City of Lights Tournament “Stars of the Night” – Day One
The night session of the City of Lights tournament (Day 1), in Natchitoches, was a heavyweight slug fest. Peabody and Bossier hooked up in a tight, back and forth contest with Bossier finally leaving victorious. Then, in the nightcap, Southwood and Natchitoches Central played a high quality contest with the Cowboys coming out on top. Both games had star players make big time plays. In this article, we will highlight the “stars of the night” from both contest.
Jacoby Decker / 5’8″ / Guard / 2019 / Bossier High School
Jacoby Decker is really putting in an early bid for Mr. Basketball in Louisiana. He made that point with his play against Peabody during the City of Lights tournament. During Monday night’s contest, once again he provided some star quality magic. Decker set the tone early for Bossier by scoring eight of the first ten Bearkat points to put them ahead early. However, like a movie or story, he had trouble during the middle stanzas with turnovers. Then, as Peabody thought that they had control, he hits two from distance (one from 28 feet) and Bossier surges to the end for the win. Decker played the game like the hero coming to save the day. He was one of the stars of the night not only because of his team high 20 points. It was also because of his flair for the dramatic.
Kyron Gibson / 6’2″ / Point Guard / 2019 / Peabody High School
Star quality, point guard play was in the building for Peabody, as well, on day one. Kyron Gibson had an all around game that was noteworthy of one of the best point guards in the state. After a shaky start to the first quarter, Gibson was locked an loaded from the 2nd quarter forward. There was a sequence in the 2nd quarter where Gibson hit a pull up three, a contested two, and a step back three that helped Peabody surge ahead. Then, in the waning moments of the game, he came down and hit a three cutting the game to one. If the ending was not marred by a coach’s technical foul, Gibson might have had the opportunity to tie or win the game at the buzzer. With his game high scoring performance (21 pts.), Gibson showed that he was definitely one of the stars of the night.
Calvin “CJ” Carpenter / 6’3″ / Guard / 2019 / Natchitoches Central High School
When a guard constantly puts pressure on a defense (no matter how he attacks), defenses are usually in trouble. It goes without saying that CJ Carpenter is one of those guards. He kept the Southwood defense off balance constantly on Monday night. Carpenter began the contest by hitting two threes and a layup in transition. Then, he attacked the creases in the defense drawing fouls or finding open shooters. CJ might not be the most refined combo guard but he knows how to make plays. Finding shooters, getting to the line, and making jumpers is his game in a nutshell. He put all of this on display Monday night to the tune of 15 points. Even though his team did not come out with the victory, Carpenter put Southwood on notice that he was there to play. A definite star of the night with his performance.
Rod Stinson / 6’3″ / Shooting Guard / 2019 / Southwood High School
Shooters shoot. In basketball, that is a definite truism. Senior guard/wing Rod Stinson is a shooter and he pretty much proved that he is one of the best of them around during Monday’s evening/night session. When the Cowboys needed a shot, Stinson drained it. He hit a three to keep Southwood close in the first quarter. Next he hit a three (part of his 8 2nd quarter points) to cut the lead at the half. Finally, during the second half, he dropped two threes and a couple of mid-ranged jumpers to lead the Cowboys to victory. Stinson has a pure form and when he rises to shoot, it looks as if it is going in. He definitely made more than he missed on this night which led him to a game high of 22 points. Because of this performance, Rod was the brightest star during Monday night’s final game.
Stars of the night can be found in any gym on any given night. These four players definitely showed why they were stars with their high caliber play during Monday’s evening/night session of the City of Lights tournament. Tournament play continued on Tuesday with games including these four teams, Airline, Barbe, and Ringgold. The finale of this tournament will commence on Wednesday with a five game schedule.