Hargrave Military Academy traveled to New Haven, Connecticut to participate in the National Prep Showcase this past weekend. The event is known for drawing the best talent in the country on the Prep side, as evidenced by a field that sported 9 of the top 10 teams in the country according to the most recent polls. The Tigers entered the event ranked #1 and solidified their position with two convincing wins over #9 Commonwealth Academy (MA) on Friday and #7 South Kent School (CT) on Saturday.
#1 Hargrave Military Academy 100, #9 Commonwealth Academy 79
Brandon Knapper (West Virginia commit) dominated the game from start to finish, scoring a game-high 31 points on 7 for 9 three point shooting. Knapper also mixed in 6 assists, 2 steals and 8 deflections as he was a thorn in the side of the Commonwealth guards all night. Naji Marshall (Xavier commit) continued his strong play with an efficient 18 points on 8 for 13 shooting to go along with 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals in the contest. The team as a whole had one of its better shooting nights of the season, connecting on 65% of their field goal attempts. Knapper and Marshall’s performances got them national recoginition from a number of scouting services that were on hand for the event.
#1 Hargrave Military Academy 106, #7 South Kent School 88
Once again, the combination of Brandon Knapper and Naji Marshall was simply too much to handle. Marshall led all scorers with 34 points on 14 for 19 shooting, including 3 3-pointers, 5 rebounds and five assists. Knapper has 22 points of his own and also chipped in with 7 assists. Braxton Beverly (12 points, 10 assists) and Iran Bennett (13 points, 11 rebounds) also logged double-doubles on the national stage.
