Lexington Catholic surges past Wheeler, 66-57


Lexington Catholic's Craig Floyd and Hunter Porter battle for a rebound against Wheeler. Greg Yamamoto | SL
Taylor Martin scored 11 straight unanswered points in a late span of 2 minutes, 36 seconds Tuesday night to help Lexington (Ky.) Catholic surge past Wheeler (Marietta, Ga.), 66-57, for fifth place in the 27th Annual 'Iolani Prep Classic.

Oak Hill (Mouth of Wilson, Va.), ranked No. 1 in the nation by ESPN Rise and USA Today, defeated No. 25 (by USA Today) Montverde (Fla.), 58-44, for the championship. In the third-place game, USA Today No. 14 Mount Vernon (N.Y.) topped ESPN Rise No. 45 Dr. Phillips (Orlando, Fla.), 69-57.

Despite Tuesday night's loss, and an all-day rainstorm that canceled a planned Sunday visit to Pearl Harbor, Wheeler coach Doug Lipscomb said the 4,500-mile journey to Hawai'i was well worth it.

"I liked the hospitality, there's very good teams here, and the tournament is well-run and very organized," Lipscomb said. "Going 2-2, I'm not pleased or satisfied, but this tournament is a good test and lets you find out where you are. You live and learn, and it's to make you better."

Last night's defeat certainly left the Wildcats with plenty to think about on the long plane ride back home.

Wheeler took a 53-50 lead on Charles Mitchell's three-point play with 5:56 remaining, but did not score again until Tevin Reeves hit one of two free throws with 37 seconds left. In the meantime, Martin -- a 6-foot-5 guard/forward who plans to play baseball for the University of Kentucky next year -- basically took over the game with impressive scoring inside and out.

His spinning layup move put the Knights ahead, 54-53, with 4:43 remaining, and he followed it with a three-point play before burying a 3-pointer from the left corner. Martin then sank free throws at the 3:07 and 2:07 marks to eventually make it 63-53 with 53 seconds left.

"I've known Taylor since he was three years old, so I know the way he's been built up," Lexington Catholic coach Brandon Salsman said. "He's like a point forward for us, he does it all."

Salsman said Martin had offers to play basketball at Fairfield University, Eastern Kentucky, Navy and Virginia Commonwealth, but instead wants to explore his future as a pitcher/shortstop.

"His fastball is about 90 mph," Salsman said.

Lipscomb said his team "didn't have anybody to step up" to stop Martin during that crucial stretch.

"When they made their run, we didn't have an answer," Lipscomb said. "On offense, we couldn't get a break."

Martin finished with a game-high 24 points, and Scott Schuette added 18 points for the Knights.

Mitchell and Nigel Snipes each scored 15 points and Karriem Simmons added 14 points for the Wildcats.