imPRESSive

The High dominates Arthur Hill in round two

24 January 2008

greatlakeshoops.com

Saginaw-- There's nothing quite like it.

The Saginaw High versus Saginaw Arthur Hill rivalry is simply as good as it gets.

Thursday night, in front of a sold out crowd at no.1-ranked Arthur Hill, no.2-ranked Saginaw High proved to be the best team in Saginaw--and by connection, the best team in Michigan.

The Trojans' vaunted press put them up early, and after a basket by Courtney Washington put Saginaw up one with less than two minutes left in the first quarter, the rout was on.

Saginaw High never again trailed in the game, winning in dominating fashion, 82-54.

Arthur Hill's speedy sophomore guard, Maurice Jones-Cooper, started off the second quarter by going coast to coast for a basket. From there, two straight baskets in the paint from Draymond Green put the Trojans up seven, leading to an Arthur Hill timeout.

Out of the timeout, Saginaw High continued to pour it on. The run was 12-1, capped off by a dunk in transition by senior guard Daniel West that led to another Arthur Hill timeout.

West was a spur in the Lumberjacks' side all game long, finishing with 25 points almost strictly in the transition game.

The Hillites managed to match Saginaw basket for basket the rest of the half before Washington closed out the half with a tough basket at the buzzer. The High led by 17.

In the second half, the Lumberjacks simply failed to do the exact thing that won them round one against Saginaw earlier this season: handle the press.

Arthur Hill's guards struggled, at times, to even get the ball across halfcourt.

A Jones-Cooper basket at the end of the quarter cut Saginaw's lead to 25, but by then it was much too late. Saginaw's superior depth rendered the final quarter meaningless.

High 16 22 19 25 - 82

Hill 11 10 11 27 - 54

Game Notes

--Tonight I saw a basketball team. Saginaw High absolutely dominated this game in every facet, never once letting off the gas. Their press set the tone of the game early, and their depth proved far greater than Arthur Hill's. No matter who was in the game for Saginaw, Coach Dawkins received maximum effort. Dawkins has athletes, and he knows what to do with them. Their press is the best I've seen this season. Lansing Sexton's is good; Saginaw's is ridiculously good. Tyrie Wooten, Jonathan Edwards and Maurice Jones-Cooper are all strong ballhandlers and each struggled advancing the ball up the court.

--Draymond Green dominated the defensive glass for Saginaw, finishing with 17 rebounds to go along with his 13 points. He could not get into the groove, offensively, but to his credit he didn't force anything in the second half. His performance went a long way toward making up for his lackluster outing in round one of the this rivalry. Green was absolutely engulfing rebounds tonight, too.

--Arthur Hill's Jonathan Edwards (formerly of Saginaw High) and Tyrie Wooten were the only Lumberjacks who consistently challenged Saginaw in halfcourt sets (which were rare to begin with). Wooten is as tough as they came, but simply could not get good looks consistently. Edwards came off the bench to lead the 'Jacks in scoring with 11. Wooten chipped in nine.

--Where was Latreze Mushatt tonight? He scored a whopping two points in the first half and finished with seven in the game. For Arthur Hill to be successful the rest of the season, he cannot fail to show up in big games. He picked up two quick fouls early in the game, and did not appear to be in the game, mentally, after that.

--Courtney Washington is a great, not good, player. I know I've said it before, but he is totally underrated. He can play defense, run the floor in transition, and handle the ball against anyone. He finished with 14 points.

--I've been to this rivalry many times, but this one was special. This is arguably the top rivalry in the state without the added incentive of the teams being rated one and two in the state. The atmosphere simply cannot be replicated anywhere else.

--Daniel West was a beast tonight. The senior guard could not be stopped in transition, and showed off his hops with a nice dunk in the second quarter.