Pierce Thanksgiving Invitational

Caught the final day of the Thanksgiving Invitational at Pierce College in Lakewood, WA. They have a nice new gym, it was a great place to host a tournament. Here's how they finished:

1st Bellevue
2nd Whatcom
3rd Pierce
4th S. Puget Sound
5th Shoreline
6th Linn-Benton
7th & 8th Lane & Columbia Basin


The first game I watched was the 4th place game. South Puget Sound played Linn-Benton and handled them fairly easily. While the score was close S. Puget Sound seemed to consistently keep an 8-10 pt lead and won by 9. They have a young team that has potential but doesn't have any real game changers. Linn-Benton had some OK bigs but the guards had a tough time getting them the ball. Some player comments:

Linn-Benton
#32 - Trevor Siefken -6-10-SO Tall thin center with good touch. Got into foul trouble and did not play much. Struggled getting open and needs to put on some weight... lots of weight.

#23 - Tyson Christie -6-2-SO Stocky, strong big guard. Fairly athletic and definitely team leader. Very aggressive, played hard.

#14 - Michael Kirkwood -6-5-FR Strong athletic small forward. Good body, has potential but needs work on offense. Led them with 11 rbs.

S.Puget Sound
#3 - Will Sharp -6-1-FR Thin, aggressive pg. Has potential, he's quick, a good ball handler and plays with his head up. Really wants to score, needs to focus more on creating for others. Has good hands, leads the team.

#20 - Michael Hall - 6-5-FR Long thin forward. Can put the ball on the floor and attack. Mobile.

#45 - Trevor Smith -6-6-FR Good body, recruited him at Alaska Fairbanks. Has potential, very athletic, needs to work on his touch.


The 3rd place game was between Shoreline and the hosts Pierce. This was the game of the day. Shoreline has some talented players but they rushed a little bit and struggled to get good shots. The credit goes to Pierce though for playing tough team defense. Pierce held the lead for all the first half. Then Shoreline battled back in the last 8 minutes to take the lead with with couple of minutes left. It was a battle to the end and they went into overtime. I OT Shoreline tried to force some plays and Pierce capitalized. It was basically the story of the game. Pierce finished with the win. I think Shoreline will improve throughout the year and be a tough team to beat. Player Comments:

Shoreline
#20 - Jonothan Lackings -6-0 SO Seemed smaller than 6-0. Lightning quick 2 guard, great defender on the ball. Tough little player that could slash and make open 3's. A bit out of control at times, forced a lot of shots. Led them in scoring with 20 pts but on 6 for 18 shooting and 4 TO's. DII

#10 - Stephen McCall -5-11 SO Solid pg. Good ball-handler, dribbled with his head up. Controlled the team well, definitely a leader. Good passer and creator. Could shoot mid-range and 3's set or off the dribble. Made a clutch 3 pt. shot off the dribble going full speed in the last 30 seconds to tie the game. Solid defender, had some trouble finishing at the basket. 14 pts, 8rbs, 6 asst, and 2 TO's. Good DII maybe low DI

#30 - Evans Ojwang -6-3 SO Athletic, long, strong wing. Nice touch around the basket, really gets out and runs. Did not like to use his left hand, defense was a bit inconsistent. A little out of control. Had 16pts 8rbs (4 on offense) and 2 steals, but 5 TO's. DII

#52 - Theron Laudermill - 6-8 SO Long thin big man. Not a defensive stopper and lacked mobility. Had trouble posting but when he got the ball had surprisingly nice moves and touch. Was 5 for 6 with 10 pts and 7rbs in only 22 min. off the bench.

Pierce
#3 - Brandon Semken -6-3 FR Has potential. Long athletic wing with a good body. Pretty good defensive player. Not a great ball handler and forces shots. Has a nice stroke when he's open.

#24 - Chris Grove -6-6 SO Team leader, took over the game in the second half when Shoreline was making their run. If it weren't for him Shoreline wins before it gets to OT. Great touch around the basket, can shoot mid-range and 3's. Did a good job of shooting over the big man. Good handle and mobility, can slash and get to the basket. Gets rebounds, passes, takes charges, always hustling, intense player. He's got a motor. His size and strength limit him. Had 18pts, 5 rbs and 3 steals. High DII, maybe low DI

#43 - Malcholm Love -6-3 FR Has lots of potential. Big, strong, athletic guard. Good jump stop and pull up. Quick first step, can slash and get fouled. Hits 3's when open. Aggressive, hustles. Has a DI body. Only a freshman. High DII, low DI

#42 - Ben Bennest -6-5 FR Solid big man. Didn't make mistakes. Plays hard. Was a key contributor.


Finally, the championship game was between Bellevue and Whatcom. Both teams looked tired and mentally a bit out of it. They were talking a bit to much to each other and getting frustrated. Lots of fouls were called. I thought Whatcom really got the short end of the stick on foul calls, they mentally did not handle the adversity well otherwise I think they had a good chance of beating a tired Bellevue team. Even with the bad calls they only lost by 7. Since I watched Bellevue and commented on their players before I will not write as much about them here, see my first post - Bulldog Classic to read more about Bellevue's guys.

Bellevue
#1 - David Maddock -6-2 FR Did not write about him last time. Quick, athletic, guard. Thin with good handle on the ball and good touch around the basket. Definitely a slasher, not a shooter. Forced a couple of shots.

#40 - Rahiti Marere -6-6 SO Wrote about him last week but wanted to comment on him again. He carried the team. He has a great mid-range jumper, great finishing ability and knocks down 3's. Plays hard and kept them ahead. Does not make many mistakes. Size and strength limit him. Had 21pts 6rbs. Mid-High DII.

Sam Cartmell again was solid, had a quiet 15pts on 4 for 5 shooting and shot 9 foul shots. Pete Harris and Curron Singleton were again solid but both forced some shots.

Whatcom
#34 - Don Perconti -6-4 FR Strong solid guard. Has a nice 3pt shot but forced some. Heavy feet hurt him defensively against the quick Bellevue guards.

#3 - Zac Andrus -5-10 SO Tough strong little pg. Battled with Pete Harris and got him frustrated. Good handle and quick. Strong with the ball, can make 3's if open. Lefty

#44 - Ryan Sweet -6-7 SO Good size, big arms. Played a lot on the perimeter but I thought he was more of a low block guy. Wanted to shoot the 3 and can make it but better inside. Had lots of trouble guarding perimeter bigs, quick runner and first step but not laterally. Good feet, soft touch and rbs. DII/DIII