White, Greer and Maggard Holiday Classic First Round Results: Part One
The White, Greer & Maggard Holiday Classic tipped off from Lexington Catholic High School on Sunday morning, where 15 of Kentucky’s top high school programs battle in tournament action.
All games are available through livestream at PrepSpin ($). Here are the results from the first four games of day one:
Woodford County def. Henry Clay 58-45
It was Aziel Blackwell who took over the game in the first half, allowing his Henry Clay squad to take a 27-26 lead at halftime. He had 15 at the break to lead both teams but would be held scoreless in the second half.
“[Blackwell] is a real good player,” Woodford County head coach Jaron Brown said. ”I just had to tell my team to stay positive and hit tough shots—we just had to keep playing hard against them.”
A 17-9 run from Woodford County put the Yellow Jackets in front by eight heading into the final period thanks to eight third-quarter points from Jackson Twombly, which would prove to be the difference in the game as Henry Clay suffered their first defeat of the season 58-45.
Brown credited his team’s constant pressure and getting tough shots to go while getting stops on the other end of the court.
Twombly finished with a game-high 22 points and seven rebounds while teammate Makhi Smith dropped 10. “[Twombly] played real good. He stepped up,” Brown said. “I know he got a little winded but he pushed through and played well.”
The Yellow Jackets will play George Rogers Clark Monday at 2 p.m. in the second round of White, Greer & Maggard Holiday Classic tournament action.
Pleasure Ridge Park def. Dunbar 59-55
Pleasure Ridge Park came out of the gates ready to trounce a Dunbar team–which dropped three straight games in the King of the Bluegrass tournament last week–taking a 20-6 lead early in the second quarter.
Not once did PRP trail the Bulldogs.
”They missed some shots that they normally hit early—it’s part of the game,” PRP head coach Larry Kihnley said. “We hit some, our pressure bothered him some. It is a great win for us coming up here playing in this tournament. It’s always good to get a win.”
Dunbar cut the lead down all the way to four before halftime. PRP’s Zamareon McCown nailed a deep three to extend it back to seven entering halftime. McCown went into the half with a team-high nine points while Dunbar’s Nick Spalding led all scorers with 11 points at the break.
The story of the second half: every time Dunbar cut it close, the Panthers would blow it open again.
“We give our players the freedom to step up and make plays, and I feel like that’s something they’re capable of doing,” Kihnley said about the key to staying in front the entirety of the game.
Greg Cole led PRP with 15 points while McCown finished with 12. The bulk of Dunbar’s scoring came from just three players—Spalding (18), Lionel Kumwimba (16) and Max VanDyke (15). The rest of the team finished with just six total points.
PRP will take on the winner of North Laurel and Trinity tomorrow at 8 p.m. in the White, Greer & Maggard Holiday Classic. For those wanting to watch North Laurel-Trinity, a live stream is available here for $10.
Ballard vs. Great Crossing
If you want to see an absolute dismantling from one basketball team to another, head over to PrepSpin to catch the replay of Ballard vs. Great Crossing.
The Bruins, the No. 32 ranked team in the nation according to MaxPreps, began the game on a 21-0 run before Great Crossing’s Jeremiah Godfrey tipped in a basket to put the Warhawks on the board after six minutes of basketball.
“I thought we were intense,” Ballard head coach Chris Renner said. “We still are sloppy at times and we need practice—we didn’t practice when we got back [from the City of Palms] the last few days, which most people didn’t, but we [need to] iron out some of these little details but you know, I’m not complaining after a win like that.”
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Despite Great Crossing trading buckets with Ballard in the second, the Warhawks went into the locker room with a 52-24 lead. Kennedy Hayden led all scorers at the half with 19 on 8-12 shooting.
Ballard kept their foot on the gas to round out the afternoon, putting the finishing touches on an 88-47 mugging of the Warhawks. Hayden finished with 23 while Maker Bar (15), Gabe Sisk (13) and Miles Franklin (11) all scored in double figures as well.
“I think our defensive pressure and the fact that we have depth [helped]. We can rotate guys in and then we had guys hitting shots. It’s a combination of offense and defense,” Renner said. ”When we’re clicking on all cylinders, we’re pretty good. We also have a tendency to relax a little bit and slip up and make mistakes.”
Ballard will take on the winner of Madison Central and Bardstown tomorrow at 6 p.m. in the White, Greer & Maggard Holiday Classic.
Simon Kenton def. West Jessamine 66-57
West Jessamine led Simon Kenton at halftime 34-30 thanks to 14 points from Drew Marshall. Despite Marshall’s scoring ability, it was their defensive intensity that kept them in front early.
Simon Kenton’s 7-foot-2 center Gabe Dynes was scoreless at halftime. Any time he touched the ball in the post, two defenders would swarm his way and he’d be forced to kick it back out to the perimeter. Luckily for the Pioneers, they had three-point makers that kept them alive.
“[Dynes] is a free pair of hands wherever he is and go from there, but he’s got a lot of work to do,” Simon Kenton head coach Trent Steiner said. ”He’s never really played—too many injuries … Every day is another day full of opportunities for him to get better.”
It was the three-point shooting and the ability to find the extra man from Simon Kenton that put the game beyond reach over the next two quarters.
“These guys like to share the ball—so when the ball has energy, we’re pretty good,” Steiner said. ”When the ball sticks in our hands, sometimes we’re not so good.”
A late fourth-quarter rally from West Jessamine cut the Simon Kenton lead to four, but that’s as close as the Colts would get thanks to late buckets from Dynes and Isaac Miller.
Miller finished with 20 points and was complemented by Andrew Smith and Travis Krohman’s combined 26. West Jessamine’s Marshall finished with 22 as well.
Simon Kenton will play the winner of Lexington Catholic and McCreary Central tomorrow at 5 p.m. in the White, Greer & Maggard Holiday Classic.
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