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With so much talent put together for this year’s Tournament of Champions, it seems easy to believe that St. James’ Clint McCullough could have flown under the radar as one of Kansas’ best prospects.
On Friday afternoon, the 6-foot-6 senior made sure the Hays defenders will never forget his name as the William Jewell signee went off for 27 points on 13-of-21 shooting as the Thunder rolled past the Indians 49-28.
It was a dominant performance all-around for St. James, as they effectively shut down the Hays perimeter attack, holding the Indians to a lowly 4-of-18 from the three-point line.
The first quarter was the closest of the four, as Hays jumped out to an early 3-0 lead thanks to a deep triple from Derek Bixeman, but that would be the last time the Indians would smell the lead.
That is when McCullough would take over, working the inside of the Hays defense, eating up the smaller defenders on the interior, grabbing offensive rebounds and finding clear sailing to the hoop.
The Thunder would exit the first period with a 10-8 lead thanks to airtight defense and effective shots from the St. James offense.
While the second quarter would remain in favor of the Thunder, Hays was refusing to go away, as Lane Clark hit one of his three treys, which accounted for all nine of his points.
However, the Indians would only shoot 28 percent in the first half, as the Thunder climbed to a six point lead by the intermission.
It would be more of the same for the Thunder in the second half, as they stretched their lead to double digits, but Clark once again answered with a long three-pointer to bring the Indians back within seven.
But that would be as close as it would get.
McCullough once again led the offensive charge for St. James, showcasing his outside game, knocking down his lone triple of the day to give the Thunder a 35-25 lead at the end of three.
Behind the stellar play of McCullough, the Thunder were pretty spread out scoring, as second leading score Tom Huppe finished with two points and three more players had four for head coach Mark Huppe’s squad.
The fourth quarter, just like the first three, belonged to the Thunder, who outscored Hays 14-3, holding the Indians to 23 percent shooting in the second half and 25 percent for the entire game.
For McCullough, he finished with 27, one short of the Hays team, as well as grabbing 10 rebounds, as the Thunder out-rebounded the Indians by nine.
As for Hays, they were led by Bixeman with 12 points and Clark, who used his three triples to wind up with nine.
With the victory, the Thunder pick up their first victory of the 2012 TOC and move onto the fourth place game at 2:30 p.m. to face-off with Manhattan, who cruised past Ulysses in the early game.
The Indians will play those Tigers at 1 p.m. in the seventh place contest.
With so much talent put together for this year’s Tournament of Champions, it seems easy to believe that St. James’ Clint McCullough could have flown under the radar as one of Kansas’ best prospects.
On Friday afternoon, the 6-foot-6 senior made sure the Hays defenders will never forget his name as the William Jewell signee went off for 27 points on 13-of-21 shooting as the Thunder rolled past the Indians 49-28.
It was a dominant performance all-around for St. James, as they effectively shut down the Hays perimeter attack, holding the Indians to a lowly 4-of-18 from the three-point line.
The first quarter was the closest of the four, as Hays jumped out to an early 3-0 lead thanks to a deep triple from Derek Bixeman, but that would be the last time the Indians would smell the lead.
That is when McCullough would take over, working the inside of the Hays defense, eating up the smaller defenders on the interior, grabbing offensive rebounds and finding clear sailing to the hoop.
The Thunder would exit the first period with a 10-8 lead thanks to airtight defense and effective shots from the St. James offense.
While the second quarter would remain in favor of the Thunder, Hays was refusing to go away, as Lane Clark hit one of his three treys, which accounted for all nine of his points.
However, the Indians would only shoot 28 percent in the first half, as the Thunder climbed to a six point lead by the intermission.
It would be more of the same for the Thunder in the second half, as they stretched their lead to double digits, but Clark once again answered with a long three-pointer to bring the Indians back within seven.
But that would be as close as it would get.
McCullough once again led the offensive charge for St. James, showcasing his outside game, knocking down his lone triple of the day to give the Thunder a 35-25 lead at the end of three.
Behind the stellar play of McCullough, the Thunder were pretty spread out scoring, as second leading score Tom Huppe finished with two points and three more players had four for head coach Mark Huppe’s squad.
The fourth quarter, just like the first three, belonged to the Thunder, who outscored Hays 14-3, holding the Indians to 23 percent shooting in the second half and 25 percent for the entire game.
For McCullough, he finished with 27, one short of the Hays team, as well as grabbing 10 rebounds, as the Thunder out-rebounded the Indians by nine.
As for Hays, they were led by Bixeman with 12 points and Clark, who used his three triples to wind up with nine.
With the victory, the Thunder pick up their first victory of the 2012 TOC and move onto the fourth place game at 2:30 p.m. to face-off with Manhattan, who cruised past Ulysses in the early game.
The Indians will play those Tigers at 1 p.m. in the seventh place contest.
