After a very productive and busy opener in the Pittsburgh Basketball Club Pro-Am on Monday, Wednesday's edition was far more subdued. The reason? The scourge known as night class.
Classes kept almost all of the Robert Morris players away from the gym on Wednesday. Just four active players and one alum played in Wednesday's games, but they still had a few strong performances. Let's get to the recap.
SOUTH HILLS AUDI 95, CRONS 89
Not even Cam Wright's debut could topple the lethal combo of "old guys" and "really young guys" that's already made the South Hills team one of the teams to beat. Wright had 26 points to lead Crons, which was missing Elijah Minnie and Ryan Skovranko, and the other four players all had double figures. But South Hills got 21 from old-head Lance Jeter plus 21 points and 17 rebounds from Pitt newcomer Sheldon Jeter (Lance's cousin). Cameron Johnson followed up his impressive debut on Monday night with 19 points.
The early impression is that Pitt may be a little young this year, but the talent they do have is pretty impressive. Jeter, Johnson, Josh Newkirk, Jamel Artis and Mike Young are still a little green, but they can ball.
BAKERY SQUARE 106, SHALE ATTORNEY 96
Every single player scored in double figures in this game, with Duquesne's Tysen Powell and Jordan Stevens leading the way. Powell had 27 points, while Stevens chipped in 26. That was enough for Bakery Square - missing RMU's Rodney Pryor and Jairus Lyles - to hold off a 29 point effort from the Dukes' Rene Castro.
Pitt's Joe Uchebo had 15 points and 17 rebounds for Bakery Square. Shale was missing Charles Oliver and David Appolon from Robert Morris.
SYSTEM ONE 113, PGT 88
With PGT down a couple big men, Aaron Tate swapped uniforms to try to help out Robert Morris teammate Lucky Jones. It didn't matter, even though Jones had another strong performance with 31 points on 10-of-21 shooting. System One chewed up PGT inside, as Pitt's Mike Young had 32 points and 10 rebounds while WVU's Elijah Macon chipped in 24 points.
With Macon, Young and WVU's Jevon Carter (20 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists) hitting, there weren't as many opportunities for Robert Morris freshman Marcquise Reed. After a very strong debut on Monday, Reed was 3-of-7 from the floor for 10 points and 3 assists.
Tate had a quiet night as well, chipping in two points and three assists. Jones provided eight rebounds to go with his 31 points.
UPMC 89, GNC 78
Depending on how things go with his pro career, this might have been Karvel Anderson's last game in the Pro-Am this year. He certainly left a mark, scoring 32 points - tying Young for the night's high - and did traditional, Karvel-like things. He hit a buzzer beater to end the first half, evaded double-teams, hit 3-pointers over top of people and generally had a fine night. Anderson was 10-of-19, including 7-of-12 from beyond the arc, and he dished out five assists.
It just wasn't enough. UPMC had a distinct size advantage, even after loaning RMU freshman Andre Frederick to GNC. Pitt's Jamel Artis went 11-of-12 for 24 points, WVU's Jonathan Holton pulled down 11 rebounds, and Pitt guard Chris Jones had a strong 22 points. That kind of balance was too much for GNC, which leaned heavily on Anderson.
Frederick had six points and five rebounds and largely deferred to the guards. Jafar Kinsey had a rough shooting night, as the freshman went just 5-of-17 from the floor for 12 points.
Games resume next Monday at Montour High School.
Classes kept almost all of the Robert Morris players away from the gym on Wednesday. Just four active players and one alum played in Wednesday's games, but they still had a few strong performances. Let's get to the recap.
SOUTH HILLS AUDI 95, CRONS 89
Not even Cam Wright's debut could topple the lethal combo of "old guys" and "really young guys" that's already made the South Hills team one of the teams to beat. Wright had 26 points to lead Crons, which was missing Elijah Minnie and Ryan Skovranko, and the other four players all had double figures. But South Hills got 21 from old-head Lance Jeter plus 21 points and 17 rebounds from Pitt newcomer Sheldon Jeter (Lance's cousin). Cameron Johnson followed up his impressive debut on Monday night with 19 points.
The early impression is that Pitt may be a little young this year, but the talent they do have is pretty impressive. Jeter, Johnson, Josh Newkirk, Jamel Artis and Mike Young are still a little green, but they can ball.
BAKERY SQUARE 106, SHALE ATTORNEY 96
Every single player scored in double figures in this game, with Duquesne's Tysen Powell and Jordan Stevens leading the way. Powell had 27 points, while Stevens chipped in 26. That was enough for Bakery Square - missing RMU's Rodney Pryor and Jairus Lyles - to hold off a 29 point effort from the Dukes' Rene Castro.
Pitt's Joe Uchebo had 15 points and 17 rebounds for Bakery Square. Shale was missing Charles Oliver and David Appolon from Robert Morris.
SYSTEM ONE 113, PGT 88
With PGT down a couple big men, Aaron Tate swapped uniforms to try to help out Robert Morris teammate Lucky Jones. It didn't matter, even though Jones had another strong performance with 31 points on 10-of-21 shooting. System One chewed up PGT inside, as Pitt's Mike Young had 32 points and 10 rebounds while WVU's Elijah Macon chipped in 24 points.
With Macon, Young and WVU's Jevon Carter (20 points, 10 rebounds, 6 assists) hitting, there weren't as many opportunities for Robert Morris freshman Marcquise Reed. After a very strong debut on Monday, Reed was 3-of-7 from the floor for 10 points and 3 assists.
Tate had a quiet night as well, chipping in two points and three assists. Jones provided eight rebounds to go with his 31 points.
UPMC 89, GNC 78
Depending on how things go with his pro career, this might have been Karvel Anderson's last game in the Pro-Am this year. He certainly left a mark, scoring 32 points - tying Young for the night's high - and did traditional, Karvel-like things. He hit a buzzer beater to end the first half, evaded double-teams, hit 3-pointers over top of people and generally had a fine night. Anderson was 10-of-19, including 7-of-12 from beyond the arc, and he dished out five assists.
It just wasn't enough. UPMC had a distinct size advantage, even after loaning RMU freshman Andre Frederick to GNC. Pitt's Jamel Artis went 11-of-12 for 24 points, WVU's Jonathan Holton pulled down 11 rebounds, and Pitt guard Chris Jones had a strong 22 points. That kind of balance was too much for GNC, which leaned heavily on Anderson.
Frederick had six points and five rebounds and largely deferred to the guards. Jafar Kinsey had a rough shooting night, as the freshman went just 5-of-17 from the floor for 12 points.
Games resume next Monday at Montour High School.
