The final day of the 7th annual Coaches Research Classic is in the books with yet another day of exciting action. Wheeling Central won for the second time in the Classic while the #1 ranked player and #1 ranked team in the nation secured victories.
Game 1: Wheeling Central 58, St. Joes Prep 45
A slow first half of action where both teams shot under 30% produced a St. Joes 19 – 18 lead at the half. Central controlled the game early due to St. Joes’ poor shooting, but the Hawks were able to regroup and take a 1 point lead into the half.
The game would remain close to start the second half until midway through when Alonzo Manns and Chase Harler took over to boost Central’s lead to ten at 38 – 28 through three quarters.
The fourth would be all Maroon Knights as they would stall a St. Joes rally at 7 before taking over for good thanks to a Harler dunk and a foul which put Central up by 12.
Alonzo Manns gained game MVP honors with his team high 21 points along with 9 rebounds. Harler would follow with 19 (14 coming in the second half.)
Chris Clover scored a game high 23 points along with 9 rebounds for the Hawks while Kyle Thompson followed with 10 points and 5 rebounds.
Game 2: Bishop Gorman 57, Gonzaga (D.C.) 49
This game remained close in the first half thanks to foul trouble by D1 recruit, Stephen Zimmerman, who sat out part of the first half while still scoring 8 points to lead the team. Gonzaga used the hot shooting of Chris Lykes and his 12 first half points to gain a 1 point advantage at 30 – 29 going into the locker room.
Zimmerman and Gorman would take control out of the locker room with a quick, 9 – 2 run to take a 38 – 32 lead midway through the third and clutch shooting from Nick Blair would extend the Gaels lead to 8 at 46 – 38 heading to the fourth.
Gonzaga would not give up though, as Lykes and Sam Miller brought the Gorman lead to 5 at 50 – 45 with 3:30 remaining. It would be the closest they would get as the Gales nailed their free throws down the stretch to secure their second victory in as many days.
Zimmerman led all scorers with 17 points and 8 rebounds while Blair received game MVP honors with his 15 points.
Lykes led Gonzaga with 16 points while Miller followed with 10.
Game 3: #1 Montverde 74, Wheeler 46
The #1 high school basketball team in the country was on showcase in the third game of the day, but they didn’t play like it early on. Jaylon Brown, fresh off of his 21 points in their upset victory over Prime Prep last night, helped Wheeler to a first quarter lead at 11 – 9.
It seemed as though the Wildcats were getting all of the bounces when on three straight offensive trips, Montverde missed layups keeping the Wheeler lead at 15 – 11 midway through the second. The bad luck would end there, though as the Eagles mounted an 11 – 2 run over the half’s final 4:30 to go into the locker room leading 22 – 17.
Montverde looked like the dominant team that was atop the rankings after a halftime adjustment by head coach, Kevin Boyle which saw them outscore Wheeler in the third 32 – 15 to take a 54 – 32 lead into the final quarter running away.
D’ Angelo Russell paced Montverde with 13 points while Ben Simmons received game MVP honors with 12 points and 9 rebounds. Jordan Caroline added 9 points and 8 rebounds in the victory.
Jaylon Brown scored a game high 17 for Wheeler while bringing down 10 rebounds in the double-double effort. Elijah Staley added 9 points and 6 rebounds.
Game 4: Whitney Young 72, Prime Prep 69
The #1 and #5 ranked players in the nation were showcased in the final game of the Classic with Whitney Young’s Jahlil Okafor (#1 Senior, ESPN Top 100) and Prime Prep’s Emmanuel Mudiay (#5 Senior, ESPN Top 100). An ESPN 2 audience was also gathered for this back-and-forth affair.
Prime Prep jumped out to a quick lead thanks to the hot shooting of Terrance Ferguson, who went 3 – 4 behind the arc. Okafor would be held to only 4 points on three chances in the first allowing Prime Prep to jump to a 21 – 13 score after one.
The big names began the second quarter in a better fashion with Mudiay keeping Prime Prep ahead with 7 of his 9 first half points. Okafor and Paul While would add 19 points to keep the deficit close at 41 – 34. Myles Reynolds closed out the first half with a half-court buzzer beater to pull Whitney Young to within 4 after two quarters.
Prime Prep came out of the locker room looking to end the game quickly when they outscored the Dolphins 14 – 2 over the first 4 minutes of the third quarter. Ferguson scored 8 of those points (2 – 3 3pt) helping the Truth to a 58 – 48 lead going into the final quarter.
The game was far from over though, as Whitney Young came back with a 14 – 2 run of their own to take a 62 – 60 lead with 3:30 left. The lead would jump to 5 before Mudiay scored the games next 5 points to even things back up at 65 with 1:47 remaining.
Okafor would put the nail in the coffin with the Dolphins ahead by 2 when he used a nice spin move in the paint to open himself up for a lay in to go up 4 with a minute left. They would leave the door open for Prime Prep when they were only able to make 1 – of – 4 free throws allowing the Truth one final shot at the buzzer. The attempt from behind the arc by Ferguson was wide and Whitney Young escaped Wheeling with the victory.
Ferguson led Prime Prep with 20 points and 5 rebounds while Mudiay added 16 points.
White scored a game high 29 points and 5 rebounds while sharing game MVP honors with Okafor as he scored 24 points and 9 rebounds in the effort.
Jahlil Okafor also received tournament MVP honors with his play in the comeback victory.
