Wildcats Advance Easily
Thursday afternoon Class AA newcomers Hamilton High (32-2) asserted their expected dominance over the field with a 84-67 victory. Whites Creek kept close for one quarter until the Wildcat burners got lit.
Class AA Quarterfinal: Hamilton 84, Whites Creek 67
Though Whites Creek managed to win the first frame, Hamilton’s ridiculous speed and bounce grasped the game’s nape after 10 minutes and didn’t let go.
The Cobras, an unlikely participant in the AA draw considering their coaching instability and fourth place District 10AA seeding, suppressed the mighty Hamilton Wildcats early. The major success came from stifling the cheetahs from fastbreaks.
The second quarter truly dissapointed the Cobras coaches as WCHS failed to track back in defensive transition. Hamilton outlet passes repeatedly met blistering wings like Martrell Brooks. Brooks is an anomaly in Class AA. Positioned like a power forward, Brooks (PrepHoopsTN #17) easily outpaces guards in 80′ dashes.
PBP
Whites Creek ends the year with a 21-13 record and a still impressive 9-11 all-time state tournament record. Last year Whites Creek crept to the Class AA championship game. In 2017-2018 they did not fair as well. The Cobras will return the sparkling juniors-to-be next season, so expect them to regroup without Dennis Stallings, Isaiah Bowers, and Dezmin McClain.
They were led today by Stallings with 21 points, and Bowers with 15. They shot just 36.9% from the floor in the loss.
Hamilton (32-2) needs two more wins to win Class AA State Championship in their first AA Tournament. Thursday’s advancement comes courtesy of James DeJesus, Martrell Brooks, and Jordan Johnson.
MVP: Jordan Johnson (27 points, three rebounds, five assists)
Jordan keeps filling buckets with his cloud-poker of a jumper. Johnson rattled off 27 points, missing just 50.0% of his shots, almost all from 10′ or deeper. As you might expect Johnson also pumped in seven free throws. Look for college recruiting to pick in the coming weeks.
2018 G Jordan Johnson is an #unsigned bucket-getter. Every time I look up he has 20 points in a game. Today he just touched 20 and Hamilton leads 62-47 after 3Q. @KingPopi11
— Prep Hoops Tennessee (@PrepHoopsTN) March 15, 2018
The senior is not alone in the scoring column and Hamilton might be able to win a stray game here and there without him. Still Johnson almost always lead the Wildcats in scoring. His shooting touch spreads out defenses.
Team | 1Q | 2Q | 3Q | 4Q | F |
Hamilton | 14 | 21 | 27 | 22 | 67 |
Whites Creek | 13 | 11 | 23 | 20 | 84 |
Full postgame presser: https://www.periscope.tv/PrepHoopsTN/1OyJANlbLzLxb