Bellarmine University, Louisville, KY
December 7, 2001
© 2001 Ron Harrison
There are four games scheduled in today’s event featuring some ranked teams and showcasing some of the top players in Kentucky and Indiana. Game one pits Louisville Seneca against North Hardin. Seneca features 6-6 Sr. Larry Williams and 6-9 So. Robert Simpson. North Hardin ranked in the top five in Kentucky is led by 5-11 Sr. Quinton Smith and 6-6 Jr. Andre Woodson. The second game will match Meade Co. against Indiana Class A power Elizabeth South Central. Meade Co. is led by 6-5 Jr. Blake Powers and South Central is paced by all-state candidate 6-0 Sr. Craig Schoen and 6-9 Jr. Aaron Vaught. The third game should provide plenty of fireworks as Glasgow battles Indiana New Albany. Glasgow is led by Mr. Basketball candidate 5-11 Sr. Brandon Stockton who has committed to play at the University of Kentucky. New Albany is led by their Mr. Basketball candidate 6-0 Sr. A.J. Groves and all-state candidate 6-2 Sr. Marcus Flynn. The nightcap will feature Louisville Holy Cross versus Russellville. Holy Cross is coached by the legendary Stan Hardin who coached Fairdale to back-to-back state titles in 1990 and 1991. Russellville is led by one of the state’s premier players in 6-2 Sr. Maurice Hampton. Holy Cross is led by 5-8 Sr. Derek Lindsey.
Game No. 1 North Hardin (3-0) vs. Seneca (2-1)
North Hardin coach Ron Bevars started the following lineup: 6-6 Jr. Andre Woodson, 6-4 Sr. Jarius Sykes, 6-8 Sr. Matt DeMasters, 5-11 Sr. Quinton Smith, and 5-6 Sr. Larry Fox. Seneca coach Tony Branch countered with 6-3 Sr. Tyler Houghton, 6-2 So. Richard Haliburton, 6-6 Sr. Larry Williams, 5-8 So. Jonathan Burrell, and 5-11 So. Isaiah Britt.
6-3 Sr. Jason Maschak came off the bench to nail five of eleven three point attempts in the first half to give North Hardin a 31-24 halftime lead. North Hardin maintained their advantage in the second half to gain a 56-43 victory. Maschak led a balanced North Hardin attack with 15 points. Andre Woodson, Larry Fox, and Quinton Smith added 12, 12, and 10 points respectively. Fox also added 6 assists and recorded 4 steals. Matt DeMasters and Jarius Sykes led the Trojans with 7 and 6 rebounds respectively. Seneca was led today by Larry Williams with 17 points and 7 rebounds. Seneca’s 6-9 So. Robert Simpson was not available for today’s game. The team M.V.P.s were Jason Maschak (North Hardin) and Larry Williams (Seneca).
North Hardin 13 18 12 13 - 56
Seneca 13 11 6 13 - 43
North Hardin (56) - Woodson 12, Sykes 0, DeMasters 4, Smith 10, Fox 12, Maschak 15, Williams 3.
Seneca (43) - Houghton 2, Haliburton 6, Williams 17, Burrell 0, Britt 10, Firman 4, Rectenwald 4.
Game No. 2 Elizabeth South Central (Indiana) (2-1) vs. Meade Co. (2-1)
South Central coach Greg Robinson started the following lineup: 6-7 Jr. Brian Mercer, 6-1 Jr. Kevin Kendall, 6-9 Jr. Aaron Vaught, 6-0 Jr. Jared Wilkerson, and 6-0 Sr. Craig Schoen. Meade Co. coach Gary Goode countered with 6-5 Jr. Blake Powers, 6-2 Sr. Ryan Inman, 6-3 Sr. Lance Lucas, 6-0 So. Josh Jarboe, and 5-10 Sr. Shea Gossett.
South Central raced out to a 37-15 halftime lead and defeated Meade Co. by a score of 81-38. South Central outshot Meade Co. from the field 56.3%-25% and forced 25 Meade Co. turnovers. South Central had four players in double figures led by Craig Schoen with 31 points. Schoen also dished out 8 assists and recorded 4 steals. Aaron Vaught added 16 points, 6 rebounds, and blocked 7 shots. Brian Mercer tallied 10 points and pulled down 8 rebounds while Kevin Kendall chipped in with 10 points. Meade Co. was led by Blake Powers with 11 points and 7 rebounds. The team M.V.P.s chosen were Craig Schoen (South Central) and Blake Powers (Meade Co.).
