Camels Claim 3rd Place In Murphy Classic
Posted On: December 27, 2014 Posted By: Gary Lemons
The Camels claimed 3rd place in the US Bank Mike Murphy Classic held over the holiday weekend at the Fieldhouse in Mason County. After defeating Harrison County in the opening round, the Camels fell to Madison Central in the semi-finals before knocking off Augusta in the 3rd place consolation game.
In the semi-final game, the Camels squared off with the Madison Central Indians from the 11th Region. The 1st quarter was a back and forth affair, but the Camels trailed for most of the period. After a Deondre Jackson layup gave the Camels a 7-6 lead, the Indians scored to take the lead for good. At the end of one, the Camels were down 15-13.
The Indians went on a 10-0 run to start the 2nd period and take a 25-13 lead. The Camels had trouble guarding the quicker Indians who turned several turnovers into quick baskets. A Matt Wilson basket stopped the Indians run temporarily. A Cole Hegyi basket cut the Camel deficit to 6, but that’s as close as they would get in the 1st half as the Indians closed the half with a 40-25 lead.
The Camels turned up the defense in the 3rd quarter creating multiple turnovers and cutting into the Indians lead. A Blake Losey layup started a 6-0 Camel run cutting the deficit to 9. The Camels trailed by double digits for most of the 3rd, but another Camel run capped off by a Dre Jackson trey cut the Indians lead to four at 48-44 to end the third quarter.
The Camels continued their comeback into the 4th quarter as Trent McGovney nailed a three pointer to shrink the deficit to one at 52-51. The Camels had several chances to take the lead but couldn’t get the go-ahead bucket. After scores by Madison Central gave them a four point lead, Dre Jackson’s three and layup gave the Camels their first lead of the 2nd half at 60-59. The Camel lead was short-lived as Madison Central countered with a basket to regain the lead. With under a minute to play the Camels had the ball and a chance to complete the comeback, but a Camel turnover and foul led to 2 Indian free throws and a 63-60 lead. The Camels had one last opportunity, but Matt Wilson’s three point attempt was blocked to end the game.
Dre Jackson led the Camels in scoring with 23 points on 10-17 shooting and 5 rebounds. Matt Wilson scored 17 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. Blake Losey added 8 points and 4 steals.
In the consolation game for 3rd place, the Camels took on 10th Region foe Augusta. The smaller Augusta Panthers decided to double and triple team Matt Wilson just as Madison Central had the previous night. They also relied heavily on three point shooting for the majority of their scoring. That plan seemed to work well for a brief time as the Panthers got out to a 7-6 1st quarter lead. Matt Wilson battled through the Panther double teams to score inside and keep the Camels close. A Blake Losey basket gave the Camels a lead they would never relinquish, and a three by Cole Hegyi closed the 1st quarter with the Camels leading 22-16.
The Camels extended their lead in the 2nd quarter leading by as many as 10, but Augusta connected on several 3s late in the half to trim the Camels lead to five at 38-33.
Augusta cut the Camels lead to two to start the 2nd half with another three pointer, but a Matt Wilson basket and three point play extended the Camels lead. The scrappy Panthers hung with the Camels during the 3rd period with good defense and timely 3 point baskets. However, the Camels wore down the Panthers with a steady stream of fresh players and pushed the lead back to 56-47 to end the 3rd period.
The Camels continued to build their lead over the outmanned Panthers throughout the 4th period. When the buzzer sounded, the Camels had earned a 3rd place finish in the tournament with a 76-62 victory over the Panthers. Matt Wilson and Deondre Jackson each earned All-Tournament honors for the Camels.
Matt Wilson scored 19 points and grabbed 16 rebounds. Blake Losey had a strong performance scoring 18 points on 8-13 shooting while Dre Jackson added 13 points. Craig Neltner was a beast on the boards grabbing 11 boards while adding 8 points.
The Camels will round out 2014 with a pair of road contests taking on Amelia, OH on December 29th and then traveling to Saint Henry on the 30th.
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Connect with Gary at glemons13@gmail.com
