City of Palms Day 4: Paul VI, Columbus, Wheeler, Imhotep move on to semifinals
A roundup of games played on Day 4 of the City of Palms Classic on Monday, Dec. 19:
Wheeler (Ga.) 57, Centennial (Calif.) 53
USC commit Isaiah Collier gave the team from Southern California a dose of what he's going to be bringing to Andy Enfield's Trojans next season.
A consensus five-star prospect in the 2023 class, Collier posted 16 points, eight rebounds, and six assists on 5-of-12 shooting to help the Wildcats escape with a win over the Huskies, 57-53 in the final game of the City of Palms Classic on Monday.
"Early on, I thought it would be a game of runs," Wheeler coach Larry Thompson said. "They held us to six points in the second quarter. ... It just goes to show that if we wanna grind out a game, we can be tough. I thought that those guys were really, really good. A lot better than I saw on film. Super skilled. They've got multiple dudes who can score. (Aaron) McBride, who had 21 or 22 points, on film, he wasn't a big scoring contributor. He would get drop off buckets and whatnot."
Former NBA star Carlos Boozer watches twin sons; City of Palms to be televised on ESPN
City of Palms Day 3: FGCU commit Rahmir Barno sends Imhotep Charter to semifinals
Sunday's City Of Palms Extra: Destanni Henderson, Keri Jewett-Giles to be honored
Wheeler raced out to a quick 22-10 lead, forcing Centennial to play from behind by double digits, something that rarely happens under coach Josh Giles. The Huskies would claw their way back into it late in the fourth quarter, getting as close as two points in the final minute of the game. Duke commit Jared McCain could've cut the deficit to one, had he not split his free throws with 7.6 seconds to go. McCain struggled, shooting 4 of 14 from the field and 0 for 9 from the three-point line.
"We did a great job on McCain," Thompson added. "I think we did a good job on (Devin) Williams as well. I don't think you could get a better quarterfinal game. That was championship-game-worthy. I was fortunate we were able to hold on."
Collier often linked up with fellow USC commit Arrinten Page, who helped Wheeler in the paint. Page had 22 points and five rebounds, on 10 of 18 shooting.
Centennial outrebounded the Wildcats, 36-29 for the game, and 19-7 on the offensive glass. As a team, Wheeler shot 47.7 percent (21-for-44) as a team to Centennial's 35.5 percent (22-for-62).
The Wildcats will advance to take on Imhotep Charter, which will have an extra day of rest heading into Tuesday night's game. That game will be at 7 p.m. on ESPNU, with the winner slated to face either Columbus or Paul VI (Va.) in the City of Palms Championship on Wednesday.
Christopher Columbus 65, Myers Park (N.C.) 56
The Explorers got a big-time effort from sophomore forward Cameron Boozer to hold off an upset attempt by the Mustangs and advance to the City of Palms semifinal round.
The 6-foot-9 Boozer, ESPN’s top-ranked sophomore, scored a game-high 19 points and pulled down 14 rebounds to go along with five assists and three steals.
Despite Boozer’s prowess on the glass, Columbus (7-1) still handily lost the rebounding battle as the Mustangs grabbed 40, including 16 offensive boards. Explorers coach Andrew Moran said that’s something his team will need to correct before Tuesday’s matchup with Virginia’s Paul VI, the tournament’s top seed.
“If we play like that against Paul VI tomorrow, that’s not a good thing,” Moran said. “I watched them (Monday) and they had nine offensive rebounds in the first half and they’re huge. So we’ve got to get back to what we do best and rebound is one of those things.”
Both teams struggled to make shots in a first half that saw Columbus hold a slim 21-19 lead at the break. Myers Park (6-2) hit just 6 of 23 shots (26%) but four were from long distance. Meanwhile, the Explorers made just 33% of their field goal attempts.
The Mustangs grabbed their first lead of the second half on a dunk by junior Bishop Boswell that put them up 39-38 with 6:58 remaining in the fourth. But Columbus sophomore guard Benny Fragela keyed an 11-4 run by knocking down two 3-pointers and then sinking all three free throws after being fouled on another long-distance attempt to put the Explorers back on top to stay. Cameron Boozer’s twin brother Cayden, a 6-foot-5 guard, added nine points and five assists for Columbus.
