Kentwood Exhibits Strength Against Cedarcrest
By Steven Dion
| Friday- December 26 | 2014 | Boys | 4A/2A | Non-League | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kennedy Catholic High School | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final | |
| Kentwood | 25 | 23 | 15 | 13 | 76 | |
| Cedarcrest | 8 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 39 | |
Kentwood Sophomore Rayvaughn Bolton
The opening round of the 2014 Oberto Christmas Classic at Kennedy HS featured 4A power Kentwood against Cedarcrest from the 2A class. A stark contrast between these two teams heading into the contest was team size and how it would affect the outcome of the game as the Conks are built like a football team on the hardwood. The Red Wolves are slighter in stature but have some crafty guards that do not back down. Would Cedarcrest give KW a challenge in the first round of the holiday tourney?
Kentwood challenged CHS from the start as they applied full-court pressure which resulted in backcourt turnovers. The Conks did not take advantage of the defensive effort early as they chose to take 3 point attempts that did not fall early. However, Cedarcrest’s early bit of momentum on offense went ice cold for the majority of the first half. After scoring only 8 first quarter points, the Red Wolves were in trouble. Preston White and Marcus Lubom both notched 10 points for the Conquerors in the first half which was more than CHS’ scoring total through quarters one and two. Nik Rearson tallied 5 for the Red Wolves as he went 5/6 from the line in the first 16 minutes. Mark Prince would hope to rally his Cedarcrest squad at the break to close the gap as the halftime score read 48-17 in favor of Kentwood.
Cedarcrest was able to play a competitive second half as the lead grew by a much smaller margin than it did in the first half. They held the Conks to 15 third quarter points and were able to drain a pair of three-balls from Alex Paulsen and Robert Cha. The fourth quarter featured quality minutes for Kentwood Coach Blake Solomon’s reserves. Jordan Jones knocked down two from downtown in the final frame as Kentwood secured a 76-39 victory. There was exceptional sportsmanship displayed by Kentwood as they overmatched their opponent, but showed respect for Cedarcrest.
The Final Score: Kentwood 76 Cedarcrest 39
Top Performers:
Kentwood
5 players in double figures (Preston White-14, Davonte Sanchez-12, Marcus Lubom-11, Rayvaughn Bolton-11, Malik Sanchez-11)
Davis
Kyle Walsh-7 points (5/6 FT’s)