Prep's Road through the Tourney a Rocky One
Written by: Jeremy Moreland and Dave Vatz
BETHESDA, MD - In the 2nd annual Jesuit Hoops Classic, the host Georgetown Prep Little Hoyas had a rollercoaster ride. The favorites coming in to the tournament finished in third place, but all of their games were barn-burners.
A second-round buzzer-beater loss sandwiched between two very close wins kept Prep fans on the edge of their seats throughout the three day tournament. Let's take you through their ride.
DAY 1:
Georgetown Prep 79, Regis 72
Prep faced Regis High School of New York City in their first round game and had their hands full early. Regis came out shooting hot and took a 25-16 lead after the first quarter.
The story of the first half was the play of Rob Mohen. The senior forward scored from inside and out, finishing with 18 first-half points.
Prep hung close in the first half largely because of the play of senior forward Thurgood Wynn, who collected numerous offensive rebounds resulting in easy put backs.
Down 40-36 at halftime, Prep coach Dwayne Bryant made a couple key changes that proved to be the difference in the game. He brought in Kelvin Fowler off the bench in place of Michael Boland to defend Mohen. The result was fewer touches for Mohen and only 7 second-half points
"The matchup was better", said Bryant, "Fowler was more aggressive and made it difficult for Mohen to catch the ball"
Prep slowly closed the gap in the third quarter and finally took its first lead in the fourth, when there were numerous lead changes. But Prep's solid defensive play and free throw shooting allowed them to hang on.
Prep was efficient on offense all night, led by the play of Markel Starks, who finished with 33 points, 23 in the second half.
"Markel was very patient on offense and very efficient," said Bryant after the game "he's talked about trusting his teammates and he did exactly that."
There were plenty of big contributions from Starks' teammates. The most surprising of which came from senior guard Denny McCarthy who came in off the bench to knock down six three-pointers and score 18 points.
DAY 2:
Belen 57, Georgetown Prep 55
Georgetown Prep tried to continue their five game-winning streak against Miami-based Belen Jesuit in the second round. With the Little Hoyas up by two after the first quarter both sides focused on attacking the basket from the paint.
Georgetown Prep saw more success from that area with nine points from Starks and Wynn with eight in the first 16 minutes as they led 34-25 at the half, a lead that was 13 at one point.
Belen would not back down as they came out on a run sparked by Pablo Alvarez and Stefano Natale's rebounding and good shooting all around as the Wolverines would tie the match at the third quarter at 44.
Worse for Georgetown Prep was the major foul trouble, which gave Belen the opportunity to have foul shots if more fouls were called.
The fourth quarter saw the action go back and forth as both teams continued to be aggressive towards the paint. Georgetown Prep had the lead at 53-52 with just over two minutes to go, but Starks missed two free throws and Wynn lost the rebound out-of-bounds to give possession to the Wolverines.
After each side traded a possession on a turnover, Reginald Colas hit a big three off a timeout to put the Wolverines up 55-53 with only 45 seconds left. Starks would be fouled on a shot on the next possession and hit both free throws to tie the game at 55 with 36 seconds remaining.
Belen would get the final shot as Sergio Fernandez-Soto threw up a long two and hit it as time expired for his first basket of the year and the game-winner as Belen defeated Georgetown Prep 57-55. The Little Hoyas would have to settle for fighting for third place against the only other Maryland team in the tournament, Loyola-Blakefield.
DAY 3:
Georgetown Prep 65, Loyola Blakefield 60
After the agonizing defeat to Belen, Coach Bryant said to his team "What are you going to do, sit at home and sulk about it? You have to play the next game."
Prep responded back with a win in a "battle of the beltway" with Loyola Blakefield (Baltimore, MD) to claim 3rd place in the tournament.
From the beginning it was clear that the Little Hoyas were a more skilled and athletic team than the Dons. However the sloppiness with which the game was played and the numerous fouls kept it close.
Prep scored the first 8 points of the game and led the entire way. Loyola Blakefield had no answer for Starks, who finished with a game-high 34 points.
But the Dons hung tough throughout the game, withstanding numerous Little Hoya runs to stay within striking distance. The Dons were led by Matt Mathias and Mike Fitzpatrick who scored 22 and 12 points respectively.
Foul trouble plagued both teams, especially Prep, who had to go without Thurgood Wynn for a significant portion of the game after he picked up his fourth foul in the opening minute of the second half.
After a technical foul on Dons coach Josh Davalli and three Prep free throws, Loyola Blakefield found themselves down by 17 with less than 4 minutes remaining. However the Dons used this as a spark to fuel a comeback that got them to within five points. But that's as close as they'd get.
After the game, Starks and Bryant emphasized that the team needs to do a better job of closing out games and not letting big leads slip away. Fatigue might've taken its toll during this game.
The Little Hoyas played four games in a tournament in Las Vegas before Christmas and then three more games in a row during this tournament without two key players in the rotation, Taylor Abt and Nat Eggleston.
"We're tired," said Starks after the game, "I think some of our bodies still haven't adjusted from the West Coast."
But the Jesuit Hoops Classic has been a learning experience for the Little Hoyas and shows that there's plenty of room for improvement.
Bryant says "We're not even close to peaking; we're not even close to where we can be. So that's a good sign for us."
NOTE:
St. Xavier (Cincinnati, OH) defeated Belen 46-44 to win the 2nd annual Jesuit Hoops Classic.
