KING OF PRUSSIA — For the second straight outing at the invitation-only, anxiety-generating Summer Classic East, Shane Sweigart’s U-16 Central Pennsylvania Elite popped four players into double figures.
The big difference?
In Wednesday’s opening round, also at Competitive Edge, CPE rallied late only to fall 73-64 to Massachusetts-based Expressions.
Manny Piper and Bryce Hall of Bishop McDevitt each bucketed 15 points, as did Camp Hill’s David Fetrow. CPE, which sported a 28-21 lead at the halftime break, also picked up 11 points from Central Dauphin’s Christian Ray.
In Wednesday’s loss, Hall and South Western’s Brock Geiman racked up 15 points apiece. Fetrow and Ray backed those two with 13 points apiece.
The other major difference was CPE benefited from its athletic superiority in Thursday’s consolation opener, using the break when possible, holding its own on the glass and knocking down an assortment of deep jumpers.
Expressions wore down CPE with its 13-man bench, utilizing the high screen and roll effectively throughout the opening-round game. Expressions, unlike Dream To Achieve, also had several players bigger than the 6-5 Fetrow, CPE’s tallest player.
“All seven of our guys that played in that game can shoot 3s,” Sweigart said matter-of-factly. “So it makes it very challenging for the other team when you can space the floor so well. We don’t have one guy that is our stud.
“We have a collection of guys that are very talented and play well together. And that’s virtually what the [CPE] program wants. They want good team players. They don’t want somebody to come in and take 30 shots per game.”
CPE’s effective team play also enabled Sweigart’s group to build a sizable lead — and continue to expand that cushion throughout the 32-minute scrap.
“[Wednesday night], what kind of hurt us was [Expressions] was so athletic we probably should have gone zone to start the game,” Sweigart said. “Personally, I don’t like to play zone, but playing against a team like that with limited numbers we probably should have started in zone. The problem was we were already down 15 points and, at that point, we had to continue to play man and push the tempo.”
HARRISBURG’S PROCTOR HOLDING FIRM ON COMMITMENT
Even though Jahaad Proctor has been playing exceptionally well since authoring a verbal commitment to Holy Cross just before Memorial Day, others on the recruiting trail have been checking in with his AAU coach and father, Joe.
All of them just wanted to see whether the 16-year-old Harrisburg High School senior was still holding firm on his verbal or if he might consider taking a look at their school.
“I’m comfortable with where I’m at,” Proctor said Thursday afternoon, not long after his worn-out Team Pennsylvania club lost 55-42 to the Pennsylvania Renegades in the quarterfinals of the U-17 tournament.
One could look at it this way: If the 6-3 backcourt standout wasn’t comfortable with his commitment, why was he rocking some Holy Cross gear Thursday?
ROLL CALL
There may have been more Division I programs represented, but here’s a quick rundown of those schools on hand for Thursday’s play:
Niagara, George Mason, George Washington, Sacred Heart, Bryant, Columbia, Morgan State, Rider, Florida International, Long Island, Howard, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Maine, Stony Brook, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Pittsburgh, Monmouth, Cornell, Iona and Canisius.
HAND OVER THE HARDWARE
Middlesex (Mass.) Magic claimed the U-17 title at Summer Classic East, downing East Coast (Va.) Fusion 75-55 behind a 36-point outburst from Penn verbal Jackson Donahue. Donahue buried nine treys during his 36-point salvo.
The backcourt tandem of Anthony Cowan and Ako Adams shared 26 points as D.C. Thunder trimmed Northern (Ont.) Kings 57-49 in the U-16 final. Cowan collected 15 points, nailing three treys for the Thunder.
And the hometown Team Final Blue snared the U-15 title, outlasting the D.C. Thunder 76-70. Episcopal Academy’s Nick Alikakos banked a team-high 18, while Imhotep’s Daron Russell added 15 and Reading’s Lonnie Walker chipped in 13.
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