Paul VI (Va.) 64, Lake Highlands (Texas) 58
Defending Lake Highlands' Tre Johnson was at the forefront of Paul VI coach Glenn Farello’s mind.
He knew that Johnson, the consensus No. 1 junior in the country, would be able to score in certain moments. But it would benefit the Panthers more often than not, when he opted to throw different looks at the top junior in the country.
PVI did its job, limiting Johnson to just 6 of 23 from the field (18 points) to win 64-58 in the quarterfinal round of the City of Palms Classic.
“That was a fun game,” Farello said. “I just thought both teams competed. I’m really proud of my guys, we stuck with it. We got that lead going into the fourth quarter, and DeShawn (Harris-Smith) went down. He’s our senior captain, the heart and soul of our team. I thought our guys did a great job at rallying around him.
Ben Hammond was one who made his mark in Monday night’s contest, finishing with a game-high 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting, with six rebounds and three assists. Hammond had 18 second-half points, the most of anyone on the floor.
“Ben Hammond’s been doing this for the last two years,” Farello said. “It’s because of his play in the fourth quarter last year. He knows how to step up in big moments. He did today in the fourth quarter.”
Hammond put the exclamation point on a PVI win, drawing a foul and finishing the three-point play with 39.5 seconds left in the game, to put the Panthers up 60-55 at that point.
“There was a lot of energy going through me,” Hammond said. “I was hyped up, I was yelling, stuff like that. It felt good to do that for my team and seal the deal for us.”
Duke commit Darren Harris finished with 11 points, two rebounds, and two assists for Paul VI, and finished with a plus-minus of 10, second highest on the team behind Patrick Ngongba, who had an 11. Ngongba had two points, five boards, and a block.
In the loss for Lake Highlands, Jaylen Washington had 17 points on 7-of-12 shooting, while Quinton Perkins added 11 points, seven rebounds, and six assists.
Paul VI will take on Columbus in the semifinals.
Providence 59, IMG Academy Blue 52
The Stallions took home the Sunshine Series trophy after weathering a late rally from the Ascenders, led by Mason Lee’s efficient offensive output.
Lee tallied 14 points, on 5-of-8 shooting for Providence while going 4-of-7 from deep. Lee had a busy night on both sides of the floor, adding 7 rebounds and 5 assists to an impressive all-around performance. Chris Arias added 14 points, 5 assists and 2 rebounds. Jaylin Robinson added 10 points and helped control the paint with 7 rebounds in the win.
Providence put up a noteworthy effort on defense as well. They came out of the gates swarming, and held IMG Blue to 5-of-13 shooting and 0-of-3 from deep in the opening quarter.
The Ascenders went on a 14-5 run at the end of the third quarter to trim the lead to 43-39 in favor of the Stallions. IMG Blue tried to chip away in the final frame, even shrinking the lead to just two points twice, but Providence stood tall and never relinquished the lead despite cooling down on offense.
The Ascenders’ 7-foot-6 Oliver Rioux had trouble staying on the floor with the fast-paced Providence squad. Despite starting, Rioux was only on the floor for 11 minutes and finished with 3 points, 3 rebounds, and 5 turnovers with no assists. IMG Blue got 31 points from their bench, led by Eric Baldassarre, who tallied a game-high 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting while going 4-of-6 from three-point land.
Tampa Catholic 58, Canterbury 47
Five-star junior Karter Knox, who holds offers from the likes of Kentucky and Louisville, led the Crusaders to a hard-nosed win over the Cougars on Monday afternoon in the consultation bracket.
Knox finished with 25 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, and 3 turnovers in the gritty win. Tampa Catholic started the contest as cold as it gets from the field, going 0-for-14 from deep. After the sluggish start, the Crusaders entered the half down 22-20. After speeding the game up, Tampa Catholic went 7-of-14 from three-point attempts in the second half.
