Quick Recap:
The Walkertown Wolves took down the Atkins Camels on Thursday night by the score of 72-54. The Wolves were led by 2017 PF Denzel Hayes (20 points, 12 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block) and 2020 PG Jalen Cone (16 points, 9 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals). Atkins was led by the strong shooting performance from 2018 WG Corey Rutherford who scored 20 points and came down with 4 rebounds. The game was fairly tight throughout the first half before Walkertown blew the game open in the third quarter. The Camels did a solid job guarding and putting plenty of pressure on PG Jalen Cone, but he still found holes in the defense and ways to score throughout the game. Walkertown dominated on the offensive glass and also caused plenty of turnovers with great defensive pressure throughout the game. The Wolves will have a quick turn around as they head back home to take on Mt. Airy tomorrow night, and Atkins will have another tough game on their hands tomorrow night as they take one of the best PG’s in the state with 2019 Chaz Gwynn.

Quick Thoughts:
2020 PG Jalen Cone of Walkertown continues to prove he’s among the elite at his position in his class. The 5’11 floor general has great court vision and has a killer mid-range jumper. With his speed and handles, Cone is already a matchup nightmare but if he grows another few inches it will just make things that much more difficult to guard him.

2017 PF Denzel Hayes only stands at 6’3” for Walkertown, but he made sure his presence was known down low tonight. Hayes finished with a bruising stat line of 20 points and 12 rebounds while also collecting a block. Even though he’s garnering some looks on the football field, Hayes could be a great addition to a D2 or D3 JUCO school. He was one of the clear leaders on the floor, and his motor never seemed to stop or slow down throughout the game.

The biggest bright spot for the Atkin Camels had to have been 2018 wing Corey Rutherford who scored 20 points with a majority of those baskets coming from beyond the three-point line. Standing around 6’4”, he has good size on the perimeter and could be a solid D2/LM down the road.

Final Stats:
Walkertown-72
2017 6’3” PF Denzel Hayes: 20 points, 12 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block
2020 5’11” PG Jalen Cone: 16 points, 9 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals
2018 6’1” SF Antoine Lowery: 16 points, 5 rebounds
2017 6’0” SG Sherrard Wells: 9 points, 5 assists, 1 steal
2017 6’0” Riyan McClain: 6 points, 3 rebounds, 1 steal
2018 5’11” SG Quintin Welch: 3 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals

Atkins-54
2018 6’4” WG Corey Rutherford: 20 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal
2019 6’1” SG Trey Baker: 9 points, 2 rebounds, 2 steals
2020 5’7” CG Arrington Jones: 5 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals
2019 5’9” PG Tyliq Hairston: 5 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists
2017 6’2” CF Benny Monroe: 5 points
2018 6’2” WG Saeed Muhammad: 4 points, 2 rebounds