Knifing his way to the rim with relative ease and zipping through and around defenders throughout, Malik Curry put forth the type of performance transferable to Conference Player of the Year expectations.
The shifty left-handed guard blurred his way to a game-best 33 points and was the instrumental figure in engineering a wild 16-0 first half power surge en route to a 101-77 trouncing of Miami Dade last night.
With his sustained relentlessness at getting to the rim and also leaking out on hard transition finishes, Curry’s play even elicited a box-and-one defense at one point during the second half.
Palm Beach State got significant contributions from Miles James (23 points), who showed a deft long range touch in the first half and crammed home a monstrous dunk off a lob from Curry in the second.
James, an upside-heavy freshman from California, will have East Carolina on hand to see him Saturday. Alex Kotov, a 6-foot-10 forward out of Russia, pieced together one of his best performances of the season.
The Montverde Academy product displayed an aggressive approach on the boards, punched home a two-handed dunk to cap off an 8-0 first half run, and connected on back to back 3-pointers in the second half. He wound up with 14 points.
Local Miami product Ben Tal paced Miami Dade with 18 points, displaying an adeptness with his ability to quarterback an offense and considerable knockdown capabilities.
With Montese Blake limited on a rare quiet night from the high-scoring guard, Killian product Elton Walker catalyzed Kevin Ledeux’s team with scoring punch and soaring, wunderkind-esque athleticism. His above the rim game provided an immediate spark off the bench.
The 13-5 Panthers bounced back from an irregular performance during an 82-70 loss to Harcum, one in which they were derailed by a significant power outage. A lull in scoring ultimately allowed Harcum to close out the game on an 11-3 spurt. The shots were falling this time around and the fluid ball movement was again prevalent.
After pouring in 17 first half points, Curry helped extend the Panthers’ lead to 15 at the start of the second half. He snatched a rebound, raced from baseline to baseline and finished with his right hand to give the Panthers a commanding 51-39 lead.
After a jumper by newly-minted Robert Morris commit D.J. Russell, James threw a head fake, drove to the rim and finished. Then, off a Miami Dade turnover, Curry leaked ahead of the pack and got free for a two-handed dunk. On the Panthers’ ensuing possession, Curry fed James for a corner 3-pointer that lifted the bulge to 59-41.
Miami-Dade’s Nicholas Kratholm thwarted the run with a putback, but Kotov got loose for a banker in traffic to pump the lead back to 61-43.
Palm Beach was able to capitalize on a first half drought, rare for a Miami Dade team known for its eruptive offense. After a nifty floater from Tal, Curry drew a foul and sank 1-of-2 at the line.
Curry then surged his way to the rim on a take, Darrick Boyd Jr. drained a 3-pointer, and Kotov converted a high-low pass from Curry into a dunk. The Panthers pumped the lead up to 46-30 on a Curry steal and finish plus the contact for a traditional 3-point play.
