For Hamilton Heights’ three major-college basketball signees, Saturday night’s 67-49 blowout against Arlington of Memphis was all about on-court time efficiency.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker scored a game-high 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting with six rebounds in just 14 minutes, 45 seconds of playing time.
Therren Shelton-Szmidt put up 13 points in 17:12.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander added 11 points, missing just one shot in six attempts, four rebounds and nine assists in 20:52.
A packed house at Bolton High School got an eyeful of the three Canadian standouts in the second day of the Penny Hardaway Hoopfest.
The one-sided victory helped the Hawks improve their season record to 15-4. Hamilton Heights next plays at Knoxville Christian School on Tuesday.
Mahamadou Diawara, a 6-foot-9 sophomore from Mali, matched Walker’s six rebounds as the Hawks had a 34-30 edge on the boards.
Hamilton Heights was in control from the opening tip to the final buzzer. The Hawks raced to a 10-0 lead less than 3 minutes into the game and Walker’s 3-pointer gave them a 21-2 advantage in the first period.
It was all downhill for the Tigers (7-9).
At halftime, Arlington trailed 36-17.
Tre Edwards came off the bench to score four quick points, pushing the Hawks’ margin to 55-25 with 33 seconds left in the third period.
The Hawks shot 49.2 percent (29 of 59) from the floor, but inside-the-arc accuracy was a sizzling 65.7 percent (23 of 35).
Hamilton Heights’ defense held the Tigers to 19-of-52 shooting (36.5 percent).
Sam Wiseman paced Arlington with 16 points. He was 4-of-7 on 3-pointers. Garrett Golday added 12 points and Ray Price finished with 11 points and nine rebounds.
LINESCORE
Hamilton Heights 24 12 19 12 – 67
Arlington 6 11 8 24 – 49
Hamilton Heights (67) – Nickeil Alexander-Walker 18, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 11, Rawls 8, Massengill 3, Edwards 4, Samake, Therren Shelton-Szmidt 13, Diawara 8, Panzo 2, Jitoboh, Ezeagu.
Arlington (49) – Miller 3, Maclin, Sam Wiseman 16, Brewer, Ray Price 11, L. Wiseman 7, Gentry, Garrett Golday 12, Sims.
3-Point Goals – Hamilton Heights 6 (Walker 2, Rawls 2, Alexander 1, Szmidt 1), Arlington 6 (S. Wiseman 4, Miller 1, Price 1).
(Contact Larry Fleming at larryfleming44@gmail.com and on Twitter @larryfleming44)