Five Takeaways: Gilmour Academy vs. Lake Catholic
Despite a third quarter comeback from Lake Catholic, Gilmour Academy opened the Dunk 4 Diabetes Shootout with a 59-54 upset.
With the win, Gilmour Academy has a signature win to add to their 9-2 record. Let’s look at what went right for them in our Five Takeaways.
CJ Charleston is the key
Junior 5’11” point guard CJ Charleston is the key for Gilmour Academy. They’re best when pushing the pace after a defensive stop. Charleston makes plays on the break with his end-to-end speed, court awareness, and athletic finishing ability. While GA found shots in their half-court set, finding a streaking Charleston makes the especially dangerous. He scored 22 to go along with a few assists.
His value was spotlighted in the third quarter, when GA went on a dry-spell scoring three points. Lake Catholic strung together baskets, slowed down the game, and clogged the lanes for Charleston.
Gilmour in the top ten?
At 9-2, Gilmour Academy should cross voters’ mind when filling out their Division II AP Poll ballots. Lake Catholic came into this game ranked #10 in D-II and will be replaced by someone. The Lancers duo of Charleston and Marian commit Dechlan Kirincic could slide in to the poll.
Eller on both ends
Sophomore 6’7″ stretch-four Luka Eller showed the type of progression in his game that you’d want to see from a D-I prospect. On the perimeter, Eller can knock-down a jumper or get the rim on one-dribble. He also did it on the defensive end, showing instincts on rebounds and strength against Dechlan Kirincic. Eller needs to be more consistent as a finisher and free throw shooter than he was today however.
Frazier is dynamic
Lake Catholic asks a lot of Luke Frazier as a distributor, ball-handler, and scorer. The 6’2″ sophomore showed flashes of being a productive lead guard with his shifty handle and shooting stroke. The lefty wasn’t efficient today but scored 14 by being aggressive with his pull-up.
X-Factor: Brandon Horton
This game wouldn’t have been close without the lights-out shooting of 5’9″ senior guard Brandon Horton for Lake Catholic. Horton moves off then ball well and knocked down triples off the catch and after one-dribble coming off a shot fake. Besides the two LC sophomores, the Cougars rely on catch-and-shoot weapons to fill up the scoreboard.
Horton might be able to specialize at the D-III level next season.