Championship Day here at the Rock Hill Sports and Event Center and the following players stood out on Day 3:'''''''''''

In the Prep School Silver Division Chip TLAP Sports Academy (FL) defeated Rocktop Academy (PA) 88-77 behind some slick shooting and tough interior defense. On the shooting side 5'10' '21 Matthew Smith led the way with 27pts 5 treys 2asts playing the final 26 minutes with 4 fouls. Smith was crafty in his perimeter game setting up his teammates while moving into openings for return passes for wide open jumpers which he capitalized on. He was solid on or off the ball and gave Rocktop headaches trying to keep track of him. 6'4' '21 Jordan Jefferson seemed more like this squads point guard as he handled the ball frequently finishing with 22pts 2 treys 4asts 4reb. His handle was tight and I liked his floor vision as well. Inside play was handled admirably by 6'5' jumping jack Stephen Thomas who along with athletic 6'5' Nygell Verdier gave Rocktop fits with their athleticism and tenacity. Thomas finished with 15pts 10reb 2blks and Verdier added 14pts 9reb 2asts despite not playing in the 1st'half. Rocktop Academy was led by 6'1' Bernie Blunt Jr. with 19pts 5 treys showing off his unlimited range and he had help from 6'3' Torrin Andrews with 15pts 3 treys 6asts as he continued to impress as a floor general with his deft passing skills setting up his teammates with precision dimes. 6'8' AJ Burnett has come a long way from his days at Monsignor Bonner in the Philly Catholic League as his skill set is improving and his body has developed into a sturdy frame to battle in the paint. He finished with 12pts 5reb while staying out of foul problems that have plagued him in the past. Another frontcourt guy for Rocktop 6'9' Daniel Akitoby is a true stretch 4 type as he has a nice-looking jump shot with range to the arc yet he still manages to get in the paint to snag rebounds on both ends of the floor finishing with 11pts 9reb in the contest.

Next up I switched over to a Gold division Prep consolation game as Scotland Campus (PA) lead wire to wire in getting past Mt. Zion Prep (MD) 103-87. I watched this game till about 7 minutes remained as I was heading to the Prep Gold division title game so while the points are correct the stats are what I had when I moved to the Arena court. For Scotland, a pair of 6'1' postgrads stood out and of course Davon Lee is a known commodity to me and he didn't disappoint with 18pts 4 treys 2asts as he continues to be productive in the minutes he gets on the court. His backcourt mate Myron Amey was a guy I didn't know to much about but he stood out on this day with 18pts 2 treys 4asts 3stls and I was impressed with his athleticism and poise on the floor and his ability to not settle for jump shots so when a lane presented itself he took it while keeping his head on a swivel to find open teammates in scoring positions. Mt. Zion got behind early and spent most of the time playing catchup but 6'2' Amir Spears was sensational despite the setback as he rolled to 32pts mostly on quick-hitting drives to the basket finishing through contact with great body control. He hit 9-10 from the stripe and added 4stls 2asts in the time I viewed this game. 6'7' '22 Hasson Massenburg backed him up with a rugged 13pts 5reb off the bench.

The Prep School Gold division championship tilt was a tight well-played game with The Skills Factory-National (GA) slipping by Link Year Prep (MO) 56-55. TSF got a huge offensive rebound tip-in from 6'9' Chase McKey and four free throws from 6'3' Iona commit Christian Wright to hold off a hard-charging Link Year five. Wright was again solid in his play hitting for 14pts 5reb 3stls 2asts and showing that winning moxie he brought to the table all weekend. 6'8' VCU commit Jalen DeLoach was another big factor for the Factory as he had 15pts 9reb and despite a missed front end of a one and one he was vindicated when McKey got the tip-in setting up the final scenario of made FT's by Wright for the win. Link Year got fine performances from 6'8' O'Mar Stanley with 14pts 6reb 4asts and I liked the way he played throughout getting 10 first-half points then instead of forcing the action in the 2nd'half he started passing the rock and picked all 4 of his assists in that frame. He sees the court well and he uses his hefty frame to battle inside for boards and points. Playing with some 2nd'half foul trouble 6'8' Teafale Lenard continued his fine play here in Rock Hill finishing with 13pts 10reb 2blks while using his lithe body to disrupt the interior offense for TSF.

he final game of the day was the Hoop State Championship featuring Combine Academy-National and Liberty Heights Athletic Institute and while Combine had a huge first half Liberty Heights refused to capitulate and made a strong push in the second half before falling 71-59. Combine was up 41-21 at the half behind the inspired play of 6'2' '23 Robert Dillingham who went on to finish with 32pts 5 treys 5asts and I must say that's the best he looked all weekend. He got into the paint and was not to be deterred in getting to the cup and he hit a couple threes with a man plastered to his chest which brought the crowd to its feet. The only negative to his play was 7-11 from the line and I would hardly call that a real negative based on his overall performance. He also got help from 6'4' AJ Smith who finished with 11pts hitting 4-4 from the stripe in the last minute and 6'6' Michael Dudley who recently decommited from the College of Charleston with 11pts and 3 treys plus 6'4' '22 Bryce Alfino came off the bench to hit 2 treys and contribute 8pts in the win. 7'0' Jonas Aidoo (Marquette) paced Liberty Heights with 23pts 4 treys 4reb 2blks and definitely drew lots of attention to him on the offensive end and 6'9' Isaac Farah was there to relieve some of the burden with 17pts 8reb 3asts while 6'2' Jeremy Baker had 9pts 6reb in the loss. Isaac Farah really improved his stock here as he had great instincts going after rebounds and hunting points in the paint and is a stock riser for sure at the D-II level.