Five Takeaways: No. 5 Kell vs. No. 9 Carrollton
Region 7-AAAAA’s two best teams locked horns on Friday night as No. 5 Kell (19-4, 13-1) hosted No. 9 Carrollton (16-7, 10-4). Winners of 13 of their last 14, the Trojans entered play with momentum, but Kell entered with five-star…
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Continue ReadingRegion 7-AAAAA’s two best teams locked horns on Friday night as No. 5 Kell (19-4, 13-1) hosted No. 9 Carrollton (16-7, 10-4). Winners of 13 of their last 14, the Trojans entered play with momentum, but Kell entered with five-star sophomore point guard Scoota Henderson. The Longhorns raced out to an 18-0 lead but had to hang on for a 96-86 win as the Trojans cut the lead to 49-48 in the third quarter and then 74-72 with 5 minutes left, but could never get over the hump. Here are five major takeaways from Friday’s Top 10 clash.
Show Stealer
With all the attention focused on Scoota Henderson and rightfully so, it was unsigned 6-foot-3 combo guard Marcellious Lockett that went berserk. Lockett was simply unguardable, pouring in a game-high 39 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists. Lockett netted 28 points in the second half highlighted by a memorable 17-point third quarter. Lockett did whatever he wanted with the ball in his hands. Kell knew he was going to shoot but couldn’t do anything to stop him. Lockett tended to overdribble at times and dance a little much on the perimeter but at the end of each possession, he eventually got where he wanted to go and most of the time that was straight to the rim. Lockett finished with an array of crafty moves and artful spins on the ball to leave the Longhorn defense mystified. He hit a handful of jumpers and one three, but the vast majority of his points came from chopping his man down and getting into the paint. He went 12-15 from the foul line. With the neon green light to create his own offense, to his credit Lockett did create a ton of looks for his teammates as well. He fit in some tight passes and capitalized when the Kell defense focused in on collapsing on him. It was the best offensive performance I have seen all year. The under-recruited bucket-getter holds offers from Southern Idaho and Southwest Mississippi.
Timeout?
Carrollton found themselves down 18-0 in the blink of an eye without calling a timeout. One has to think that if the Trojans didn’t get off to such a horrible start they very easily could have won the game – which they almost did as they trailed by just two points with 5:01 remaining in regulation. Give credit to the Trojans for not rolling over and understanding that the up-tempo game was going to have a myriad of possessions with countless opportunities to get back in the game. Carrollton trailed 28-20 at the end of the first quarter, quickly erasing the deficit by answering with a 20-10 run of their own. The Trojans hit 12 threes in the game and sank four in the opening frame to get back in it.
Scoot
2022 guard Sterling ‘Scoota’ Henderson Photo by: Prep HoopsThe main reason by Carrollton found themselves on the ropes just minutes into the game? Scoota Henderson came out smelling blood in the water. He scored 12 of Kell’s first 17 points to set the tone. Henderson’s jumper has improved steadily over the year and showcased it early on with two threes and of course got the crowd hype with a breakaway slam. He finished with three three-pointers and 25 points, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals. Henderson is an elite rim attacker that also has a trust worthy pull-up from the midrange. His five-star ranking is well warranted. He will get better and better as he changes speed throughout the game.
Kell’s Ceiling?
Longhorn fans are holding their breath after seeing second-leading scorer Najhae Colon go down with a bad hand/wrist injury early in the first quarter. Colon went up high for a layup on a fast break and came down in a heap on his hand. He tried to shake it off and shoot the first free throw but it was an airball and he was rushed off the court and onto the trainer’s table where he was grimacing throughout. Speculation has ranged from a dislocation to a break, but either way the Longhorns will be without their top three-point shooter for an undetermined amount of time. Kell’s depth saved them as role players Jaylon Brown (24), Jamal Hill (17) and undersized post Xavier Presley (16) combined for 57 points.
No Transfers, No Problem
With highly touted 6-foot-7 sophomore Joyful Hawkins ineligible and freshman Parrish Johnson playing sparingly and contributing 3 points, the Longhorns’ homegrown talent has proved to be enough to win against some of the state’s toughest competition. Depending on how long Colon is out for, don’t be surprised to see Johnson earning some more minutes however. He is long and gangly but can provide some minutes off the bench in support of Hill and Brown.