HIGH POINT — The High Point Christian boys have played some pretty good basketball early this season. The scary thing for their opponents is that their best might very well be ahead.
Facing crosstown rival Westchester Country Day on Tuesday, the Cougars, with sizable advantages at a number of positions, steadily built a double-digit lead in the first quarter and then raced away over the second and third quarters to defeat the Wildcats 87-43 on Tuesday at HPCA.
“We haven’t really gotten into a rhythm yet — this is our first Tuesday-Friday week,” HPCA coach Brandon Clifford said. “So, I really think our best basketball will be over the next two or three months. We’re still feeling some things out, and my biggest job right now is getting guys in the game — we haveso many good players. But we’ve had contributions across the board.“So, I’m pretty pleased with where we’re headed. ... It kind of shows where we’ll be a couple months from now. Everything we do is based off our defense, and that takes a while when you have new guys. It’s just an adjustment, and as we get more into the season I think we’ll have some continuity. I really think we have a special ballclub.”
Kentucky recruit Bam Adebayo scored 19 points — eclipsing 2,000 points for his career — while grabbing 16 rebounds and dishing five assists to lead the Cougars (5-1), who outscored the Wildcats 56-27 over the middle two quarters.
Ty Graves added 17 points, followed by Michal Seals with 14 points and Ben Robertson with 10 points as HPCA, ranked No. 2 among NCISAA 3A teams, turned a seven-point game in the second quarter into a blowout late.
“I thought we played fantastic,” said Graves, a Boston College recruit. “We came out with some great intensity. Our defense, especially Michal Seals, had a lot of deflections while Bam Adebayo and Jalen Seegars dominated the glass. And we started off shooting well from 3, so that was good.
“We just always try to come out with the best energy and have the most enthusiasm. And it’s a great feeling when we do that. We have the best student section in the state. But we’re just trying to come together as a team, because we have bigger and better goals.”
Marshall Lange, a Newberry College recruit, and Nick Brown each scored 10 points to lead Westchester (6-3), which sits just outside the top five among NCISAA 2A teams. Caymen Bennett and L.J. McCoy each added six points.
The Wildcats did well to stay within reach over the first 10 ½ minutes. But the Cougars, with their size, speed and shooting, went on a 27-2 run to help lead 49-23 at halftime and stretched their advantage to as large as 45 in the second half.
“We competed for 32 minutes,” Westchester coach David Carrier said. “That’s a college-level team. They have strength and size at every position and they’re well-skilled and well-coached. We competed, but they played great. We would’ve had to play a perfect game, and we played hard enough but didn’t play perfect.
“We take a lot out of this game. We have The Burlington School — which has won 37 of its last 38 games — on Friday, and we have Wesleyan on Saturday. So, this is a stretch that’s going to make us better. These are not 2A teams, and we’re playing for a chance to be one of the best 2A teams in the state.”
Both teams play again Friday, as HPCA’s girls and boys teams welcome Carlisle from Virginia while the Wildcat boys host reigning 1A state champion The Burlington School. The Westchester boys will then play Wesleyan Christian on Saturday, following Wesleyan’s girls game at 5:30 p.m., at High Point University.
mlindsay@hpenews.com
888-3526
@HPEmichael
Facing crosstown rival Westchester Country Day on Tuesday, the Cougars, with sizable advantages at a number of positions, steadily built a double-digit lead in the first quarter and then raced away over the second and third quarters to defeat the Wildcats 87-43 on Tuesday at HPCA.
“We haven’t really gotten into a rhythm yet — this is our first Tuesday-Friday week,” HPCA coach Brandon Clifford said. “So, I really think our best basketball will be over the next two or three months. We’re still feeling some things out, and my biggest job right now is getting guys in the game — we haveso many good players. But we’ve had contributions across the board.“So, I’m pretty pleased with where we’re headed. ... It kind of shows where we’ll be a couple months from now. Everything we do is based off our defense, and that takes a while when you have new guys. It’s just an adjustment, and as we get more into the season I think we’ll have some continuity. I really think we have a special ballclub.”
Kentucky recruit Bam Adebayo scored 19 points — eclipsing 2,000 points for his career — while grabbing 16 rebounds and dishing five assists to lead the Cougars (5-1), who outscored the Wildcats 56-27 over the middle two quarters.
Ty Graves added 17 points, followed by Michal Seals with 14 points and Ben Robertson with 10 points as HPCA, ranked No. 2 among NCISAA 3A teams, turned a seven-point game in the second quarter into a blowout late.
“I thought we played fantastic,” said Graves, a Boston College recruit. “We came out with some great intensity. Our defense, especially Michal Seals, had a lot of deflections while Bam Adebayo and Jalen Seegars dominated the glass. And we started off shooting well from 3, so that was good.
“We just always try to come out with the best energy and have the most enthusiasm. And it’s a great feeling when we do that. We have the best student section in the state. But we’re just trying to come together as a team, because we have bigger and better goals.”
Marshall Lange, a Newberry College recruit, and Nick Brown each scored 10 points to lead Westchester (6-3), which sits just outside the top five among NCISAA 2A teams. Caymen Bennett and L.J. McCoy each added six points.
The Wildcats did well to stay within reach over the first 10 ½ minutes. But the Cougars, with their size, speed and shooting, went on a 27-2 run to help lead 49-23 at halftime and stretched their advantage to as large as 45 in the second half.
“We competed for 32 minutes,” Westchester coach David Carrier said. “That’s a college-level team. They have strength and size at every position and they’re well-skilled and well-coached. We competed, but they played great. We would’ve had to play a perfect game, and we played hard enough but didn’t play perfect.
“We take a lot out of this game. We have The Burlington School — which has won 37 of its last 38 games — on Friday, and we have Wesleyan on Saturday. So, this is a stretch that’s going to make us better. These are not 2A teams, and we’re playing for a chance to be one of the best 2A teams in the state.”
Both teams play again Friday, as HPCA’s girls and boys teams welcome Carlisle from Virginia while the Wildcat boys host reigning 1A state champion The Burlington School. The Westchester boys will then play Wesleyan Christian on Saturday, following Wesleyan’s girls game at 5:30 p.m., at High Point University.
mlindsay@hpenews.com
888-3526
@HPEmichael
