Noon - Notre Dame Prep (MA) vs. Lee Academy (ME) 1:30 - Bishop Brady (NH) vs. Kennett (NH) 3:00 - Brewster Academy (NH) vs. Jean-de-Brebeuf (Montreal, Quebec)
 

I'll be live blogging the action courtside all day today from the Frank Monahan Classic.  To support this cause, please check out their website.

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Game 1 - 12pm - Notre Dame Prep (MA) vs. Lee Academy (ME)

1ST HALF

CJ Vaughn (Davidson, UNH, Pepperdine) started the scoring for ND Prep with 5 quick points but was quickly answered with interior passing from Lee resulting in easy opportunities for Maihalo Vasic at the rim.

Lee, who has 16 internationally born players and only 2 U.S. born has done a nice job taking care of the ball and hitting open jumpers when available. The Serbian born Vasic has shown the ability to face up and attack the rim despite his 6'7" frame.

Halfway through the first Lee clung to a 20-16 lead on the strength of their interior play. Notre Dame was able to get some flow into their offense with penetration by Vaughn and Daxter Miles.  They've also set up a 2/2/1 press which has consistently taken 10 seconds off the shot clock (what a novel idea).  

ND continued their aggressive play resulting in a 16-3 run to take a 25-21 lead before Peter Kutlesic hit a three for Lee to stop the hemorrhaging with 6 to play in the first.  Vaughn and Miles have been excellent getting into the lane and finding teammates for open layups and jumpers. The two connected with each other resulting in a Vaughn 3 with 3 to play pushing the lead to 34-29 for ND Prep.

Bright spot for Lee has definitely been Vasic who's shown both his inside and outside game as well as the ability to pass through the press from the center of the court. A fade away mid-range jumper and tip on consecutive possessions by Vasic closed the gap to 3 with 1:37 remaining.

The final few minutes of the 1st half were spent at the free throw line with the exception of a Miles 3 as the half expired to give Notre Dame a 45-38 advantage.  Miles ended the half with 14 points and 7/7 from the FT line.  CJ Vaughn also contributed 14 including 2 three's and 5/5 from the line.

For Lee they've been led by Vasic with 8 and Bryan Tavares with 7.

2ND HALF 

We didn't see high-major prospect Jarvis Garrett in the 1st half but he started the 2n and hit a 3 on Notre Dames first possession then hit a running layup through traffic for 5 quick points and a 52-43 Prep lead with 17:30 left.  With Garrett in the game they boast a small but explosive lineup that includes Vaughn and Miles, all of whom can attack the rim and hit jump shots.

Aaron Calixte for Lee has been impressive attacking the rim and making good decisions.  He's found his teammates multiple times most for layups, or missed opportunities.  With Garrett in the game and a 3 guard lineup Notre Dame has played at a different speed in the 2nd half controlling both sides of the court with their pressure D and attacking offense.

Miles and Vaughn hit deep three's then a Garrett steal and Miles layup gave Notre Dame 12 point advantage with 10:22 to play. 

Notre Dame has continued to attack the rim, more so than they did in the 1st half, and with the Bonus have gotten to the line, specifically Miles who's been almost un-guardable all day.

Play of the game occurred with 6:45 left as Turkish born 6'3" G/F Emre Akin "Rondo'd" about 3 Lee defenders and finished at the rim. Calixte came right back with a nice steal and drive through the lane on the break to finish and get to the line. With 6 minutes left ND Prep led 73-62.

With under 5 both teams have gone cold from both the FT line and field as the score stayed knotted at an 11 point advantage.  Garrett finished in the lane but the score was negated by an offensive interference call.

Notre Dame has also done a nice job tipping rebounds and loose balls to teammates.  These are the little things that win games when trying to close out a quality opponent.

Despite a bit of a lackluster performance from the free throw line ND played well enough down the stretch to get the 82-69 win. 

Game 2 - 1:30pm - Bishp Brady (NH) vs. Kennett (NH)

1ST QUARTER

You might think there'd be a drop off in intensity from the ND/Lee game but Brady and Kennett both teams come out firing with Bradyspurred by 3 steals from Joe Bell and a 8-2 lead early in the 1st quarter.  

