UD Jesuit takes care of business. Puts a running clock on Lutheran North

The Catholic League Class A-B Quarterfinals took place at Marian High School, a sister school to Brother Rice.

The first of 4 games that took place at Marian High was the top seeded UD Jesuit Cubs taking on the Lutheran North Mustangs Mustangs.

This game was not expected to be very close and it certainly was not.

The Cubs have been one of the top teams in the state for years, and although there were concerns in preseason that this year's team would not be competitive, the Cubs put those worries to bed in recent weeks, going undefeated in season in the conference once again.

The first quarter was slow, as both teams seemed to be warming up to each other and the early start time (Noon). The most exciting moment of the quarter was the opening basket less than 10 seconds into the game. Zach Winston threw a lob to Daniel Friday to start the game, which might have been the best play of the day. The Cubs less 12-5 after 1.

The second quarter was when the floodgates opened. UDJ held North to just 2 points for the entire quarter, and the Cubs scored 22 points. Elijah Collins and Dan Friday began getting transition buckets, and the Cubs full court pressure was too much for the Mustangs to handle. Jalen Thomas also was filling the stat sheet for the Cubs. After 2, Jesuit led 34-7.

The 3rd and 4th quarters were more of the same, and the Cubs were able to give their reserves a ton of minutes. The starters were pulled about 4 minutes into the 3rd and never returned. Even so, the reserves took care of business and dominated the Mustangs.

UD Jesuit cruised to a 55-14 victory.

Daniel Friday led the Cubs with 10 points, 3 or 4 of his field goals came off of dunks in the first half. Elijah Collins had 8, including 1-2 dunks of his own. Zach Winston had had 7 points, 3 steals. Jalen Thomas had 5 points, 8 rebounds and 3 steals and J.T. Morgan had 4 points, 6 rebounds for UDJ.

Nobody for Lutheran North had more than 4 points.

Below are some quick notes on a handful of UDJ players:

Daniel Friday- 2019 6'4 CG

Friday is a freak athlete, and he put that on display in this one. He had 3 or 4 dunks. One of which was a Dominique Wilkins-esqe showtime reverse jam that was surprising to see. He also had a standing dunk that highlighted his freakish athleticism for his size. Friday also got after it on defense, where he got a couple of steals and assists off of those steals.

Jalen Thomas- 2019 6'10 C

Thomas was effective inside. He only blocked 1 shot, but altered several more and his presence alone made the Mustangs players throw up wild shots around the hoop. Thomas had both his buckets off of offensive putbacks as well, and he showed real nice touch around the rim on those buckets.

Elijah Collins- 2018 6'3 SG (MSU Football)

Collins used his physical gifts to bully the Lutheran North backcourt. He turned those turnovers into transition buckets for himself and others. He also showed off some bounce, getting a nice breakaway jam early on in the game. Collins had 8 points and 3 steals.

Zach Winston- 2018 6'2 SG

Winston is a known sniper from deep, but he really didn't even need to use it in this one. He made 1 three and had a few nice assists for others in the half court. Winston is one of the top available senior shooting guards in the state.

J.T. Morgan- 2020 6'6 F

Morgan is an intriguing prospect for the Cubs. He was the only player who gets any minutes in the main rotation that played in the 4th, and his size, combined with his fundamentals and discipline make him an intriguing prospect. He rebounded well and hit outlet passes for teammates to get easy buckets.