Porter's Dunks, 35 Points Cap Night
By Colby Gordon
Blue Valley Northwest simply ran out of time.
Attempting to pull off an improbable comeback from a 46-29 deficit entering the fourth quarter, the Huskies came up short, falling to Father Tolton Catholic and star recruit, Michael Porter Jr., 58-53, Saturday in the feature game of the 810 Varsity Best of the Midwest Showcase at Johnson County Community College.
An extra minute, and the Huskies may have completed the comeback, or at least forced overtime, a common occurrence in the event’s six earlier games.
BV Northwest did have a chance to tie, Darien Jackson’s three-point attempt with 15 seconds left and the Huskies trailing 56-53 banging off the front of the rim, the rebound being corralled by Porter Jr., his 22nd of the night.
Porter Jr., who poured in a sensational 35 points and is listed as the No. 3 recruit in the nation for 2017 by rivals.com, clinched the game at the free-throw line, calmly hitting two shots and sending the raucous and capacity crowd headed toward the exits.
“We’re used to playing in front of big crowds wherever we go and as a team we like playing in front of big crowds because we feed off the energy,” Porter Jr. said. “This was an exciting game and a fun game to play in. (Blue Valley Northwest) is a good team. They’ve got some good players.”
The game looked over headed into the fourth, with the Huskies down 17 after Porter put on a skills display in the third.
But BV Northwest came out a different team the final frame, scoring three straight baskets to open the quarter and serving notice to the Father Tolton that it wasn’t going down easily.
Jackson and Jackson Heath combined for all nine points on a 9-2 run that cut the Trailblazers lead to 48-38, and a basket by AJ Pleasant moments later cut the Husky deficit to single digits for the first time since early in the third.
“We actually got out and ran,” BV Northwest coach Ed Fritz said of his team’s fourth quarter. “We switched Darien to the point, that opened some things, and our press was effective.”
Father Tolton built its lead back up to 13 behind Porter before JaMychal Morgan scored three baskets in transition and Jackson hit a three to bring the Huskies within 56-51.
“They definitely sped us up in the fourth with their press,” Porter Jr. said.
BV Northwest produced a stop on the Trailblazers ensuing possession, then Jackson drew a foul on a drive to the lane, hitting two free throws with 49 seconds left to make the score 56-53 and sending the partisan Husky crowd into a frenzy.
Father Tolton missed two free throws on its next possession to set up BV Northwest’s game-tying attempt.
While his team could hardly have played better in the fourth, Fritz would like to have some parts of the game back.
“I’m really disappointed with how we came out,” he said. “We were timid and played intimidated. We didn’t box out and rebound like we’re capable of doing. We gradually played better as the game went along.”
Porter Jr. probably intimidates most of his opponents.
Standing at 6 feet 9, the junior will play at one of the top college basketball programs in the country two years from now only because the NBA has an age limit of 19.
He showed off his complete arsenal in the third quarter, making blocks, steals, full-court passes, long jump shots, handling the ball in transition and at one point even passing the ball off the backboard to himself for a dunk. He scored 14 of the Trailblazers 18 points in the quarter and helped them push their lead to as many as 20.
When asked what you do against a player like that, Fritz said: “You play hard and give a good effort. … Not too many teams have a guy 6-9 that you can just throw it up to to break a press.”
One player who wasn’t intimidated was Jackson. The junior led the Huskies with 22 points and drove the lane and challenged Porter and his brother, Jontay, another Division I recruit who approaches 7 feet, multiple times.
“It’s a challenge to attack the basket against them, and it’s fun playing against that type of competition,” Jackson said. “I’ve played against (Porter Jr.) all my life in AAU ball, so it was just like any other game I’ve played against him.”
Fritz, though, regrets not executing better and having the opportunity to hand Father Tolton its third loss of the season and first to a team from the midwest.
Another minute, though, and the Huskies just may have.
