Night 2 of the Eastside Tip-Off Classic featured three more preseason basketball games between six local teams. The first game of the night was between two teams that both won on Night 1, as the Santa Fe Raiders dominated the Saint Francis Wolves 45-19. The second game was the exact opposite of the first, as it featured two teams that both lost on Night 1, in the game the Buchholz Bobcats led from start to finish in a 68-23 victory over the Hawthorne Hornets. The final game of the night was between the Newberry Panthers and the Eastside Rams. The Rams led at halftime, 28-16, but Newberry made a comeback to win by a score which I don’t know. Santa Fe and Newberry finished 2-0 in the preseason tournament, Buchholz and Saint Francis went 1-1, and Hawthorne and the hosting team, Eastside, ended winless. However, the results are not nearly as important in these preseason games as they will be later in the month, when the regular season for all of these schools begins.
Buchholz vs Hawthorne
The Bobcats got off to a quick start in this one as they reached 20 points on the scoreboard before Hawthorne could reach 4. Buchholz was winning 28-7 after one quarter, they achieved this lead by playing a team oriented style of basketball, as it seemed all 5 men on the court were looking to make the extra pass. The team combined had already amassed 11 assists in the short time, very contrasting to how they played Tuesday Night vs Newberry where they may not have had 11 assists total in the game. In fact the 28 points they scored in the first quarter was more than they scored in the entire first half Tuesday. The second quarter of the game was not much different from the first, as at the half Buchholz had extended their lead to 30 points, the score being 43-13. The third quarter was where Buchholz really ran away with it though, led by Senior Peyton Warring who drained 4 3-pointers in the quarter, the Bobcats reached the threshold needed to implement a running clock and began to unload their bench as the game came closer and closer to reaching a final. A 45 point victory for Buchholz is very promising for their season and they’re largest margin of victory last season was only 31, a 56-25 win over P.K. Yonge. However, it should be noted that both teams were without multiple impact players, several starters for the Hornets are still playing football, and Buchholz is still without Senior Nard McFadden and Juniors Evan Walker and Matthew Johnson.
Standout Performances
In a night where many Bobcats stood out, the most impressive performance undoubtedly came from Senior Guard Peyton Warring. Peyton had a team high in points, 19, rebounds, 8, and 3-pointers made, 5, while also being tied with fellow Point Guard Lucas Bhatia for the most assists in the game, 7. Peyton has been the only Senior in the starting lineup this preseason for Buchholz and it very well may stay like that when the regular season starts. Some games he will be asked to be the primary ball handler and playmaker, and then some games he will be asked to score and shoot the ball at a higher level, but this game proved he’s more than able to do both at the same time.
Several Juniors stood out in this game just as they did against Newberry. Point Guard Lucas Bhatia followed up his impressive 14 point performance on Tuesday with 10 points tonight, 6 from three land, along with being very active on the boards, hauling in 7 rebounds, and being active as a passer, totalling 7 assists. Forward Jamison McTureous had 11 points while taking on the task of guarding Hawthorne’s best player, Chasion Wilson, on the other side of the court. And Guard Ezra Olmedo played with two eyes on the ball at all times, racking up a team high 2 steals, while scoring 13 points and bringing down 6 rebounds.
The only Underclassman in the starting five was once again Forward Jacob Bromirski. Last game against Newberry he totaled 9 points and he followed it up with another good scoring performance with 8 points tonight. He also grabbed 5 boards and had 4 assists while being a key defender in the paint for the Bobcats, as he blocked, a team high, 2 Hornet shots.
Despite only getting limited time on the court, many other players had good showings as well. Colin Reynolds impressed as he had 2 points, 2 rebounds, and a block on the night. Jacob Rosenberg, a Forward, came in and quickly assisted on 2 buckets and had 1 board. Charles Klodell led players off the bench in scoring, with 3 points and also had an assist. Davarian “Hitman” Howard, ran point for most of the second half as Bhatia and Warring sat, while he did not score, he was all over the court on offense and defense, totalling a rebound, an assist, and a block. Hit will be an important player off the bench in the regular season, providing tons of hustle and heart on both sides of the ball.
Stat Leaders
***THE STATS I AM PRESENTING ARE UNOFFICIAL AND MAY CONTAIN ERRORS***
Points – Peyton Warring(19), Ezra Olmedo(13), Jamison McTureous(11)
Rebounds – Peyton Warring(8), Lucas Bhatia(7), Ezra Olmedo(6)
Assists – Peyton Warring(7), Lucas Bhatia(7), Jacob Bromirski(4)
Steals – Ezra Olmedo(2)
Blocks – Jacob Bromirski(2), Lucas Bhatia(2), Davarian “Hitman” Howard(1), Colin Reynolds(1)
3 Pointers Made – Peyton Warring(5), Lucas Bhatia(2), Ezra Olmedo(1)
