The first game in this series early in the season was dominated by North Central. North Central walked away with the 87-69 victory. It is a rivalry game though so anything could happen.

The first quarter was played at an exceptionally high pace. Both teams ran at every chance possible. They run on makes, on misses, on steals. I'm sure they would would try to run on dead balls if it is possible. North Central used a late mini-run to take a 23-18 lead after the first quarter.

Marquis Teague had a great first half. When Teague is focused on going to the basket, there isn't much defenses at the high school level can do to stop him. He was doing exactly that and he wasn't forcing shots. If he got to the lane and was double teamed he was finding open teammates for easy baskets. Pike took a 44-41 lead into the locker room behind 20 points from Teague.

Pike opened up the third quarter on a 9-0 run and they stretched the lead to 53-41. North Central started to attack the rim more instead of settling for outside shots that were not falling for them. Quickly North Central chopped the lead down to two points. The only consistent scoring option in the quarter was D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera. That is rare for North Central this year. Normally, they are very balanced even if DSR scores 25 they will have 3 others with 12+ points. That is the way the first half was as Ronnie Johnson score 9, Patrick Ingram had 8, Darius Latham added 7, but that balance stopped in the second half.

While North Central started to rely on just one player, Pike did the opposite and more players started to score more. Zavier Turner was one player that really stepped up for Pike. He made a lot of plays in terms of finding teammates, getting steals, and scoring the ball from inside and outside. R.J. Hunter was steady all game as well.

The fourth quarter was back and forth. I figured that North Central would pull it out because they are so used to winning games. They didn't make enough plays and Pike did. Pike hit the big shots while North Central took out of rhythm shots and couldn't get them to fall. Pike held on for the 84-77 win against their rival.

D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera led all scorers with 29 points. Marquis Teague led Pike with 28 and was helped by Zavier Turner's 21, R.J. Hunter's 14, and Josh Gentry's 8 points. Patrick Ingram scored 12 for North Central, Ronnie Johnson chipped in 11, and Darius Latham had 10 points.

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D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera 6'3 PG 2012 North Central

DSR had a great night scoring the ball, but he didn't shoot a very high percentage and he didn't get to the free-throw line as much as he usually does. One reason for the lack of free-throws was that he wasn't attacking the basket very often. When he did get into the lane, great things happened. Although he is a very good shooter now, he might be relying on it a bit too much.

Marquis Teague 6'2 PG 2011 Pike

This is one of the best games that I have seen the Kentucky-bound senior play. He played aggressively, but he also was willing to get teammates the ball when they were open. If he becomes a more consistent 3-point shooter and has more focus on the defensive end, he should play many years in the NBA. He's a good shooter right now especially off the dribble, but more consistency off the catch and shoot would be best for him.

Patrick Ingram 6'2 SG 2012 North Central

Ingram is a great athlete and is a superb defender. He also shoots the ball well off the catch. In order to take his game to the next level, he needs to handle the ball better and be able to shoot off the dribble better. To be a 6'2 shooting guard at the MM level, he will need improvement in both of those areas.

Zavier Turner 5'8 PG 2013 Pike

Turner was really good in this game. He made a lot of small plays on the defensive end that required a lot of basketball IQ. I stated last night that his height is always going to be a negative and it will be. But if he plays with the intelligence he did tonight at all times, he will be able to negate that. I feel confident saying he is a  LM+ prospect.

R.J. Hunter 6'5 SG 2012 Pike

Hunter is another player that plays with a lot of basketball IQ and anticipates things really well. Throw in the fact that he is super long and that leads to a lot of steals and deflections that dispute offenses. I have him as a MM+ prospect right now. This summer will determine if he is a HM that can be more than just a role player/shooter at that level.

Ronnie Johnson 5'10 PG 2012 North Central

Tonight is a night where I wish Johnson would have attacked the basket more. He is so quick that he will get to the rim any time that he wants. He settled for outside shots pretty much all night. I think he is an above average shooter, but not an elite shooter that should keep firing no matter the situation.

Darius Latham 6'5 PF 2013 North Central

Not a great college prospect, but a very good high school player. He was in some foul trouble tonight and that hurt North Central. He rebounds well, has very good hands, passes the ball well, and can hit open shots. I hear he is a good football player as well.

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