Monday, December 5, 2016

More on Liam (Drake High) Hunt's near triple double on Saturday

Hope International 73, Southern Oregon 48

"Hope International wrapped up its 2016 Hope Classic with a game against Southern Oregon University. HIU opened the game in total control and would go on to win by 25 points against a talented SOU team that recently knocked off No. 12 Westmont.

The Royals opened the game with a dominant two-minute stretch against the Raiders to start out with a 9-0 lead – the Raiders committed a pair of early turnovers and HIU converted each into a bucket on the other end. The Royals' lead continued to grow as the Raiders failed to score in the first 10 minutes of play – Lochlan Cummings (JR/Perth, AUS) knocked down a pair of free throws to cap a 33-0 run.

SOU got on the board with 9:23 after their point guard made one of two foul shots and HIU kept up the pressure for the rest of the half – at the break the Royals still held a 33-point lead and took a 50-17 advantage into the locker room.

The Royals outscored SOU 20-12 in the paint, collected nine points from Raiders miscues, and held the SOU squad scoreless from deep – SOU finished the half shooting 19.3% from the field and missed on all 13 three-point attempts. "Our guys really were focused in on defending every touch – each catch, dribble, and shot – and our guys did a good job to close out and deny while also taking away their back door cuts," Coach Czech said after the game.

The Royals' starting five built their largest lead of the night four minutes into the second half after a triple from Devin Greene (FR/Sacramento, CA) made the tally 58-21, a 37-point lead with 15:50 left to play. Coach Czech began to play deeper into his bench before the Raiders put together a 10-point run to trim their deficit to 21 points – a few minutes from the starters shut down the Raiders' momentum and the Royals would end on a pair of free throws from Cummings to cement a 73-48 final score.

When asked about putting the starters back in, Czech remarked "It was such a great start for us and we just wanted to finish on a positive note – it wasn't about running up the score for us. We really respect how talented their guys are… their starters really got hot for a minute and we just wanted to end on a good note."
Liam Hunt finished the game with 18 points, 13 boards, and nine assists in a near miss on his first triple-double of the season – five Royals scored in double figures in the win. HIU finished the game shooting 48% from the field and 41% from deep while limiting the Raiders to just 3-24 from three-point range.

Coach Czech attributed his team's success to great focus by HIU defenders, but he also acknowledged the Raider's strength of schedule - "This is a great Raiders team who just went through a tough stretch on the road – Westmont, Menlo, Oregon State, and then Biola the night before us will really wear you down as a team," Czech said after the dominant win..."

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