The Unsung Hero for PCW in rivalry win, MJ Warrior
In their first matchup of the season, Putnam City West hosted Putnam City Original for another edition of their longtime rivalry. As any high school rivalry normally starts, things were chaotic through the initial four minutes of the contest. That…
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Continue ReadingIn their first matchup of the season, Putnam City West hosted Putnam City Original for another edition of their longtime rivalry. As any high school rivalry normally starts, things were chaotic through the initial four minutes of the contest. That was until the headlining star of the show found his rhythm and his team followed suit. PCO gave a valiant effort, but West got past the Pirates 64-58 and Oklahoma State signee Rondel Walker (the headlining star) scored 22 points.
It wasn’t just Walker, though. It was West’s senior, 6-foot-1 point guard M.J. Warrior that helped to keep that chaotic atmosphere at bay. Yes, Walker was the Patriot’s biggest playmaker and overall threat, but Warrior conducted their offense to near-perfection. Once the initial early-game jitters wore, Warrior got in his zone and made all the right plays, at the right times. He finished the game with 13 points, on 7-7 shooting from the free-throw line, which quite accurately illustrates the type of game he had for West.
There were more than a few moments in this game where things got too close for comfort for the Patriots. The Pirates did a great job playing gritty, and fighting back, but there was a mismatch in talent between the two teams. MJ recognized that and did what he had to do to pull West out of a ship that caught itself sinking a few times. He also finished with 5 assists on the night.
That was on the offensive end. As stated, this game was chaotic at the beginning for PCW, but they got over it. PCO seemed to stay in that mode. They played catch up throughout and seemed a bit out of control on the offensive end. Their pace was off, mostly due to the defensive attack of Warrior, Walker, and E’mandre Hightower, who had the floor on lockdown when they ran a full press. That press alone forced 6 turnovers in the matter of a quarter for the Patriots.
Tonight’s win was a team effort for Putnam City West. Both teams had enough energy, perhaps two more games worth of it, but one of these teams had MJ Warrior running their offense, keeping everything as under control as possible.