Oak Hill avenged last season's loss to Milton, defeating Prestonwood Christian (Tx.), ranked 19th in the Powerade Fab 50, 85-55, Saturday evening at Blake Arena.
SPRINGFIELD- Maybe he wasn't nervous, as his players suggested, but Oak Hill coach Steve Smith definitely hadn't forgotten his team's recent history in the HoopHall Classic.
Oak Hill had lost its last two games in this tournament, including a 75-69 loss last season to Milton High (Ga.) that was the first of the year for the No. 1-ranked Warriors.
Oak Hill avenged last season's loss to Milton, defeating Prestonwood Christian (Tx.), ranked 19th in the Powerade Fab 50, 85-55, Saturday evening at Blake Arena.
“You don’t like having your picture taken after being defeated,” Oak Hill coach Steve Smith said. “We’ve been playing here for five or six year and--even when we’ve won-- I hadn’t thought we played well. Tonight, we played well.”
Oak Hill, ranked second in the Powerade Fab 50, frustrated Prestonwood Christian's Julian Randle, ESPN's third-ranked junior, with the long arms of A.J. Hammons (3 blocks) and a multitude of defenses.
“He’s going to get his touches,” Hammons said of Randle. “I just wanted to make sure he was taking tough shots.”
Hammons set the tone for the game, scoring the first points on a two-handed dunk over the outstretched arms of Randle. Oak Hill collected the first seven points and took a 22-8 lead into the second quarter.
Though he finished with a game-high 23 points and nine rebounds, Randle was largely ineffective except for an impressive array of meaningless late-game dunks. Randle received litte help from his teammates, who shot just 12 of 35 from the field.
Much of the credit must go to Oak Hill's defense which swarmed Randle with two, sometimes three, players each time he had the ball. Oak Hill wore down Prestonwood Christian with its depth and constant pressure, both defensively and in transition.
Oak Hill opened the half on a 13-2, which included back-to-back three-pointers from D'vauntes Smith-Rivera, a Georgetown commit who netted 16 points. Manning the other wing was Jordan Adams (committed to UCLA), who sank five three-pointers on his way to 23 points.
Time after time, point guard Tyler Lewis (15 points, nine assists) found Smith-Rivera and Adams for open shots against a weary, disheartened defense.
“Coach told us to push, push, push and Tyler [Lewis] was able to find us for some open shots. We just knocked them down,” Adams said.
Five Oak Hill players reached double-figures, as the Warriors improved to 27-0 on the season. Prestwood Christian dropped its fourth game of the season.