Osun Osunniyi 2018 |
Putnam Science Academy wins 2018 Nationanl Prep Championship |
Putnam Science Academy won the first national championship in school history on Thursday night with a 74-66 overtime win over Northfield Mount Hermon.
The Mustangs trailed 33-19 at the half but fought all the way back to advance to overtime when
Kyle Lofton blocked a potential game winning three-pointer for NMH at the end of regulation. That defensive stand came following a huge three from
Jose Perez to even the score with under a minute to play in the half.
Osun Osunniyi took MVP honors, scoring 27 points in the final, while being a menace on the defensive end and the glass all weekend long thanks to his length and athleticism. His frontcourt mates
Akok Akok and
Josh Mballa stepped up at various points in the week as well as Putnam scored hard fought wins over Scotland Campus Sports and Woodstock Academy (another overtime decision) just to reach the final.
DeMarr Langford was an equally important contributor on the perimeter, as he played major minutes down the stretch thanks to his ability to lock down on the defensive end and secure long rebounds.
OSUN is they type of player we should have signed 12 months ago
2ND TEAM ALL-NEW ENGLAND
Jaiden Delaire, 6’9” Wing, Loomis
Nick Timberlake, 6’4” PG/Wing, Kimball Union
Akok Akok, 6’9” Wing/Big, Putnam Science
Dana Tate, 6’7” Wing, MacDuffie
Cormac Ryan, 6’5” PG/Wing, Milton
Osun Osunniyi, 6’11” Big, Putnam Science
Miles Norris, 6’10” Wing, Brewster
AJ Reeves, 6’6” Wing, Brimmer & May
Mika Adams-Woods, 6’4” PG/Wing, New Hampton
Daniel Buie, 6’4” PG/Wing, Gould
Notes: Osunniyi unselfishly stuck to his role as a rim protector throughout the regular season but really burst onto the scene in the postseason. The Lasalle-commit finished his prep season with a dominant 27-point, 13-rebound, 6-block performance against NMH in the National Championship Game. As far as ceiling is concerned, Osunniyi may own one of the highest in the 2018 class and will step into an Atlantic-10 conference devoid of a force of his nature….Timberlake finished his lone season in the NEPSAC by scoring over 620 points on the season and averaging 24 points per game. His recruitment has ticked up a bit but he remains one of the most under recruited players in New England….Buie, a 2019 prospect, strong-armed the NEPSAC to the tune of 25pts/6ast/4reb/2.5stl in his first season at Gould. Buie remains under-the-radar recruit but at the rate he’s producing and the level of play he’s doing it against, that should change very soon….Delaire was sidelined until January with an injury but made the most of his season once he returned. The versatile and ever-improving 6’9” wing averaged 21.3pts/7.4reb/2.5ast while leading Loomis to the #1-seed in the A playoffs. By the time the NEPSAC playoffs rolled around, Delaire was back to full health and the results were almost scary. He was recently named Connecticut’s Gatorade Player of the Year.