By Kai Raymer (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Even the star-studded teams can get some stage fright.
A big crowd, good competition and an NBA legend sitting courtside will do that.
But after a shaky start, Link Academy (Branson, Mo.) came to life in the second half and cruised to a 74-52 win over St. Rita (Chicago) in Thursday’s Bass Pro Tournament of Champions opening round.
The Lions, who went scoreless for the first 3:30 of the contest, outscored St. Rita by 17 in the second half to pull away.
“All in all, I thought we played really hard from tip to tap,” said Link Academy coach Bill Armstrong. “In the first half, you could see that we had some jitters and weren’t ourselves.
“These guys just play so hard. They put in the work every day, sometimes two times a day. Eventually, I know their preparation is going to show. It seems like the first game of each event or tournament, we play that way. Then, we get settled in.”
Ja’Kobe Walter, a five-star Baylor signee, helped Link Academy find its groove.
Walter led four Lions in double figures with 18 points. He shot 4-for-6 from 3-point range on a night where much of the Lions’ scoring came on dunks and layups.
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Link Academy, a first-year entrant in the Tournament of Champions, is competing in just its second year as a high school team.
“When I took this job, this is what everyone in Branson was talking about,” Armstrong said of the tournament. “I had never been here before, but I had assistants on my staff come back and talk about it. You’re thinking, ‘Okay, right.’ I’ve been in a lot of big college basketball games, and this is as good of an atmosphere as you’re going to find. For a high school basketball tournament, it’s the best in the country.”
Said Walker: “This definitely lived up to the hype. I knew it would be a big crowd, but when I actually walked out and saw the crowd, I was super excited. This is what I was looking forward to.”
Adding to the spectacle: Former NBA superstar Carmelo Anthony watched the first half of Link Academy-St. Rita from a courtside seat.
Anthony’s son, Kiyan, is a reserve for Christ The King (Middle Village, N.Y.), which won its opening-round game over Bartlett (Tennessee). Carmelo watched that game from start to finish.
“These guys grew up playing high-level AAU tournaments, so they’ve seen all the stars,” Armstrong said. “But still, and I’ve seen a lot of them myself, to see Carmelo sitting there courtside and intensely watching the game, knowing we’ll play against his son if our team wins, it brings out the kid in you to be excited.”
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Link Academy faces Christ The King in the semifinals at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Great Southern Bank Arena.
The Lions advanced to the semis with defense. Link Academy held St. Rita to just 18-for-47 shooting from the field overall, including 3-for-12 on 3-point attempts. St. Rita finished with 21 turnovers in the loss.
“We started out slow in the first half,” said Link Academy guard B.J. Davis, who scored 11. “Coming out in the second half, we had to really sit down and guard. That took it from there and got us going.”
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Link Academy 74, St. Rita 52
St. Rita 10 14 16 12 – 52
Link Academy 14 15 26 19 – 74
St. Rita – Nojus Indrusaitis 16, James Brown 14, Nashawn Holmes 9, Morez Johnson 8, Amari Edwards 3, Jordan Chandler 2
Link Academy – Ja’Kobe Walker 18, Aaron Rowe 11, B.J. Davis 11, Cade Phillips 10, R’chaun King 8, Corey Chest Jr. 8, Elliot Cadeau 5, Cameron Carr 3
