BROOKFIELD - There wasn't an empty seat at Brookfield Central High School Saturday evening for the NY2LA Sports Classic. Of course, that's expected when arguably the top prospect in the 2020 and 2021 classes, Jalen Johnson and Patrick Baldwin Jr., respectively, squared off on the same court.
Following are observations, notes and evaluations from the three games:
Overall game observations
Homestead 79, Brown Deer 61
I wasn't totally dialed into this one, but Homestead has a nice one-two punch in 2020 forward Declan Ciurlik and 2019 guard Ryan Waddell. Both picked up MVP honors after the Highlanders' win over Brown Deer. Sophomore forward Jeremiah Dotson is an intriguing player for the Falcons.
Brookfield Central 72, La Crosse Central 49
Brookfield Central led La Crosse Central, 34, 26, in a back-and-forth contest before heading into locker room. But this game turned at the start of the second half when Jordan Davis picked up his third foul. The junior from La Crosse Central did a nice job defending Lancers' lightning-quick point guard Gage Malensek, who is headed to Truman State, in the first half.
Brookfield Central was on fire from deep all night. Sophomore Ben Nau connected on seven 3-point shots and finished with a game-high 23 points. Top Wisconsin target Jonathan Davis struggled to get in any sort of rhythm in the second half and was frustrated with two charging calls the Lancers drew against him.
Nicolet 78, Sussex Hamilton 70
This one certainly lived up the the hype. Baldwin Jr. and Johnson defended each other out of the gates, and I would say the sophomore just slightly outperformed the junior in the first half. But in the second frame, Nicolet put Jamari Sibley, who is a bit longer, on Baldwin Jr., which proved to be an effective adjustment.
Behind Johnson, who finished with 30 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, Nicolet erased an eight-point half-time deficit to secure the victory. Baldwin Jr. finished with 21 points in the loss.
Evaluations
