**Click here for video interviews with Tamir Jackson and Lamar Patterson.
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Pittsburgh-bound forward Lamar Patterson played his best game since coming to St. Benedict’s Prep and the Gray Bees downed Marietta (Ga.) Wheeler 77-67 at the Hoophall Classic.
Patterson, a 6-foot-5 senior from Lancaster, Pa., tallied 19 points and 13 rebounds to help St. Benedict’s, No. 4 in the RivalsHigh 100, remain undefeated (17-0) on the season.
“Lamar came to St. Benedict’s to get himself prepared for Pittsburgh,” Gray Bees coach Dan Hurley said. “Pittsburgh is one of the hardest-playing teams in the country. We’ve been talking to him for four months about getting into the type of shape that he needs to play at to be a Big East-level recruit, and today he looked like a Big East-level recruit.”
Said Patterson: “I worked so hard, so I had no choice but to get in shape.”
Texas-bound junior wing Tristan Thompson added a game-high 20 points and 13 rebounds and Rice-bound guard Tamir Jackson talliled 17 points, hitting 3-of-8 from beyond the arc. St. Ben’s outrebounded Wheeler 42-33.
“It feels great because this is one of the teams that are good enough to take us down,” Patterson said. “We came out there and showed them that we can play with them.”
Phil Taylor, a 5-9 junior guard, led Wheeler with 18 points. 6-8 N.C. State-bound forward Richard Howell scored 16 points and Wake Forest commit Ari Stewart scored 13.
Hurley said this year’s team was younger and more uptempo than last year’s, but he’s happy to be undefeated.
“Last year we had the two best four and five men in New Jersey [Samardo Samuels and Greg Echenique], including Seton Hall and Rutgers,” Hurley said. “And those guys were just great players that just made teams want to quit because they were so big and strong and skilled.
“Then we lost three starters, a point guard and two inside guys, and we replaced them with sophomores and juniors and I couldn’t be happier.”
(Photo courtesy Mike Scanlan)