A Kennnett 3 by Brandon DiLucchio was answered by the younger Bell as Brady pushed their 1st quarter lead to 11-5 after 4 minutes.  2 minutes later DiLucchio got open again, this time from 2 feet further back to bring the game within 3 for Kennett.  And once AGAIN, Joe Bell answered on the other end with a deep ball of his own.

With a 6 point lead and just under minute to play Brady worked the ball around the perimeter and Joe was able to hit a contested jumper at the buzzer to push the lead to 8, 16-8.  Kennett has had opportunities, but they've had trouble finishing and guarding on the defensive end.

2ND QUARTER

Out of the quarter time out Jordan Bell got his name in the scoring column with a contested fade away from the right baseline.  Not exactly what Head Coach Mark Yeaton had drawn up but when you've got a guy like Bell who's capable of hitting shots like those you don't complain.

Kennett has the size advantage in this one with 6' 3" Mark Lautenschlager and he was able to finish inside early on.  Another Jordan Bell jumper and Matt Quirk 3 from the right corner pushed the lead to 23-12 before Joe got yet another steal and went to the line for 2. 

Despite the Kennett size one of their biggest problems so far has been getting the entry passes to connect to their bigger front court. On the other end Joe Bell continued to do what made his 1st quarter so impactful by collecting another steal (4 to this point) and another 3 point jumper from the left wing. 

If Kennett can continue to pound the paint and limit the Bell brothers on the other end they'll claw back into this one, but giving up 34 points in a half is going to make it very tough.

Joe Bell leads Brady with 13 while Brendan Johnson has 9 and Jordain Bell 6. Dilucchio has 6 on 2/2 3pt shooting and Graziano 4 for Kenentt.

3RD QUARTER

While the shots haven't quite been falling so far this afternoon for Jourdain Bell, he's been effective by distributing the ball mostly on dribble drives and kicking it to open teammates.  A 3 by Brendan Johnson pushed the lead to 20 off a Jourdain pass then Joe swished a 3 off another pass from his brother.  3 early assists for Bell in the 3rd and Brady has a 8-2 advantage into the quarter all produced by Jourdain touches.

Kennett has shown resilience with DiLucchio and Loynd both hitting 3's to cut the lead back to 17 after they had been down 23.  The Cougars weren't able to convert after a Brady TO and Joe Bell had a nice assist inside to Aaron Svendsen for a layup.  

With 1 minute left in the 3rd Yeaton was forced to call another time out after DiLucchio and Will Pollard hit 3's on consecutive possessions to cut the lead to 13, 46-33.  The "spirited" time out discussion between Yeaton and his kids turned into an easy layup and a steal by Jourdain Bell.  With one quarter to play Brady leads 48-33.

4TH QUARTER

Both teams still with a lot of intensity heading into the 4th as Loynd makes a nice rebound and put back over a bigger defender on the first possession. Brady's Danny Fogarty came right back with a 3 from the left corner followed by turnovers by both teams.

With 5:20 left in the game and Brady up 16 Yeaton burned his last full timeout due to lack of energy and hustle from his squad. Out of the TO Johnson was isolated at the top of the key and made a nice drive and layup.  A trap, steal by Johnson then finish off a missed layup again by Johnson put him to the line where he completed the 3 point play.  One thing's for certain, TO's have been effective for the Giants today.

With 3:45 left a trap on the baseline led to a Jourdain steal and outlet pass to brother Joe who caught it in stride and without dribbling, finished high over a defender (plus the foul) - definitely the play of the game. 

Brady goes on to win 69-48 and improves to 9-2 while Kennett falls to 8-4.

Game 3 - 3pm - Brewster Academy (NH) vs. Jean-de-Brebeuf (Montreal, Quebec)

1ST HALF 

Right out of the gate Brewster was able to run a nice play which resulted in a Jarred Reuter and Devonte Graham (you'll hear his name again) pick and roll for a Reuter dunk. That would be the last time Brewster would see the lead until late in the 1st half. 

Not surprisingly this Jean-de-Brebeuf team communicates better than anyone I've seen today (despite it being in primarily French) and they scored on all 3 of their first possessions.  

3 minutes in JB (we'll call them that from here on out) held a 8-4 advantage as they've been crisp with the ball and aggressive going to the basket. Despite Brewster's size JB's also done a nice job on the boards collecting offensive rebounds and extra possessions.

