Top Storylines: Sun Bash Miami (Day 1)
The inaugural Sun Bash Miami debuted on Friday night with a two-game slate at Westminster Christian. First started in 2018 in Tampa, the Sun Bash has since expanded to Miami with future markets in the works for the next high…
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Continue ReadingThe inaugural Sun Bash Miami debuted on Friday night with a two-game slate at Westminster Christian.
First started in 2018 in Tampa, the Sun Bash has since expanded to Miami with future markets in the works for the next high school season and beyond.
Results:
Game 1: Gulliver Prep 90, Somerset Pines 65
Game 2: Westminster Christian 49, Palmetto 40
Here is what we learned from the evening.
Gulliver Prep has a ton of talent
Just wait till after January 5th when Gulliver Prep gets 2020 6’9″ forward Donnell Harris (Texas A&M football commit) back in the fold following the National American Game, it might be crazy tough to beat. The Raiders improved to 5-0 behind a 29-point outing from 2020 6’7″ forward Tony Sanders and a 27-point showing from 2020 5’11” guard Gabe Taylor. Sanders is a surefire 3-point shooter, who is long, athletic, vocal and willing to create for his teammates all over the floor. He’s a steal for whatever Division I program that lands him. As for Taylor, he is strong as nails, has the ball on a string and seems to never get tired rather ware down defenses instead. 2020 6’4″ forward Diego LaMonica (Vanderbilt football commit) was very active in the paint putting buckets back and does a lot of dirty work for Gulliver Prep.
Quartet leads Westminster Christian
Westminster Christian had its starting five out there for much of the win over Palmetto. Four of the five were consistent threats offensively with 2020 5’8″ guard JC Lezcano at the top of the scoring list with 13 points. The trust that his coaches have him in is awesome to see. Lezcano is a blazer and a superb ballhandler who opens up a ton for his offense. He is simply a high IQ high school point guard. 2021 pair, 6’8″ forward James Henderson was all over the paint with 10 points while 6’3″ guard Jayden Higgins scored in a variety of ways to add 10 points as well. My favorite two-way player on this team was 2021 5’11” guard Frankie Idlett (a transfer from Gulliver Prep). He posted nine points and was a brute defensively, making life hard for Palmetto’s guards.
Palmetto has nice combo in Poitier and Lopez
Despite not shooting well overall as a team, the 2020 duo of Jordan Lopez and Kentron Poitier did all they could against a scrappy Westminster Christian unit. Lopez was the lone reliable deep ball shooter, finishing with 15 points. He is a dangerous scorer if not paid attention to. Poitier, a standout football player at Palmetto had two high flying dunks late and continue to bring energy to his side with transition play and drives to the hoop.
Somerset Pines is resilient
Despite the outcome, Somerset Pines hung its heads high all game long. 2020 6’6″ forward Nathan Montaque recorded 24 points for his side while 2020 6’1″ forward Mike King had a nice showing with 16 points and 2023 6’4″ guard David Delancy pitched in with nine points. Montaque had the green light to shoot and played through a lower body injury which limited his follow-through, but the kid is resilient and will continue to score. King scored his team’s first seven points and proved to be a strong finisher. Delancy got going late and I thought he was at his best when he was aggressive and headed inside.
What is ahead
Saturday features five games on a busy Saturday as the schedule is as follows.
12 PM: Coral Park vs North Miami
2 PM: Miami vs Wellington
4 PM: Doral vs Coral Springs Charter
6 PM: Suncoast vs Palmetto
8 PM: Calvary Christian vs Westminster Christian
Come out to Westminster Christian (6855 SW 152Nd St, Miami, FL 33157), there is a food truck and awesome basketball all day long.
???????????? @GulliverHoops trio @TonySandersjr_, @iamGabeTaylor and @Diego_LaMonica went off in the inaugural #SunBash Miami game in a win over Somerset Pines combining for 70 of the Raiders 90 points. pic.twitter.com/XV5Ii8Y2MP
— Sun Bash (@sunbashtourney) December 14, 2019