one free throw during that stretch. Smith’s inside-out game and the similar abilities of his teammates were too much for Marianapolis. Kejuan Johnson added 15 points and six boards for the winners, while Tyson Baptiste was good for 14 points. Johnson threw down two dunks during a 6-0 run early in second and also buried a triple down the stretch.
Notre Dame got off to a 17-3 lead, but Del Ricci buried his second three of the game to stop the run. He also began the second half with a fade away trey from the left corner. He was getting open looks and shooting the 3-ball with confidence and no hesitation. Dominique Senat added 17 points and six boards in defeat.
St. Andrew’s 77, Salisbury 46
The Saints received a balanced scoring effort in this rout. Terrell Brown stood out by scoring eight of his 10 points in the second half, including two dunks and a little tear drop from five feet out on the right baseline. His versatility in the paint was evident during a 25-4 St. Andrew’s run that put the game away. Aaron Wheeler and Sam Friday also played very well inside with 11 and eight points, respectively. But the two key moments for the Prep Classic hosts came from Eric D’Aguanno (11 points) and Nate Duda (seven points). D’Aguanno got the Barrington crowd going with the first of his three treys just 10 seconds into the first half. Duda did one better with an emphatic one-handed slam in transition during the final seconds of the same frame.
Salisbury point guard LaTerrance Reed was impressive with 15 points and teammate Mason Evarts quietly made three triples in the second half.