BRISTOL, Tenn. – Westminster Academy senior Jaylen Carey will play basketball in Virginia next season with James Madison University.
After Wednesday’s performance at Viking Hall, JMU fans must be having sweet dreams.
The 6-foot-9, 230-pound Carey delivered 17 points, eight rebounds and three assists as the Fort Lauderdale-based Westminster Academy Lions rolled to an 89-60 win over the Twin Springs Titans in the Arby’s Classic.
Carey had an extra boost of motivational fuel since JMU assistant coach Jon Cremins was in the house.
“I saw coach in the stands, so I wanted to show him what I’m going to bring to the table next year,” Carey said. “JMU started looking at me more after the Peach Jam tournament because I played well there. I’m ready to get up to college.”
Carey has groomed his skills by competing with the Nightrydas Elite squad on the Nike EYBL circuit. He is the son of longtime Miami Dolphins offensive lineman Vernon Carey Sr. and the brother of current Washington Wizards forward Vernon Carey Jr., who goes 6-10 and 270 pounds.
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“There is a little pressure there, but not too much,” Carey said. “Pressure has followed me whole life, and I just try not to pay attention to it.”
Most scouting reports for Caray have him listed at 260 pounds. But that number has been dropping on purpose.
“My coaches wanted me to lose some weight and put on muscle because I’m going to transition to the 3 or 4 position in college,” Caray said. “That’s where I really I want to play.”
The other standouts for Westminster included 6-7 sophomore forward DJ Wimbley (22 points), 6-3 sophomore guard Alex Lloyd (22 points) and 6-8 freshman Alexander Costanza, who contributed 15 points, eight rebounds and seven assists.
The Lions finished with 17 dunks for the game.
“When that first dunk goes down, we got more energy going and it gets us hyped to create steals on defense,” Carey said
Westminster built a 7-0 lead before Twin Springs seniors Bradley Owens and Connor Lane answered with 3-pointers.
Westminster coach Ehren Wallhoff was diligent in his pre-game scouting.
“We knew that (Twin Springs) had two really good shooters who helped carry them last season,” Wallhoff said. “We didn’t do a great job stopping them in the first half, but we’ve got athletes and we’re a pretty tough team when we get out a run. These guys can go.”
Westminster participated in the famed City of Palms Classic in Fort Myers, Florida, last week.
With a blend of dunks, offensive rebounds and trapping defense, the Lions led 25-12 after the first quarter and 51-30 at halftime. The 6-5 Owens supplied 18 of the points for the Titans.
“We knew it was going to be a tough matchup because Westminster is long and athletic,” TS coach Tyler Webb said. “We were hoping we could find some holes, but that defense covers a lot of ground.”
The 6-foot-9 Webb devised a clever approach to prepare for the Lions, and it involved 6-7 assistant coach Jared Finch.
“We went like 8 on 5 or 8 on 4 in practice to simulate their pressure and Coach Finch and I even got on the floor to help. But there’s no way to simulate what (Westminster) brings to the table in terms of strength and speed,” Webb said.
Twin Springs pulled with 51-36 at the 6:42 mark of the third quarter on a 3-pointer from 5-11 senior Brady Castle.
But Owens collected his fourth foul with 4:12 left in the third quarter and eventually fouled out after scoring 21 points.
“It was really fun to be out there,” Owens said. “This was a chance to compete and show what we can do as a small school.”
Owens, who spent the off-season and fall competing at the AAU level, said he has received offers to play at King and Tusculum. Like many athletes in Bristol this week, the Arby’s represents a proving ground.
“For sure, my goal is to play at the next level and this game will help,” said Owens, who took a charge against the massive Carey. “Caray is a big dude. I’ve never played against anybody that big.”
Six-foot-four senior guard Connor Lane collected 16 points and four assists for Twin Springs. Castle added 10 points for the Titans, while 5-11 football star Ryan Horne supplied five points and four rebounds.
Despite the extreme weather adjustment from South Florida, Carey said he’s enjoying his visit to Northeast Tennessee despite wearing a winter coat in his post-game interview.
“It seems like the crowd here loves us, so we want to put on a show for them,” Carey said. “I’ve seen a lot of the players in this tournament in the summer, so there are some bragging rights involved.”
Webb School 72, St. Francis 71
In the late game, the Webb School of Knoxville Spartans used the heroics of six-four senior wing Lukas Walls (Samford) to rally for win against the Queens, New York, based St. Francis Prep Terriers.
With his team trailing 71-66 and 2:14 left, Walls scored the final six points for his team.
Webb trailed 71-70 when Walls hit two free throws with eight seconds left. A put back attempt by St. Francis barely rolled out at the buzzer.
“When you win a game like that you’re not sure how you did it. We had contributions from a lot of people to make it happen,” Webb coach Ricky Norris said. “Our defensive pressure was key. Things weren’t going our way, but our senior leadership helped.”
Walls finished with 29 points and six rebounds while NCAA Division I football prospects Shavar Young (15 points) and Markeis Barrett (10 points also made impacts for Webb. Young is a 5-10 freshman point guard and Barrett is a 5-10 junior wing.
Six-foot-three senior guard Joshua Pascarelli, who earned MVP honors in last year’s Kreul Under Armour national tournament, scored 21 points for St. Francis. Six-foot sophomore guard Vere Anthony (nine points, four steals), 6-2 junior Tyler Michel (12 points) and 6-7 freshman forward Oesoemana Sacko (17 points) also played well for the Terriers.
Working for quality shots, St. Francis opened a 37-28 haltime lead on 55% shooting and eight assists.
The Webb School shot 52% in the first half, but was hurt by 12 turnovers.
When Walls canned a 3-pointer with 4:12 left in the game, Webb trailed 67-61.
The drama just increased from there.
agregory@bristolnews.com — Twitter: @Greg_BHCSports <&dateline> (276) 645-2544
agregory@bristolnews.com — Twitter: @Greg_BHCSports <&dateline> (276) 645-2544