“We came out like dogs in the second half,” Knox said. “You know, chopping it up in the locker room we said we’re not losing to these dudes, so we just came out aggressive.”
Tampa Catholic, who often got out in transition, initially struggled against Canterbury’s 2-3 defense that slowed the game down.
“They were playing zone, and that really slows down our offense,” said head coach Don Dziagwa. “We’re a pressing, full-court type of team. Not that we can’t be a half-court team, but I don’t like coaching that way. I said we’ve got to pick up and play faster.”
Canterbury, despite committing 11 first-half turnovers, found success on offense and shot 8-of-15 in the first half. After focusing on their full court press and speeding the Cougars up, the Crusaders held the Cougars to just 27% shooting in the third quarter. Tampa Catholic maintained the lead for the remainder of the game.
“I was really proud of our guys and the way they competed for 32 minutes,” said Canterbury head coach Mike Hibbs. “I think this shows that we can play with very good teams.”
Leroy Roker was the foundation of Canterbury’s competitiveness. Roker finished the game with 13 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals, all while committing just one of Canterbury’s 22 turnovers. All this while playing every second of the game.
“And [Roker] is a warrior, man,” Hibbs said. “He’s the guy who makes everything go for us on both offense and defense. He just does everything for us, and I can’t take him out of the game, even if he does ask.”
Winter Haven 82, North Laurel (Ky.) 66
Jamie Phillips Jr. led the Blue Devils past the Jaguars in a consolation game on Monday morning with 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting with 6 assists and 2 turnovers. Georgia signee Dylan James 19 points on 9-of-11 shooting with 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Isaac Celiscar and Kjei Parker added 14 and 12 points, respectively.
Kentucky signee Reed Sheppard had 26 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals, and 7 turnovers for North Laurel. Sheppard’s scoring barrage puts him at the top of North Laurel’s all-time scoring list with 3,167 career points.
Westminster Academy 77, The Villages 55
Four-Star recruit Alex Lloyd tallied 26 points on 11-of-16 shooting with 4 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals. James Madison University signee Jaylen Carrey tacked on 17 points on 70% shooting with 13 rebounds, 2 steals, and 1 block. Alex Constanza added 17 points with 6 assists and 5 rebounds.
Sam Walters led The Villages School with 22 points and 7 rebounds. Landon Dickerson added12 points.
Monday's Scores
Game 17 (Consolation): Winter Haven 82, North Laurel (Ky.) 66
Game 18 (Sunshine Series Third Place): Westminster Academy 77, The Villages School 55
Game 19 (Sunshine Series Championship): Providence 59, IMG Academy Blue 53
Game 20 (Consolation): Tampa Catholic 58, Canterbury 47
Game 21 (Quarterfinal): Paul VI (Va.) 64, Lake Highlands 58
Game 22 (Quarterfinal): Columbus 65, Myers Park (N.C.) 56
Game 23 (Quarterfinal): Wheeler (Ga.) 57, Centennial (Calif.) 53
Tuesday's Schedule
Game 24 (Consolation semifinal): Vashon (Mo.) vs. Winter Haven, 8 a.m.
Game 25 (Fifth-place semifinal): Myers Park (N.C.) vs. Archbishop Stepinac (N.Y.), 9:40 a.m.
Game 26 (Signature Series third-place): Patrick School (N.J.) vs. St. Frances (Md.), 11:20 a.m.
Game 27 (Signature Series Championship): Link Academy (Mo.) vs. The Rock, 1 p.m.
Game 28 (Consolation semifinal): Newton (Ga.) vs. Tampa Catholic, 2:40 p.m.
Game 29 (Semifinal): Paul VI (Va.) vs. Columbus, 5 p.m., ESPNU
Game 30 (Semifinal): Imhotep Charter (Pa.) vs. Wheeler (Ga.), 7 p.m., ESPNU
Game 31 (Fifth-place semifinal): Lake Highlands (Texas) vs. Centennial (Calif.), 8:45 p.m.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: City of Palms Day 4: Paul VI, Christopher Columbus to meet in semifinals
