Northwood Temple gets harsh introduction to Hoops & Dreams
Northwood Temple gets harsh introduction to Hoops & Dreams
By Patrick Obley
Staff writer FAYETTEVILLE OBSERVER
It’s difficult enough to open a basketball season after conducting just four practices.
Northwood Temple doubled down by taking on vaunted national power Oak Hill Academy in the feature game of the Lucas-Moore Realty Hoops & Dreams Showcase at Crown Arena on Friday night.
How did it go? Let Eagles coach Corey Baker sum it up: 'We didn’t play well at all,' he said.
Oak Hill scored the first 10 points of the game and raced to a 20-2 lead en route to an easy 84-39 win.
The seasoned and sizeable Warriors threw three different full-court defenses at the Eagles in the game’s first minute.
'They came out at the very beginning and hit us,' Baker said. 'Four days of practice and they hit us with some some things. They just kind of stunned us at the beginning and we just never bounced back from it.”
The Eagles were breaking in several new players, including old friend Josh Nickelberry who returned to Northwood Temple after playing at Trinity Christian last season and beginning this season at Oak Hill. Nickelberry played his freshman season at Northwood Temple. The result was a team that missed all 12 of its 3-point attempts and shot 37 percent overall. The Eagles also were massively outrebounded without Manny Bates, who missed the game with a shoulder injury. “We also had 20 turnovers, so 20 turnovers and 37 percent?” Baker said. “You don’t beat too many people like that. You don’t need to give Oak Hill any help.”
Nickelberry led the Eagles with 12 points. He shook hands and joked with his former Oak Hill teammates following the game.
“I don’t feel like I was ready to go away from home,” Nickelberry said. “I feel like I just needed to come back here and be with people I know and just play back home. I like playing back home.”
John-Michael Wright stepped in ably for the graduated Jeremiah Morris at point guard. He finished with 10 points, scoring eight in a row at one point.
“We might have come in with too much anxiousness,” Wright said. “We picked it up a little bit in the second half, but it was kind of too late. I just try to keep my head up and keep attacking the rim to bring some intensity back. It is what it is. We only had four practices.”
Keldon Johnson led all scorers with 26 points for Oak Hill, including 18 in the first half.
Northwood Temple will have to bounce back quickly with Huntington Prep up next for Day 2 of the showcase. Huntington Prep demolished Word of God in Friday’s second game, 82-67.
“That’s what we signed up for,” Baker said. “I don’t regret it. We’re going to be better for it in the long run. I like what we’ve got. I like our pieces. It’s about us jelling together. We’ll be OK.”
BULL CITY PREP 79, FREEDOM CHRISTIAN 66: Just five days into practice, the Patriots are still in the getting-to-know-you phase, according to coach Dan Pruessner. That was evident as Durham’s Bull City Prep raced to a double-digit lead in the second quarter and never looked back.
“We’ve got a lot of guys from the Fayetteville area which is good, but they just have to mind what we do,” Pruessner said. “It’s just going to take a little time.”
Key Patriot contributors Jamarhi Harvey and Milos Stajcic combined for 18 points. Put another way the duo combined to equal the output of teammate and E.E. Smith transfer, Brandon Murray. All of Murray’s 18 points came on 3-point goals.
“That’s Brandon’s game and he hit some good shots, but Milos Stajcic and Jamahri Harvey had 18 combined and we’re not going to win games if they have 18 combined.”
Pine Forest transfer Miles Ray added 17 for the Patriots.
“After four days of practice, there’s only so much you can do,” Pruessner said. “We spent about three minutes on zone offense this afternoon and they played zone the entire time.”
Bull City Prep’s Malique Jacobs led all scorers with 29 points.
HUNTINGDON PREP 82, WORD OF GOD 67: At Huntington Prep’s meet-the-team event last week, 6-foot-11 Kenneth Nwuba picked three people out of the crowd, lined them up in the lane and jumped over them for a dunk. To one-up his teammate, 6-7 Jonathan Kuminga put Nwuba in the lane and cleared him for a dunk.
Both jumped all over Word of God. So did everyone else. Dontarius Price scored 21 while Jaemyn Brakefield and Quinn Siazinski each added 17. Huntington raced out to a 28-14 lead after one quarter and never looked back.
Word of God’s Jamal King led all scorers with 24 points.
Staff writer Patrick Obley can be reached at pobley@fayobserver. com or 486-3519.