South Central 21 16 29 15 - 81
Meade Co. 10 5 12 11 - 38
South Central (81) - Brian Mercer 10, Kendall 10, Vaught 16, J. Wilkerson 1, Schoen 31, Brad Mercer 6, Wagner 4, Miller 3.
Meade Co. (38) - Powers 11, Inman 5, Lucas 5, Jarboe 0, Gossett 3, Hottell 3, Orr 3, Cart 2, Whelan 6.
Game No. 3 Glasgow (1-0) vs. New Albany (Indiana) (2-0)
Glasgow coach Bart Flener started the following lineup: 6-1 Jr. Nick Whitlow, 6-2 Sr. Drew Thompson, 6-4 Jr. Ryan Landrum, 6-0 Sr. Ryan Durham, and 5-11 Sr. Brandon Stockton. New Albany coach Jim Shannon countered with 6-2 Jr. Mitch Brown, 6-0 Jr. Victor Cousins, 6-1 Sr. Matt Neely, 6-2 Sr. Marcus Flynn, and 6-0 Sr. A.J. Groves.
New Albany led Glasgow 29-28 at halftime and won a 76-68 decision. New Albany had a balanced scoring attack with four players reaching double figures. Marcus Flynn led the attack with 24 points and 6 rebounds. Victor Cousins, Matt Neely, and Mitch Brown added 14, 13, and 10 points respectively. Glasgow was led by Brandon Stockton with 31 points. Ryan Landrum added 16 points. The team M.V.P.s chosen for this game were Marcus Flynn (New Albany) and Brandon Stockton (Glasgow).
Glasgow 12 16 12 28 - 68
New Albany 9 20 21 26 - 76
Glasgow (68) - Whitlow 8, Thompson 0, Landrum 16, Durham 11, Stockton 31, Kirkpatrick 2.
New Albany (76) - Brown 10, Cousins 14, Neely 13, Flynn 24, Groves 7, English-Malone 3, Wheeler 3, Starks 2.
Game No. 4 Russellville (1-1) vs. Louisville Holy Cross (0-1)
Russellville coach Phil Todd started the following lineup: 6-3 Jr. Adrian Bigbee, 6-2 Sr. Tyree Todd, 6-3 Sr. Khary Neblett, 6-0 Sr. Aundre Evans, and 6-2 Sr. Maurice Hampton. Holy Cross coach Stan Hardin countered with 6-6 Sr. Alejandro Alvarez, 6-4 Sr. Simon Emmerson, 6-9 Sr. Brandon Ables, 5-11 Jr. Brent Richard, and 5-8 Sr. Derek Lindsey.
Holy Cross led 51-40 at the end of three quarters but Russellville roared back in the final period to outscore Holy Cross 18-1 to claim a 58-52 victory. Russellville was led tonight by Maurice Hampton with 21 points. Holy Cross was led by Derek Lindsey and Alejandro Alvarez with 20 and 16 points respectively. Alvarez also pulled down 10 rebounds. The team M.V.P.s chosen for this game were Maurice Hampton (Russellville) and Alejandro Alvarez (Holy Cross).
Russellville 15 10 15 18 - 58
Holy Cross 15 15 21 1 - 52
Russellville (58) – Bigbee 0, Todd 6, Neblett 6, Evans 9, Hampton 21, Taylor 5, D. Dickerson 4, Woodard 7.
Holy Cross (52) – Alvarez 16, Emmerson 2, Ables 6, Richard 3, Lindsey 20, Wachtel 4, Stevenson 1.
This was an excellent first year event with good teams and outstanding players. Congratulations to the sponsors and the organizers for putting on this well-attended event. Holy Cross athletic director/coach Stan Hardin and Rick Bolus know high school basketball from A to Z and selecting two Indiana schools added a lot to this event. Bolus, one of the top talent evaluators in the business, decided to try this event and hopefully it will become an annual event. The game between Glasgow and New Albany was alone worth the price of admission. Glasgow’s Brandon Stockton tallied 31 points but had to work for every score. Once you are touted as the leading candidate for Mr. Basketball a huge target appears on your chest. Teams appear to step up the defense but Stockton appears to be very capable of meeting the challenge. South Central’s Craig Schoen also tallied 31 points for the evening and was very impressive. Marcus Flynn (New Albany) had an excellent game in their victory over Glasgow. Also, a special thanks to W.L. Stats for providing the statistics for tonight’s games and a special thanks to Rick Bolus for the hospitality extended during my visit.