One thing to mention - Jason Smith sends Jonah Bolden (UCLA) and Kevin Zabo (San Diego State) off his bench.  Not a bad "problem" to have, they might be the deepest team in the country.

6'2" Alexandere Goulet was able to finish over 6'9" Bolden with a nice layup high off the glass for JB.  An empty possession for Brewster resulted in a 3 for JBs Christian Chidiac to give them a 15-6 lead with 15:20 to go in the first half.

A rebound by Graham and pass to a cutting Isaac Copeland (Georgetown) for a driving layup brought Brewster back to 20-15 with 12 minutes to play.

With 11:00 to play Terrell had a nice steal with a wide open dunk attempt that he just couldn't get over the rim for.  As it so commonly occurs, JB was able to score on the other end, a 4pt swing and a 24-17 lead.

Copeland has been huge the last few minutes hitting a 3 from the top of the key then one from the right corner off Terrell penetration.  He's having a big afternoon.

Still very impressed with the play from JB who's not been afraid to attack the bigger Brewster front court. Their offense is completely based on dribble penetration since they don't have the bigs to compete on the block offensively but so far its worked as they've essentially gone 4 out 1 in bringing Brewsters bigs away from the hoop.

With 7:17 to play in the first Brewster took their first lead since very early in the game 29-28 on two Terrell free throws. 

Play of the first half came with 5 left in the 1st as Graham made a steal around half court, waited for a teammate in Copeland to catch up then threw the alley-oop from the left 3 point elbow. Copeland skyed over a defender to slam it home with two hands.  Gave Brewster a 2 pt lead and they extended that on 2 Zabo free throws and a Graham layup.  

Its very apparent when Brewster's defense gets going they are very tough to beat in transition.  A 10-0 run all fueled by defensive turnovers and long rebounds gave them a 43-33 lead with 2:30 left in the half. 

A Devonte Graham deep 3 from the top of the key helped push the lead to double digits. Brewster leads 52-37.  Graham ended the half with 11, Reuter had 10 and Copeland led Brewster with 20 including 2 3's and a thunderous alley-oop dunk.  Josephy Cartouny has 14 and Nemanja Zarkovic 11 for Jean-de-Berbeuf. 

2ND HALF

Jarred Reuter continued his post dominance scoring on the block early and often pushing the Brewster lead to 16 with 16 to play.  JB has no answer for not only the height but also the width of Reuter who's also a skilled rebounder and finisher around the hoop.

Goulet was able to nail a 3 after a nice drive and pass back to the perimeter with 15 to play but Graham came right back to answer with a 3 of his own. 

When JB moves the ball quickly as they've done a little better in the 2nd half they get good opportunities.  Brewster plays such a high intensity brand of defense if you can make quality passes and switch the floor layups are available.  One one of these possessions they were able to finish at the rim as Brewster got caught up switching to cut the lead to 12 with just over 11 minutes to play.

With around 10 to play a technical was assessed on a JB player for swinging an elbow while in possession of the ball.  Terrell was the unfortunate recipient of the elbow and the referees did an nice job controlling the situation despite tempers starting to rise and some smack talk in more than 1 language I didn't quite understand.

Brewster hasn't let up on D however and are still crashing the boards as Donovan Mitchell collected a rebound in the lane then elevated for a dunk through traffic to give the Bobcats a 71-54 lead.  He'd follow up another miss a few possessions later to give them a 19 point lead with just under 6 to play.

The Bobcast are running away with this up over 20 with 4 to play so its time to close out the live blog. Rueter has been the player of the game (despite a huge first half for Copeland).  Brewster was able to open up run their offense through him which ended up producing opportunities for other guys on the court. Defensively he was an anchor, and JB didn't try to attack the rim very much, if at all. 

JB played very well and is certainly a team that can play with the best NEPSAC has to offer.  They never gave up, they never gave in and held the lead for over 12 minutes against one of the best prep schools in the country.

Brewster closed the game out 80-69 in what was a very hard fought game on both ends.

Big shout-out to the Frank Monahan foundation for putting on an excellent Showcase with some of the areas best High School basketball team both public and prep.  Also appreciate them setting me up to write the live blog court side. 

Congratulations to the Monahan Foundation team on an excellent event.