Northwood Temple gets harsh introduction to Hoops & Dreams
By Patrick Obley
Staff writer FAYETTEVILLE OBSERVER
It’s difficult enough to open a basketball season after conducting just four practices.
Northwood Temple doubled down by taking on vaunted national power Oak Hill Academy in the feature game of the Lucas-Moore Realty Hoops & Dreams Showcase at Crown Arena on Friday night.
How did it go? Let Eagles coach Corey Baker sum it up: 'We didn’t play well at all,' he said.
Oak Hill scored the first 10 points of the game and raced to a 20-2 lead en route to an easy 84-39 win.
The seasoned and sizeable Warriors threw three different full-court defenses at the Eagles in the game’s first minute.
'They came out at the very beginning and hit us,' Baker said. 'Four days of practice and they hit us with some some things. They just kind of stunned us at the beginning and we just never bounced back from it.”
The Eagles were breaking in several new players, including old friend Josh Nickelberry who returned to Northwood Temple after playing at Trinity Christian last season and beginning this season at Oak Hill. Nickelberry played his freshman season at Northwood Temple. The result was a team that missed all 12 of its 3-point attempts and shot 37 percent overall. The Eagles also were massively outrebounded without Manny Bates, who missed the game with a shoulder injury. “We also had 20 turnovers, so 20 turnovers and 37 percent?” Baker said. “You don’t beat too many people like that. You don’t need to give Oak Hill any help.”
Nickelberry led the Eagles with 12 points. He shook hands and joked with his former Oak Hill teammates following the game.
“I don’t feel like I was ready to go away from home,” Nickelberry said. “I feel like I just needed to come back here and be with people I know and just play back home. I like playing back home.”
John-Michael Wright stepped in ably for the graduated Jeremiah Morris at point guard. He finished with 10 points, scoring eight in a row at one point.
“We might have come in with too much anxiousness,” Wright said. “We picked it up a little bit in the second half, but it was kind of too late. I just try to keep my head up and keep attacking the rim to bring some intensity back. It is what it is. We only had four practices.”
Keldon Johnson led all scorers with 26 points for Oak Hill, including 18 in the first half.
Northwood Temple will have to bounce back quickly with Huntington Prep up next for Day 2 of the showcase. Huntington Prep demolished Word of God in Friday’s second game, 82-67.
“That’s what we signed up for,” Baker said. “I don’t regret it. We’re going to be better for it in the long run. I like what we’ve got. I like our pieces. It’s about us jelling together. We’ll be OK.”
BULL CITY PREP 79, FREEDOM CHRISTIAN 66: Just five days into practice, the Patriots are still in the getting-to-know-you phase, according to coach Dan Pruessner. That was evident as Durham’s Bull City Prep raced to a double-digit lead in the second quarter and never looked back.
“We’ve got a lot of guys from the Fayetteville area which is good, but they just have to mind what we do,” Pruessner said. “It’s just going to take a little time.”
Key Patriot contributors Jamarhi Harvey and Milos Stajcic combined for 18 points. Put another way the duo combined to equal the output of teammate and E.E. Smith transfer, Brandon Murray. All of Murray’s 18 points came on 3-point goals.
“That’s Brandon’s game and he hit some good shots, but Milos Stajcic and Jamahri Harvey had 18 combined and we’re not going to win games if they have 18 combined.”
Pine Forest transfer Miles Ray added 17 for the Patriots.
“After four days of practice, there’s only so much you can do,” Pruessner said. “We spent about three minutes on zone offense this afternoon and they played zone the entire time.”
Bull City Prep’s Malique Jacobs led all scorers with 29 points.
HUNTINGDON PREP 82, WORD OF GOD 67: At Huntington Prep’s meet-the-team event last week, 6-foot-11 Kenneth Nwuba picked three people out of the crowd, lined them up in the lane and jumped over them for a dunk. To one-up his teammate, 6-7 Jonathan Kuminga put Nwuba in the lane and cleared him for a dunk.
Both jumped all over Word of God. So did everyone else. Dontarius Price scored 21 while Jaemyn Brakefield and Quinn Siazinski each added 17. Huntington raced out to a 28-14 lead after one quarter and never looked back.
Word of God’s Jamal King led all scorers with 24 points.
Staff writer Patrick Obley can be reached at pobley@fayobserver. com or 486-3519.
