2024 John Wall Holiday Invitational Day 3 Recap
December 29, 2024 by Tex Greene
The John Wall Holiday Invitational is well underway, with top talent from all over America converging on Broughton High School. Below is a recap of all the matchups from the third day of play:
Sidwell Friends Narrowly Defeats Clayton, 55-54
Sidwell Friends avenged their loss against Southern Durham by defeating Clayton by a single point. Eric Green and Caleb Gillus came up big in the win, as Sidwell Friends outscored Clayton by three points in the fourth quarter for the win.
On Clayton’s side, Andrew Grimes had a much better performance than in his first game, as he went for 14 points while shooting 4-for-9 from three. Khaleil Walters and Aiden Smalls also had solid games, helping to keep it as close for Clayton as it was.
Green Level Cruises By Millbrook, 57-45
Green Level had a much better day against Millbrook, as they won by 12 points. Trevor Manhertz had one of his best games to date for Green Level, going for 29 points on good efficiency. Per usual, Isaac Ericksen also had a good game, as the Illinois State commit scored 14 points and pulled in eight rebounds. Millbrook’s Ashton King (13p, 6r) was the lone bright spot as the team struggled to score in the second half.
Knightdale Beats Northern Nash, 54-47
Knightdale came away with a seven point win over Northern Nash in one of the earlier games of the day. Isaiah Green starred once again, leading Knightdale with 14 points and a ridiculous six steals. Brandon Adams’ 13 points also came in handy for the Knightdale win, especially in the 4th quarter.
Northern Nash would’ve had a much easier time in this game if it wasn’t for an injury to CJ Rosser. The #1 recruit in 2027 tweaked his ankle, and only played 15 minutes (which was already more than he was expected to play). Hopefully, he’ll recover quickly and continue having a dominant season.
John Marshall Runs Past Southern Durham, 82-68
John Marshall continued their dominant run on Day Three of the Wall, as they rolled by Southern Durham. By halftime, Marshall was up by nine, and they stayed up for the entire game. However, Southern Durham didn’t go out without a fight; Butler commit Jackson Keith had 17 points, and freshman Antoine Morman Jr shined, dropping 27 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists.
Now, John Marshall has advanced to the tournament final for the Coby White bracket, against Highland and Nate Ament.
Christ School Blows Out Grace Christian, 67-31
Christ School got off to a hot start against Grace Christian. With their uber-aggressive defense and multiple hot-hand guards on the perimeter, the Greenies found themselves up by 10 at the end of the first quarter. The Eagles wouldn’t go down without a fight, however; Michael Phillips showed just how good he is at knocking down threes and blocking shots. His statistical impact wasn’t massive, but his presence on both ends of the court was obvious. 8th grader Eli Nelson was also a crowd favorite, as he handled the ball well and nailed a huge three.
The 2nd half was more of the same; the Eagles would have a few highlights every now and then, but it was always Christ School’s game. The Greenies finished up by 36, and easily won the four-team TJ Warren bracket.
Highland Cruises Past Westchester, 62-40
Highland and top senior Nate Ament had quite the day, as they defeated Westchester by 22 points. Ament led Highland, finishing with 12 points, 13 rebounds, and 3 blocks. The game was neck in neck through the first half, but then Highland pulled away, holding Westchester to seven and nine point quarters respectively. The second half of this game may have been easy for Highland, but now, they’ll have to prepare to play top ranked John Marshall in the Coby White bracket championship.
Reidsville Rocks Caldwell After Shaky Start, 63-49
Caldwell vs. Reidsville was without a doubt the best matchup of the tournament. The game was incredible, and not what anyone predicted either. The game opened with a 16-3 run from Caldwell, with Jaylen Cross and Cole Cloer shooting the hyde off the ball. It was 22-10 at the end of the first quarter, but then, Reidsville started to close the gap. A sequence that saw two dunks from Kendre Harrison and big shots from Cloer got the crowd on their feet, and brought goosebumps to certain media members.
In the second half, Reidsville brought the game back within reach, and jumped out to a three-point lead midway through the 3rd quarter. After more back and forth, Reidsville continued extending the lead, with a deep three from Johnniyus Sharpe at the end of the 3rd making it 49-40. During the 4th quarter, Reidsville continued to lead, and ran off a lot of clock. With Harrison’s dunks and Dionte Neal’s lights-out shooting, Reidsville won by 14.
Cold Hearts Storm Past Garner, 65-45
In not too much of a surprise, the Overtime Elite Cold Hearts defeated Garner High School by 20 points, and are the Morgan Stanley Bracket Champions. The team was led by Oklahoma commit Kai Rogers, who dropped 18 points and 12 rebounds.
The Cold Hearts really put the nail in the coffin with their incredible 3rd quarter, in which they outscored Garner 23-4. Now, they’ll return to Overtime Elite league play, and hope to turn their losing season around.