This past weekend, the Hargrave Post Graduate Basketball team opened up their season with a pair of victories in convincing fashion. The Tigers defended their home court and helped Head Coach Thomas Messinger earn his first two wins at the helm of this storied program.
Friday November 6th
Hargrave 141
Franklin Prep 67
Hargrave opened up their season in front of the 6th Man, the Hargrave Corps of Cadets (all socially distanced), by playing their frenetic, up-tempo style on both sides of the ball. In a year that has been anything but normal, it was encouraging to see and feel the energy in Walter Davis Gymnasium as the Tigers took the floor. An early run gave Hargrave a sizable lead and the Tigers never looked back. Their defense contributed with 25 steals which led to easy opportunities on the offensive end where the Tigers had 29 assists, paced by Tyler Beard (Chicago, IL) who had a team high 9 assists. Head Coach, Thomas Messinger, stated, “Tyler (Beard) was outstanding tonight as a leader. He showed the ability to distribute the ball and really helped put his teammates in position to have open looks in rhythm. The starters came out and set the tone early tonight and our bench came in with great energy. Jordan (Battle) and Ant (Perry) gave us a huge lift tonight. We’re learning how to play with pace on both sides of the ball and I’m really proud of our guys’ efforts tonight in this complete team victory.” Hargrave’s great passing resulted in a considerable amount of open shots as the Tigers shot close to 60% as a team. Jackie Johnson (Wichita, KS) tallied 28 points and Miles Kelly (Atlanta, GA) chipped in 22 points of his own. Hargrave knocked down 15 three pointers en route to their season opening 141-67 victory over Franklin Prep.
Notable Performances:
Jackie Johnson — 28 points (10-15 FG), 4 assists, 4 rebounds
Miles Kelly — 22 points (8-14 FG), 4 rebounds, 2 assists
Tyler Beard — 16 points (7-11 FG), 9 assists, 4 rebounds
Will Felton — 15 points (6-6 FG), 7 rebounds, 6 steals
Jordan Battle — 13 points (5-8 FG), 5 rebounds, 3 assists
Anthony Perry — 11 points (5-10 FG), 9 rebounds
Saturday November 7th
Hargrave 125
Experience Academy 72
Playing in a back to back is always challenging, especially early in the season, but the Tigers pushed through and utilized another early run to gain the initial advantage in their Saturday afternoon matinee against Experience Academy. Hargrave, again, showed the ability to play complete team basketball on the offensive end as they had 28 assists which led to another game with a high shooting percentage for the Tigers. The trio of Jackie Johnson (Wichita, KS), Grayson Honaker (Honaker, VA), and Miles Kelly (Atlanta, GA) combined to knock down 12 of Hargrave’s 16 made three pointers. Johnson also had a team-high 7 assists this afternoon while Tyler Beard (Chicago, IL) and IJ Ezuma (Raleigh, NC) both contributed with strong performances including a double-double for Ezuma. “Back to backs are always tough but I thought our group showed a great deal of resilience this afternoon,” remarked Head Coach Thomas Messinger. “Jackie (Johnson) was key in getting us started this afternoon with not only his ability to score but he was able to get his teammates involved. We’re continuing to build brick by brick and today we took another step forward as a group. We had some impressive individual performances over the past two games but I feel that our strengths are our team defense and our ball movement on the offensive side of the ball. This has been a fun team to coach and I’m looking forward to seeing our growth throughout this season!” The Tigers tallied 14 steals on the afternoon as they took down Experience Academy, 125-72 to move to 2-0 on the season.
Notable Performances:
Jackie Johnson — 24 points (8-13 FG, 5-9 3FG), 7 assists, 3 rebounds
Grayson Honaker — 19 points (7-13 FG, 5-9 3FG), 5 rebounds, 2 steals
Tyler Beard — 16 points (7-14 FG), 5 assists, 4 rebounds
Jordan Battle — 11 points (5-8 FG), 6 rebounds, 6 assists
IJ Ezuma — 10 points (3-5 FG), 11 rebounds, 4 steals, 2 blocks
The Tigers are slated to be back in action this coming weekend as they host Ridgeview Prep on Friday, November 13th followed by Aim High Academy on Saturday, November 14th. Tip-off times are at 7:00 PM and 4:00 PM respectively. Both games will be streamed on Hargrave’s YouTube channel at HMA Video.
