Biggest Takeaways: St. Louis Christian vs SLUH
The Legends of Winter Roundball Classic tipped off today from the campus of SLU High School and Prep Hoops was in attendance for several of the early games of the event. The 1:30pm game was a match-up between St. Louis…
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Continue ReadingThe Legends of Winter Roundball Classic tipped off today from the campus of SLU High School and Prep Hoops was in attendance for several of the early games of the event. The 1:30pm game was a match-up between St. Louis Christian and the host Junior Bills from SLUH. From the opening tip, it was evident that St. Louis Christian had a significant size advantage and they put on an impressive first half performance in route to a 36-16 half-time lead. Most everyone in the gym assumed it would be a route at that point. Everyone except SLUH that is. The Junior Bills put on a second half clinic that featured tremendous ball movement, lights out shooting, and tenacious defense that brought them all the way back and eventually tied the game late in the fourth quarter. In the end, though, St. Louis Christian converted a big basket in the final minute that proved to be enough to survive the epic comeback bid and walk away with a 58-56 victory. Here are out biggest takeaways from this exciting game:
St. Louis Christian’s length is a problem:
SLUH is undersized in pretty much every game they play, but they were dwarfed in comparison to a tall, long, athletic St. Louis Christian team that used all those intangibles to rattle the Junior Bills in the first half. Jordan Nesbitt runs the point at 6’7 and he was flanked inside by 6’8 Mayen Maen and 6’9 Michael Folarin. Even without sensational 6’7 wing Jaden Jones, the Cougars were extremely disruptive. Their length caused numerous turnovers and allowed them to own the glass and paint. It took an entire half for SLUH to adjust and settle in.
Jordan Nesbitt is a grown man:
Nesbitt had a monster game for St. Louis Christian. The 6’7 point guard is a tremendous athlete with a chiseled frame and had his way with SLUH defenders in route to an 18 point first half. The Junior Bills pesky guards frustrated him at times in the second half, but any time the Cougars needed someone to make a play it was Nesbitt that used his elite ball skills and strength to drive to the basket and make something happen. He converted the game winning basket with less than a minute remaining in the game.
SLUH is dangerous when the 3 ball is falling and the basketball is moving:
In the first half it appeared as if SLUH was in shell shock trying to navigate St. Louis Christian and their length and athleticism. Once they settled in, the Junior Bills put on a shooting clinic that was a catalyst for their impressive comeback. They moved the ball sharp and crisp inside/out and saw Jaden McClain, Nick Kramer and Aaron Walker Jr get hot and start burning up the nets from long range. When this group is locked in and playing with confidence they can fill it up from deep in a hurry.
Tremendous defensive intensity became contagious for SLUH:
It all started with quick, pesky guards Jaden McClain and Aaron Walker Jr harassing St. Louis Christian ball-handlers in the second half forcing them into mistakes. Then came athletic wings Freddie Cooper Jr and DeMarcus Bond jumping passing lanes and going coast to coast for transition scores. Their effort brought the crowd into a frenzy and momentum squarely into their favor.
Both teams grew up and learned lessons today:
For St. Louis Christian, they came away humbled in knowing that regardless of the score you can never count a game finished until the final horn sounds. With that being said, they saw a number of guys such as Nesbitt, Folarin, and Vasean Alette step up and make huge plays down the stretch to secure a close win.
SLUH learned that when they are firing on all cylinders, the young Junior Bills can play with anyone. They may lack some size, but they have a dynamic attack with sharpshooters McClain and Kramer paired with dynamic slasher in Bond and Cooper Jr. They will continue to get better as the season progresses and will be a tough out down the stretch.