Northwod Temple vs United Faith: What We Learned
Northwood Temple hosted United Faith in the second round of the NCISAA tournament on Saturday evening and United Faith dominated the matchup for the majority of the night. Constant pressure, more height and depth all benefited the UFCA squad throughout and they got the win to move on to the next round.
United Faith can compete for a State Championship: Although Trinity and Greenfield are both higher seeds, the UFCA squad has all the tools to make a run at a title. They are deep to the point that they can start five players from off the bench , they have a nice amount of high and a good dose of experience.
Rafael Jenkins is a D1 Guard: Although he has been overlooked and under recruited , he is clearly a player that can be efficient on the D1 level. His ballhandling skills are outstanding, he keeps his head up and moving which allows him to see the floor to make good plays for his teammates.
Ian Steere is a beast when he’s locked in: Although Northwood did have their best game overall as a team, Steere was very active in the first half and stayed productive. One of the strongest players on the court, he worked hard inside the paint to grab rebounds and finish through contact.
Malcolm Wade can score: Watching him reminded me somewhat of current VMI Guard Jordan Ratliffe, Wade isn’t the tallest player but he’s quick and gets to his spots with ease. Overall on the night he knocked down shots, finished in traffic and defended at a high level, finishing with 18 points overall.
Injuries hurt Northwood: The loss of Senior Forward Manny Bates again for the season, as well as Junior Guard John Michael Wright was simply too much to overcome. Factor that in with the loss of Guard of Jay Hickman due to transfer and you have a rough situation for the Northwood Temple squad.
Josh Nickleberry Finds ways to score: Recently he passed 2,000 points for his career and even though he didn’t have a great night, you can see why. Regardless of defense, he knows how to get his shot off as well as drawing fouls, this spring and summer will be bigtime once again for Josh.
UNCW Got a good one in Jaylen Sims: For a wing player he has a bit of everything that you want, he’s 6’6 with a nice skillset, athletic and high IQ for the game. Once he adds some more muscle to his upper body he will be a very scary player to attempt to defend.