Huntington Prep rolls at Flyin to the Hoop tournament

KETTERING, Ohio – Several recruiting services consider Huntington Prep (W. Va.) star Andrew Wiggins the top sophomore prospect in the country. Wiggins has similar beliefs about his entire team.

"We want to play Simeon, Findlay Prep and all the top teams," the 6-foot-7, 210-pound small forward said. "I feel like we're the best team in the country."

Ranked No. 4 in the MaxPreps Top 10 Academy Rankings, Huntington Prep earned the endorsement of everyone at the 10th annual Good Samaritan Flyin to the Hoop boys basketball invitational at Trent Arena in suburban Dayton. During its two-game stay, Huntington Prep manhandled traditional local powers Trotwood-Madison (97-38) and Middletown (84-30) on Saturday and Sunday, respectively. Wiggins was a big reason why.

Against Trotwood-Madison (2-3), he scored 26 points. Against Middletown (9-3), he had 23.

Huntington Prep improves to 12-1, its lone loss coming to Tilton School (N.H.) 53-48 on Nov. 26.

"I think I played well, but I think the whole team played well," said Wiggins, the top-ranked player in the Class of 2014 by MaxPreps. "We played hard, we played with intensity and we came away with the W."

Said Huntington Prep head coach Rob Fulford: "On offense we have so many guys that can score that we really focus on sharing the ball."

There were plenty of points to go around. Senior Elijah Macon (West Virginia) scored 30 points in the two wins, while Javontae Hawkins (South Florida) added 27. Huntington Prep also features a pair of Missouri recruits in Stefan Jankovic and Negus Webster-Chan.

Junior guard Xavier Rathan-Mayes, who had 20 points against Middletown, has 12 offers including Texas, Arizona, UConn, Illinois and Marquette.

Trotwood and Middletown stood little chance. Despite holding 26-point halftime leads in both games, Huntington Prep really did its damage in the second half, outscoring the Rams and Middies 93-32 in the third and fourth quarters.

"Middletown and Trotwood are very good teams," Fulford said. "But our defense was the best it's been all year."

As for what college has the upper hand in landing Wiggins, that's one thing he's keeping quiet about.

"I'm not really focused on recruiting right now," Wiggins said. "I'm letting my coaches and my mom and dad take care of all that."

Wiggins is being pursued by "basically everybody in the country."

Also Sunday…

Taft (Cincinnati) 82, St. Vincent-St. Mary (Akron, Ohio) 74
Adolphus Washington's future includes the defensive line at Ohio State University. If he were just a few inches taller, he might have been a Buckeye basketball recruit. Washington, a 6-6, 250-pound post scored 30 points as the Senators, Ohio's defending Division III champions, beat SVSM, the 2011 D-II titlist. The Irish were led by senior forward Lorenzo Cugini (High Point commit) who poured in 29 points.

Washington made 11 of 14 shots and was 8-for-11 from the free throw line for the No. 3-ranked team in the JJHuddle D-II Ohio Power Poll. He had nine rebounds, two assists and a steal before fouling out mid-fourth quarter.

Taft (6-4) dominated on the glass (35-20 rebounding edge) and in second-chance points (27-12).

Orlando Berry II (20 points) and Jalean Lowe (13) also reached double figures for the Senators, whose starters scored 78 of 82 points.

Senior guard D.J. Blanks added 21 points for SVSM (6-5), ranked No. 5 in the JJHuddle D-II Power Poll.

The two could meet again in the D-II state championship.

HCYA North (Houston) 65, Springboro (Ohio) 58
Led by standout sophomore guard Justin Jackson, HCYA broke open a two-point game at halftime with a 23-11 third quarter. Jackson, a 6-7 specimen who was the 2011 Maravich Award Winner (National Home School Player of the Year) as a freshman, scored 21 points to go with six rebounds, four assists and two steals in 32 minutes. Other contributors for HYCA included senior Jon Allen (16 points), junior TJ Rhodes (11 points and four assists) and senior forward and Houston recruit Danrad Knowles (10 points, seven rebounds and three steals).

Springboro (10-2) was originally scheduled to play Morgan Park (Ill.), but MP dropped out Friday after school officials denied the team's travel itinerary. Junior post Maverick Morgan (6-10) led the Panthers with 14 points and eight rebounds. Junior guard Ryan Murray had 12 points.

Cleveland Heights (Ohio) 74, Northmont (Clayton, Ohio) 68
Cleveland Heights opened the fourth quarter with a 24-11 run and then held off Northmont to remain unbeaten. The Tigers, ranked No. 10 in the JJHuddle D-I Ohio Power Poll, trailed 48-47 after three quarters.

Heights (10-0) shot a dismal 13-for-29 from the free throw line and 3 of 15 from 3-point range, but was saved by its reserves. Led by senior sub Kevin Clark (17 points and 11 rebounds), the Tigers' bench outscored Northmont 32-3. Senior guard Najeeb Johnson led Heights with 19 points.

Northmont (8-3) shot 57 percent from 3 (8 of 14) and 80 percent from the line (8-for-10) but couldn't overcome crucial fourth quarter mistakes. Junior guard Dominique Stallings led the T-Bolts with 22 points (hit 5 of 7 3s), while senior guard Devon Carter added 20. Senior forward Jamal Trammell added nine points and 13 rebounds. Stallings had 10 boards and three blocks.

St. Ignatius (Cleveland) 57, Wayne (Huber Heights, Ohio) 51
St. Ignatius outscored Wayne 16-8 in the second quarter to take a lead it would never relinquish en route to improving to 7-1. Wayne fell to 4-8.

St. Ignatius outscored Wayne 21-7 from the free throw line and put four players in double figures: seniors Brian Joseph (11 points) and Jack Tupa (13) and juniors Derek Sloan (10) and Alec Papesch (17). Sloan added 12 rebounds.

Wayne, which hit eight 3-pointers, was paced by senior Malcolm Pittman's game-high 22 points. Freshman D'Mitrik Trice added 11.

Miami East (Casstown, Ohio) 34, Fairmont (Kettering, Ohio) 32
Miami East pulled off a bit of an upset with a last-second win over host Fairmont. The Vikings, a D-III school, beat the D-I Firebirds thanks in part to senior guard Bradley Coomes, whose lay-in at the buzzer lifted East to victory. Coomes finished the game with a team-high 13 points (seven free throws).

Miami East (11-2) outrebounded Fairmont 20-15 and both teams hit 12 of 30 shots from the field.

Senior guard Jacob Roalef scored 16 points for Fairmont (5-7), which hit just 5 of 11 free throws.