Guard play shines as 10th Blue goes 3-1 at Phenom Challenge

By WCBA Hoops, 04/23/18, 12:00AM EDT

Tyler Gill (Millbrook High School)

WCBA 10th Blue wrapped up a successful first live weekend on Sunday at the Phenom Challenge in Spartanburg, S.C.

The team, led by strong guard play all weekend, posted a 3-1 record in the event.

Millbrook High School guard Tyler Gill was one of the top performers in the 10th grade division of the event. Gill, who leads the team in scoring for the season with a 13.1 points per game average, scored in double-figuresin all but one game.

Gill opened the tournament with a 12-point performance in a 91-53 win over Chattanooga Elite on Friday night. On Saturday, Gill scored eight points in a win over NC Red Storm.

The best scoring performance of the weekend for Gill came on Saturday night against Team Vision NC. Gill scored 22 points in the game to lead all scorers as WCBA Blue won, 80-66. Gill finished up the Phenom Challenge with 13 points against the Charlotte Nets on Sunday, a game that WCBA dropped, 71-59.

Panther Creek High School guard David Butners also had a strong weekend on offense. Butners opened the Phenom Challenge with an 18-point performance against Chattanooga Elite, then scored 13 points against NC Red Storm. He connected on three three-point shots in the game against NC Red Storm.

Butners' scoring went up in the third game. He scored 17 points against Team Vision NC in a 14-point win.

In the final game of the tournament, Butners was held to six points against the Charlotte Nets.

Khalil Marshall of Pender High School is playing up in the 10th grade division. Marshall is a freshman at Pender, but played varsity where he had a 40-point game and multiple 30-point games.

Marshall averaged 9.5 points per game in the Phenom Challenge over the weekend, with his high coming against Team Vision NC where he posted 12 points. Marshall scored nine points against the Charlotte Nets and NC Red Storm. He tallied eight points against Chattanooga Elite.

There were other standout performances this weekend for the 10th Blue team.

Against the Charlotte Nets on Sunday, Adam Carey, a 6-foot-3 forward from Millbrook High School, led the team with 14 points on six made field goals.

Carey had scoring totals of nine, five and four points in the previous three games. He is averaging 8.3 points per game this season for WCBA.

Jalen Corprew of Green Hope High School also had a big game against the Charlotte Nets. While his scoring total was just five points, Corprew added six rebounds, four steals and a pair of assists.

A win over NC Red Storm on Saturday would not have been possible without the contributions of Sam Hickman of Cardinal Gibbons High School. Hickman hit a trio of three-pointers and tallied 13 points in the game. He tied Butners as the leading scorer in the contest for WCBA. Hickman also scored 13 points in the tournament opener against Chattanooga Elite.

Brady Whilden and Michael Boney each had big games in the win over Chattanooga Elite as well. Both players scored 15 points in the win on Friday night. Whilden and Boney are both players at Cardinal Gibbons.