Five Takeaways: Gardner Edgerton-Veritas Christian
Five Takeaways: Gardner Edgerton-Veritas Christian
SPRING HILL, Kan. — In what was easily the most competitive game of the opening day of the Spring Hill Invitational, Gardner-Edgerton held off a tough Veritas Christian squad, 49-36, and advanced to face the winner of Wednesday’s first round game between Eisenhower and Kansas City Sumner.
Gardner-Edgerton got a big game from Luke Jennings who finished with a game-high 14 points to lead all scorers, while Tyler Rollwagon added 13 points for the Trailblazers.
Here, Prep Hoops takes a look at five things that stood out about the contest.
Three fouls? No. Worries.
It’s not often you see a player pick up three fouls in the first quarter, only to come back and play in the second quarter, but that’s exactly what happened on Tuesday. With less than a minute remaining in the first quarter, Veritas Christian 2019 point guard Trey Huslig picked up his third foul on a charge and left the court with the Eagles trailing 14-5. But a few minutes in the second quarter, Huslig returned to the court and helped lead Veritas to a rally and the Eagles went to the half trailing by just one, 21-20. He finished with nine points in Veritas’ loss.
Flory an overlooked big
Tucker Flory showed on Tuesday that he is an overlooked forward for Veritas Christian. At 6’5, the 2019 big man brings terrific bounce and combines his athleticism with a well-rounded skill set. He rebounds at a high level, blocks shots, has a good feel for putting the ball on the floor and getting to the basket along the baseline and is a terrific passer. Right now he does much of his work in the paint or on the baseline, but he has an emerging skill set and could transition to a wing in the future. He finished with eight points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
Jennings big in key third quarter
Gardner-Edgerton was seemingly on the ropes in the third quarter as Veritas opened the second half by building an early lead, but 6’4 2019 forward Luke Jennings helped the Trailblazers carve out a run of its own, scoring six points in the frame, including a breakaway slam dunk and a 4 for 4 performance at the free throw line. A left hander, Jennings has a soft free throw shooting touch and can even stretch the floor and shoot from the outside a little. On Tuesday, he did much of his work at the offensive end of the court in the paint and finished with 14 points and nine rebounds.
Rollwagon impresses as floor general
Gardner-Edgerton 6’1 2019 Tyler Rollwagon impressed on Tuesday as the Trailblazers’ primary ball handler and showed the ability to lead a team. He finished with 13 points and made several big plays down the stretch in the fourth quarter as Gardner-Edgerton held on for a win. He is a tough competitor, can get by his man off the bounce and is a solid defensive player.
Few seniors on Veritas’ roster
Veritas Christian saw just one senior take the floor on Tuesday as 6’5 2018 big man Kyle Weinhold came off the bench to give the Eagles solid minutes. Otherwise, the roster was made up exclusively of juniors as all five starters were members of the 2019 as was Jackson Rau, the first player off Veritas’ bench. The Eagles feature solid guard play, a good perimeter shooter in Grant Schuck, and solid interior players in Tucker Flory and Scott Weinhold. Now 8-6 this season, the Eagles should challenge again in the Kansas Christian Athletic Association tournament, which they won last year.