Clutch Hill School wins Mercer title for first time since 2007

POTTSTOWN >> DaQuan Morris calls himself “one of those behind-the-scenes kids.”

Sunday afternoon, the Hill School junior guard took a chunk of center-stage to help the Blues win their first Dave Mercer Invitational Tournament since 2007.

The cobra-quick defensive stopper from Philadelphia made two consecutive steals for fast-break buckets in the third quarter, bringing the Rams even (33-all) after they had been fighting uphill from a 12-point first-quarter deficit. Morris added another big steal early in the fourth to knot it again (54-all).

“I’m usually the lock-down defender on the team,” Morris said, “so I try my best to get steals.”

Junior go-to guard Chase Audige was the offensive catalyst down the stretch, scoring nine of his game-high 20 points in the fourth quarter, including the winning free throws with 4.6 seconds left. A very gifted and tenacious Kent (Conn.) team still had a shot, but Randall Brumant’s pull-up 3 was short at the buzzer as the Blues hung on for a 64-62 victory, setting off a student celebration as Hill School, hosting the talent-packed holiday tournament for the 47th straight year, won it for only the fourth time. It was the 8-3 Rams’ first appearance in the championship game since 2008.

“We lost to that team last year in this tournament (by double digits), so it was great to get revenge and doing it in the championship,” Audige said. “Winning a tournament like this builds up confidence, but we have to stay humble and keep trying to get better.”

Audige, who battled back from early foul trouble for a big offensive finish, passed much of the credit to the backcourt defense of Morris and senior Ethan Norton. Kent was loaded with college recruits, including point guard Jordan Burns, a Colgate commit. Burns had a modest 11 points. Blues coach Seth Eilberg thought Morris’ third-quarter steals “changed the tempo of the game.”

“That guy is a really good guard,” said Morris, who stripped Burns. “I took it personal that I was going to shut him down and help us get back in the game.”

Offensively, the Blues were streaky, but it said a lot for them that they could beat such a high-caliber team on a so-so offensive day. They got 15 points from shooting guard Colton Lawrence, nine from Morris and some timely interior hoops (8 points) from UC-Irvine commit Solomon Ruddell.

“For whatever reason, maybe we were too excited about the championship game, but we were out of sync offensively for much of the game,” Eilberg said. “But we still found a way to make plays and win.”

Down 20-8 after the first eight minutes, the Blues roared back into it with a 9-0 spurt. They trailed 31-25 at halftime and 49-45 after three. While Morris battled Burns even in the third, Columbia commit Randall Brumant (18 points), an athletic 6-7 forward, and 6-8 Brandon Horvath (14), who’s getting multiple D-I offers, were keeping Kent a stride ahead.

“They’re a really well-schooled team and they’ve got probably five college players on the floor at all times,” Eilberg said.

A 3-pointer by dangerous lefty Austin Lavitt, who had 17 off the bench, put Kent up three with about 3 minutes left in regulation. Audige cut it to two with a free throw at the 1:48 mark, and perhaps the biggest play of the game came next by Norton, who knocked away a pass. That led to an Audige bucket that tied it at 62 with 1:28 left.

Audige then drew a charge from Horvath, and the Blues worked the clock, around a timeout with 24 seconds left, then set up for Audige’s iso drive that drew a foul and resulted in the winning points.

Hill School had come back from double digits to defeat Knox (N.Y.) in a semifinal thriller, 60-56, Saturday. The scenario was similar Sunday as Hill’s commitment to defense and each other made the difference.

“At halftime, it was like against Knox – all of us came together and said we’re going to get this stop, and another stop, and another stop,” Morris said.

Notes >> In the comeback win over Knox, Morris had a steal and basket with 28 ticks left to give the Rams the lead for good … Audige, getting multiple D-I looks, including from Saint Joseph’s and Drexel, had 42 points in the last two games, getting 22 in the Knox thriller in addition to 9 rebounds and 5 assists in that one … Making the all-tournament team were Lawrence and Morris from Hill, Omar El-Sheikh from Knox, Conner Delaney from Episcopal Academy and Tyler Jones from Peddie School. Kent’s Burns was named the tournament MVP.