Harding came into Indianapolis to play Broad Ripple Saturday night. It was a good chance to see sophomore V.J. Beachem play against Ron Patterson.
Harding jumped out to an early lead and Broad Ripple looked really flat. Ron Patterson did wake up the crowd with an electrifying two-handed tip dunk at the buzzer of the first quarter. Other than that, there weren't many exciting plays. Harding led 15-9 after the first quarter.
Harding opened their lead to 26-16 midway through the second quarter. That's when Broad Ripple came alive. They started to force turnovers and got easy baskets off of them. Patterson broke away for another big dunk right before the end of the half to give Broad Ripple a 31-28 lead.
The second half was all Broad Ripple. Patterson got a couple more dunks. Mo Cross started to knock down some shots and Broad Ripple started to roll. Harding did cut into the lead late in the fourth quarter but it was too little, too late. Broad Ripple won 66-58.
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Ron Patterson 6'3" SG Broad Ripple 2012 Patterson didn't have his best game. He did have four dunks though, two that were spectacular. He's pretty good, I think we have established this.
V.J. Beachem 6'6" SF Harding 2013 Beachem wasn't very impressive but he ended up with 18 points. He went 0-7 from 3's and only grabbed two rebounds. He is extremely long, but he is extremely thin as well. Beachem doesn't excel in any area right now, but he can do different things on the court. He needs to be able to rebound at a higher level and either work on his explosiveness getting to the rim or his shooting. He has a lot of potential, but is a long way from realizing it right now.
A.J. Milligan 6'7" C Harding 2011 Milligan is a strong, 6'7" load inside. It seemed like he played with a pretty good motor and finished a couple of plays over defenders. Could be a good D2/NAIA/Junior College prospect.
Domonique Williams 6'5" SF Harding 2012 Williams didn't shoot the ball well tonight but it looked like he had the ability to. He also elevated really well while shooting his jumper. Well built and a good athlete, I would like to see more of him but he looks like a D2/NAIA prospect.
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