Final Score: Gold Beach 54 Amity 42
Gianni Altman is the real deal. A total of 30 points including five 3-pointers, but also spearheading a pressuring defense that Amity couldn’t handle for long stretches of the game.
Beyond that, however, there’s a lot to be desired. Dylan Middleton, Landyn Miller, Jake and Austin Westerman, and Nelson Wilstead are good complimentary pieces—to the level that a semifinal appearance is not out of the question—but when offensive sets aren’t hitting on the first option there’s a definite and troubling lack of motion and readily available scoring opportunities. Defensively they’re there, offensively the top end is there, but the second option–what they will inevitably have to lean on in Pendleton–is in question. Against Amity that is a winning formula, but against Salem Academy or any of the other 2A powers that will be a significant hurdle to overcome.
Amity works hard, and that will win them a lot of games, but the limitations, which at this point it isn’t unreasonable to assume are years-long projects, remain. Sickness ran through this roster in the last couple weeks and that showed at times when the fast pace of Gold Beach got to them, but that does not make up for what was–before late game angling narrowed the deficit–a blowout.
Leading Scorers: Gianni Altman (GB) 30, George Meeker (Amity) 11, Andrew Grove (Amity) 11, Dylan Middleton (GB) 9
