St. Edward def Lutheran East, 57-52: Player Standouts
Lutheran East was able to hang tight with St. Edward for most of the game Friday night. Both teams went into halftime tied at 26, with Lutheran East junior forward Jalin Billingsley leading the way with 10 points. The second…
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Continue ReadingLutheran East was able to hang tight with St. Edward for most of the game Friday night. Both teams went into halftime tied at 26, with Lutheran East junior forward Jalin Billingsley leading the way with 10 points. The second half is when St. Edward was able to take advantage of turnovers from the Falcons. With five minutes left in the fourth quarter, Devontae Blanton hit a corner three to put the Eagles up 47-37, the largest lead of the game for St. Edward.
The Falcons answered back. In the next three minutes, Lutheran East went on a 13-3 run to tie the game at 50 apiece with just under two minutes left in the game. That’s as close as the Falcons came to taking the lead as stellar play from St. Edward guard Grant Huffman helped lead the Eagles to the 57-52 win, improving their record to 15-1.
Grant Huffman (2020) | 6-3 PG | St. Edward
stats: 16 points
Despite scoring just five points in the first half, Grant Huffman did so much more to propel his team Friday night. During the second half, however, that’s when we saw Huffman’s true potential as he was getting his teammates more involved, creating scoring drives starting on the defensive end while throwing down a dunk in the final minute of the game that ultimately sealed the game for St. Edward. The Davidson commit did so much more than lead his team in scoring Friday night, including taking two charges on the defensive end. He was able to get his teammates involved and applied pressure all night against the Falcons, leading to scoring plays the other way.
Jalin Billingsley (2021) | 6-7 PF | Lutheran East
stats: 16 points, 14 rebounds
The unsigned junior forward was a problem for St. Edward all night long. Grabbing a game-high 14 rebounds, Billingsley was able to be a force in the paint, fighting for loose balls all night. He scored 10 of the team’s first 17 points and kept the Falcons in the game for most of the night. He’s a tough player to guard when he has to ball near the rim and has a nice mid-range shot that if he can develop more, can ultimately turn into a high-end Division I player. Already with offers from schools like Dayton, Akron and Penn State, Billingsley is turning into one of the best players in his class. Look for Billingsley to help lead Lutheran East to another deep playoff run come March.
Brennan Rains (2020) | 5-10 PG | St. Edward
stats: 11 points
Nobody made a bigger impact on the game off the bench than senior guard Brennan Rains. In fact, he was the team’s leading scorer in the first half, pouring in eight points, including two 3-pointers. He finished the game with 11 points and became a difference-maker on the defensive end, creating full-court pressure that led to a handful of turnovers for Lutheran East throughout the game. It’s no surprise that St. Edward is one of the best teams (if not the best team) in Division I and this team can take a giant step forward with Rains contributing the way he did against Lutheran East as the regular season winds down.