Bol Bol comes off the bench to lead Findlay Prep past St. Paul in Chick-fil-A Classic
Findlay Prep coach Paul Washington Sr. made it known early that playing time isn’t guaranteed despite the Pilots’ lofty rankings in the national polls.
Washington brought Bol Bol, the No. 3 ranked player in the 2018 class by 247 Sports, off the bench in Findlay Prep’s 84-62 victory Thursday afternoon against St. Paul at the Chick-fil-A Classic.
It’s the first time that’s happened this season, and Washington was pleased with the result. Bol, the 7-foot-3 Oregon commitment, was efficient by scoring 24 points with nine rebounds in 15 minutes.
“To me, he’s just one of 12 players. It’s important that he understands this is a team and you have to play hard all the time and he showed tonight he can play hard,” Washington said. “No minutes here for anybody is given, they’re all earned, so he earned those 15 minutes tonight.”
Bol, the son of former NBA star Manute Bol, was OK with coming off the bench. He made the most of his minutes against Paul VI, the 20th ranked team in the country by USA Today.
“I was just excited to play, so when I got out there I wanted to play as hard as I could,” Bol said.
It wasn’t just the Bol show. The Pilots are ranked No. 4 by USA Today and showed why. Texas Tech commitment Kyler Edwards added 15 points and six assists, Arkansas commitment Reggie Chaney scored 14 points and Jack Schwietz provided another spark off the bench with 12 points and three steals.
Findlay Prep shot 63.6 percent for the game and a blistering 73.9 percent in the second half.
“We’re a really balanced team,” Washington said. “We can shoot the ball, yet we have 7-footers. Our philosophy is to play inside-out. That’s what we strive to do. If we do that, they double inside, then we can knock down the jumper. This game, we had it clicking.”
The Pilots have two other Division I recruits – Connor Vanover, another 7-foot-3 post player, who is committed to Memphis and Nathan Mensah, a San Diego State commit.
The Pilots will face IMG Academy, the No. 8 team ranked by USA Today, at 5:25 pm Friday. IMG Academy defeated Huntington Prep, the No. 9 team in the country, 74-71 in overtime earlier on Thursday.
“It’s a lot of great teams,” Bol said. “Hopefully, we can play good and beat IMG (Saturday) and maybe play Oak Hill. It’s a really hard tournament. Every game is a tough one.”
Gray Collegiate’s Juwan Gary won the Slam Dunk Contest over Keldon Johnson of Oak Hill. They both had perfect scores of 30 in the finals, but Gary won the dunk-off with another score of 30.
Trey Wertz of Providence Day School won the Three-Point Shootout by scoring 13 points in the final. He scored 16 in the first round. He narrowly edged out Josiah Freeman for the championship.
FP – Bol Bol 24, Kyler Edwards 15, Reggie Chaney 14, Jack Schwietz 12, Moss 8, Mensah 4, Glendenning 3, Jones III 2, Smith 2. P – Brandon Slater 27, Jeremy Roach 11, Anthony Harris 10, Robinson 6, Freeman 5, Keels 2, Latimer 1.
Providence Day School (NC) 86, Westside (GA) 74
PDS – Devon Dotson 29, Isaac Suffren 24, Trey Wertz 23, Wood 3, Brighton 3, Miralia 2, Kintzinger 2. W – Khavon Moore 25, Greg Holloway 18, Taylor 9, Jones 8, Anderson 6, Reeves 3, Balkcom 3, Booker 2.
Cox Mill (NC) 70, Corner Canyon (UT) 51
CM – Wendell Moore 31, Rechon Black 15, Hall 7, Stone-Carrawell 5, Cline 3, Bynum 3, Davis 2, Baruti 2, Harding 2. CC – Gabe Toombs 19, Hayden Welling 10, Mitchell 5, Emery 4, Jensen 3, Miller 3, Ross 3, Christensen 2, Warnock 2.
IMG Academy (FL) 74, Huntington Prep (WV) 71 OT
HP – Jaemyn Brakefield 19, Cashius McNeilly 13, Michael Christmas 11, Jonathan Kuminga 10, Price 8, James 4, Nwuba 2, McGriff 2, Okpomo 2. IMG – Silvio de Sousa 27, Noah Farrakhan 17, Darius Days 15, Green 9, Ramsey 6.
Oak Hill (VA) 87, Cannon School (NC) 65
CS – Jairus Hamilton 32, Qon Murphy 17, Alex Cox 13, Parker 3. OH – Keldon Johnson 18, Will Richardson 16, Maurice Calloo 14, Keyontae Johnson 12, David McCormack 10, Kayouloud 6, Hemmings 4, Johnson 4, Mack 3.
Prolific Prep (CA) 71, Westtown (PA) 54
PP – Jeenathon Williams 24, Jordan Brown 15, Sekou Toure 11, Eyisi 8, Sow 6, Koroma 4, Jankovic 3. W – Cam Reddish 23, T.J. Berger 12, Forrester 9, Gaffney 5, Kpann 3, Eichelberger 2.
Blythewood 85, United Faith Christian (NC) 67
UFC – Jaylen Sims 28, Christopher Hill 10, Swilling 9, Canty 8, Hankton 8, Springs 2, Jenkins 2. B – Tre Jackson 25, Robert Braswell 21, Jonathan Breeland 17, Travis Thompson 11, Squirewell 7, Williams 4.
York Prep 67, Thomasville (GA) 56
YP – Jaron Williams 20, DJ Burns 16, Dean 9, Dow 9, D. Williams 7, Wright 6. T – Reggie Perry 29, Thomas 6, McQueen 6, Wallace 4, Woolbright 4, Davis 3, Wright 2, Barnhill 2,
A.C. Flora 53, Hammond 51
H – Jordan Burch 16, Cleo Canty 11, Isaiah Washington 11, Green 6, Lipsitz 5, Prickett 2. ACF – Diamante Brown 16, Nasir Boyce 11, Foulks 8, Mobley 5, Sinkler 4, Riley 4, Jamison 3, Iriel 2.
Chick-fil-A Classic
Friday Schedule
Main Gym
2:20 Thomasville (GA) vs Hammond
3:50 Providence Day School (NC) vs Cox Mill (NC)
5:25 IMG Academy (FL) vs Findlay Prep (NV)
7:00 Oak Hill (VA) vs Prolific Prep (CA)
8:30 Porter Gaud vs Gray Collegiate
Auxiliary Gym
1:50 Westside (GA) vs Corner Canyon (UT)
3:20 Cannon School (NC) vs Westtown (PA)
4:55 Huntington Prep (WV) vs Paul VI (VA)
6:25 Richland Northeast vs United Faith Academy (NC)
8:00 Lower Richland vs Keenan
This story was originally published December 21, 2017 at 10:03 PM with the headline "Bol Bol comes off the bench to lead Findlay Prep past St. Paul in Chick-fil-A Classic."