Cleveland Tournament: Thursday Top Performers
Cleveland hosted the first day of its three-day tournament on Thursday night and in the house the Warriors brought in Lincoln, Sunset, and head coach Dondrale Campbell’s alma mater Oakland (CA) High School for two games. While play was ragged…
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Continue ReadingCleveland hosted the first day of its three-day tournament on Thursday night and in the house the Warriors brought in Lincoln, Sunset, and head coach Dondrale Campbell’s alma mater Oakland (CA) High School for two games. While play was ragged at times in both games, there were some individual performances worth nothing as teams and players got the season kicked off.
In the night’s first game, Sunset staged a big comeback in the game’s final minutes to overcome an eight-point deficit and surge past Lincoln, 68-62. Junior Kell Estep (19 points) and senior Reece Arenz (19 points) in particular came up big at the end with some buckets and free throws. It was a physical game but in the end the Apollos persevered.
“Obviously we were able to stay in the moment in the fourth quarter; what we’ve got to work on is being in the moment for four quarters,” said Sunset head coach Todd Sherwood. “But it’s a great mental test to come out this way against a well-coached Lincoln team and get it done in the fourth quarter. It feels good.”
In the second game of the night – one in which another Oakland alumnus named Damian Lillard watched from behind the bench – Cleveland outlasted the visitors from the East Bay, 61-40. The game was riddled with turnovers – the Warriors themselves had 29 – but Cleveland weathered the storm and beat Oakland for the second year in row. Austyn Shipps led the way with 15 points and Eli Kruger added 13.
“It was not pretty by any means but a win is a win,” said Cleveland head coach Dondrale Campbell. “I’ll take an ugly win instead of an ugly win or bad loss. I’m proud of the guys and we’ll clean it up – it’s a young group and we’ve got a bunch of new guys that are learning.”
Top Performers
Kell Estep (2021 Sunset) – Stats: 19 pts, 2 reb, 3 ast, 3-for-5 3pt, 8-for-8 ft. Estep put on the most impressive performance out of anyone in the two games. Last year, the 6-foot-3 junior dribbled the ball a lot but in this game he played much more efficiently. He was sharp with his jumper, looked to create for others, and in the end was absolutely clutch from the free throw line. We caught up with Estep after the game and will have a spotlight posted soon.
Reece Arenz (2020 Sunset) – Stats: 19 pts, 2 reb, 3-for-5 3pt. Physically, Arenz looks quite young and seems rather unassuming. That’s until as you’re sleeping on him he drops a three-point dagger on you. The 6-foot-1 senior has wiry strength and most of all, he doesn’t play afraid. Arenz shot it well from the outside but also took it strong to the hole and was aggressive on defense. He’ll be a key guy for the Apollos this season.
Braeden Sato (2020 Sunset) – Stats: 12 pts, 3 reb, 4 ast, 2-for-5 3pt. It was a relatively quiet game for Sato, who largely played off the ball. The 5-foot-10 point guard started off hot sinking his first three shots, but after that he seemed to lose his touch. But give Sato credit as he focused more on getting his teammates involved and was a big part of Sunset’s run late in the game.
Tate Reese (2021 Sunset) – Stats: 3 pts, 3 reb, 3 ast, 1 blk, 2 stl. Reese was almost a non-factor in the first half. But when Sunset made their push late in the game, there may have been no player more important than the 6-foot-4 (and still growing) junior. Reese was driving and dishing to open teammates, using his length to snare steals off defensive pressure, and he then hit a clutch three to help seal the win. His development this season will be one to watch.
Mike Fortner (2020 Lincoln) – Stats: 20 pts, 3 reb, 2 ast, 6-for-10 fg, 6-for-6 ft. Fortner had a solid all-around game. Offensively he showed a nice touch from ther perimeter but also had the strength to drive to the basket and finish a couple of plays. Defensively, he was hard-nosed on the ball and really made Sunset’s guards work for whatever they got. It wouldn’t be surprising if he were the team’s leading scorer this season.
Henri Perrin (2022 Lincoln) – Stats: 18 pts, 7 reb, 3 ast, 6-for-9 fg, 3-for-5 3pt. This was our first time ever seeing Perrin play and mark us down as impressed. The sophomore is listed at 6-foot-3 and physically he’s mature for his age. He has a very nice looking shot from the outside with the ability to create space for himself to get it off. Perrin was tough on the boards and had a bit of swagger to him overall, although it a technical late in the game did end up costing the team.
Matt Phillipi (2020 Lincoln) – Stats: 7 pts, 6 reb, 5 ast. It’s pretty clear that Phillipi will be one of the senior leaders on the team. He’s as tough as they come, especially on the defensive end as he was constantly in his assignment’s grill. While he didn’t necessarily look to score, he nailed open shots when he had them and he definitely did a lot of the little things like rebound and pass and ended up racking up all sorts of stats.
Austyn Shipps (2020 Cleveland) – Stats: 15 pts, 6 reb, 5-for-6 fg. Despite the fact he was saddled with foul trouble for most of the game, Shipps ended up leading Cleveland in scoring in only 17 minutes of playing time. The production in that short amount of time goes to show how dynamic the 6-foot senior can be. Shipps’ jumper looked clean, he finished some acrobatic plays around the hoop, and despite the fouls, was a tough customer on defense.
Eli Krueger (2021 Cleveland) – Stats: 13 pts, 3-for-10 3pt. While in some ways he kind of played like he never met a shot he didn’t like, Krueger is a good shooter who knocked it down when he got a wide open look. Shot selection will come with experience and that should be the case for the 6-foot junior as the season moves along.
Will Bertolli (2021 Cleveland) – Stats: 2 pts, 11 reb. At 6-foot-3, Bertolli is one of the bigger players on the team and while Oakland certainly didn’t have any size to speak of, the junior held his ground and did what he was supposed to do – control the boards, especially on the defensive end. His board total was tops out of anyone in the two games played.