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Nifty Fifty: Randle puts on scoring showcase against Nolan
BY Matt Welch, mwelch@acnpapers.com
If his two-and-a-half years of varsity basketball are any indication, Prestonwood Christian Academy junior Julius Randle can score with the best in the state and nation.
But Tuesday night's showing against Fort Worth Nolan may have been the forward's most imposing display yet, dropping 50 points on the Vikings to commandeer a 94-63 victory for the No. 1 private school team in the state.
"We just did a great job of running our offense," said Chris Mayberry, Prestonwood head coach. "We honestly didn't run anything special for Julius and [Nolan] pretty much played zone the entire night. It was just a lot of high-low and staying within our offense, and Julius got the ball a ton under the basket and was able to finish."
"I think it's difficult no matter what you play against Julius," Mayberry said. "When he and (senior) Zach Peters get around the rim, it's just tough to stop them at any level. They may have tried to sag down on him a bit more, but we were able to hit some threes to counter that."
Despite Randle's offensive onslaught, the Lions actually had to weather a 20-17 deficit after one quarter. But after steadily regrouping to amass a 43-38 halftime lead, the Lions broke loose and outscored the Vikings, 51-25, in the second half.
"With us, it's all about the effort level on defense," Mayberry said. "We didn't have good effort in the first half and when they came out in the third quarter and started defending, they were able to do whatever they wanted to and create offense off our defense."
Freshman Mickey Mitchell tallied 13 points in the win, while junior Marquan Botley and Peters each scored nine as Prestonwood improved to 16-3.
A 7:30 p.m. tipoff at Bishop Lynch awaits the Lions on Friday, with a quick turnaround for Saturday evening, when Prestonwood travels to Springfield, Mass., to take on revered Oak Hill Academy.
At 25-0, Oak Hill ranks No. 2 in the nation according to ESPNHS.
"We've seen [Oak Hill] on film and they're definitely one of the best teams in the nation," Mayberry said. "They have great guard play along with having some great post guys. I think they've got nine or 10 Division I kids total.
"Typically this year, our guys have come to play when they're against the best, so hopefully this will be a good opportunity to go out there, work hard and make a statement."
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