It was the featured game of this week's exciting Hoop Hall West event @ Chaparral High School, as #3 ranked Hillcrest Prep (By USA Today) faced #5 ranked Prolific Prep (CA). Televised nationally on ESPN 2, the game's atmosphere was electric as loads of national media flooded the score table in an attempt to gain an excellent view of the action on Thursday night. Unfortunately for Hillcrest and the many media, scouts and fans in attendance, the game would get out of hand early behind an onslaught by the nation's top overall senior prospect Jalen Green.
Green is a definite future NBA star and he more than proved it in this monster match-up between two of the nation's elite prep programs. Green would absolutely go off in the game's first half - pumping in a team-high 18 points on some terrific shooting from long range, that made it difficult for Hillcrest Prep to get anything going. Green was more than up for the challenge and played with a high level of intensity and confidence.
When Green wasn't pouring in three-pointers and mid-range jump shots, his terrific backcourt teammate, 6-foot-3 senior guard Nimari Burnett (Texas Tech signee) was catching fire as well. Burnett seemed to also not miss in the game's first half, as he finished with 12 points. Prolific shared the basketball well and got a well-balanced defensive and offensive team effort from their team, while Hillcrest Prep struggled to get good shots in their offense, and were unable to get out on shooters or get back defensively in transition.
Prolific would take a huge 51-27 lead into halftime.
Hillcrest Prep would fight hard in the game's second half to overcome the tremendous shooting in the first half by Prolific Prep, and would narrow the lead by a great deal, but would run out of gas. The first half shooting and scoring exhibition of Green and his focused teammates would be too much to overcome, as Prolific would cruise to a 88-71 victory, behind a game-high 33 points from Jalen Green.
Hillcrest Prep will have another opportunity to perform on a loaded Saturday evening @ the Hoop Hall, as they will conclude the event with a match-up with Hamilton Heights Christian Academy (TN).
