FORT WAYNE — By his standards, Fletcher Loyer didn't have a great shooting game Tuesday night.
He even missed a free throw.
But at a moment where it felt like either team needed something to happen to crack open a back-and-forth, closely contested game between two Fort Wayne unbeatens, it was Loyer who did it.
"We knew it was going to come down to whoever made shots at the end," Homestead coach Chris Johnson said. "We were fortunate that we were able to make a couple big threes."
With the game tied at 55-55 with less than five minutes to play, Loyer made his only three threes of the night in succession and scored 11 points during a 13-0 Homestead run that delivered a 72-60 win that was way closer than the final score.
Loyer finished with 23 points, 13 of which came in the fourth quarter. I had him for five assists, also.
"Once I saw that first one go down and made a couple free throws," Loyer said, "I think it just kind of lit the fire in me and knocking down those big shots is what I live for."
Blackhawk's Caleb Furst was excellent himself, scoring 27 points, but his team missed every three-pointer it took and in the end, just couldn't match baskets with Homestead.
"He's a special player," Johnson said. "He's 6-foot-10 and he's so unselfish. That was a quiet 27, but he's just dominant. It's going to be fun to watch him at Purdue, and I know Coach Painter's going to do a great job getting him where he needs to be. It's been fun watching him over these last four years and I'm glad I don't have to worry about him anymore."
A few thoughts on Purdue's two recruits.
• The threes Loyer made — or at least two of the three — weren't really system shots, per se. He made them happen, off the dribble or otherwise. One was a step-back, and another was him letting a defender fly by, then shooting from a dead standstill after the defender cleared. He's a special shooter, IMO, but has way more game to him that your prototypical "shooter." He's so clever as a finisher, just a really unique combination of being creative and solid. My guess is he's going to be a very good decision-maker and a low-turnover guy at Purdue.
• Furst made a bunch of fallaways and a mid-range jumper. The shooting touch looked pretty well-refined tonight, and the two games I've seen him play this season, he's looked really sharp putting the ball on the floor out of face-ups and getting to the basket. That'll be a huge advantage against centers in the Big Ten when he plays inside. He can be a real handful out of the high post or the wing against bigger people.
He dealt with extra defenders all night and in a big moment had the presence of mind to burn the double team with an assist to a wide-open teammate at the basket, tying the game at 55 right before Homestead's Loyer-fueled run.
• Furst was good on the offensive glass, and needed to be with his team struggling to make jumpers. I think he had two and-ones off putbacks.
• I spoke with Luke Goode afterward to get comments on both Loyer and Furst and I think he described Furst perfectly, that he's just so "consistent." You get the same thing from him every time out, it seems, and that's what we mean when we say players have high floors. At the high school level, I've never seen him not get 20 and 10 or something along those lines. He plays hard, he leverages his advantages and he plays well as part of a team.
Goode had to guard Furst, his good friend, in the post and did a nice job a few times slipped out of being sealed off to jump the entry for steals, but otherwise obviously had his hands full.
The Illinois-bound Goode scored 22 points. Good player.
He even missed a free throw.
But at a moment where it felt like either team needed something to happen to crack open a back-and-forth, closely contested game between two Fort Wayne unbeatens, it was Loyer who did it.
"We knew it was going to come down to whoever made shots at the end," Homestead coach Chris Johnson said. "We were fortunate that we were able to make a couple big threes."
With the game tied at 55-55 with less than five minutes to play, Loyer made his only three threes of the night in succession and scored 11 points during a 13-0 Homestead run that delivered a 72-60 win that was way closer than the final score.
Loyer finished with 23 points, 13 of which came in the fourth quarter. I had him for five assists, also.
"Once I saw that first one go down and made a couple free throws," Loyer said, "I think it just kind of lit the fire in me and knocking down those big shots is what I live for."
Blackhawk's Caleb Furst was excellent himself, scoring 27 points, but his team missed every three-pointer it took and in the end, just couldn't match baskets with Homestead.
"He's a special player," Johnson said. "He's 6-foot-10 and he's so unselfish. That was a quiet 27, but he's just dominant. It's going to be fun to watch him at Purdue, and I know Coach Painter's going to do a great job getting him where he needs to be. It's been fun watching him over these last four years and I'm glad I don't have to worry about him anymore."
A few thoughts on Purdue's two recruits.
• The threes Loyer made — or at least two of the three — weren't really system shots, per se. He made them happen, off the dribble or otherwise. One was a step-back, and another was him letting a defender fly by, then shooting from a dead standstill after the defender cleared. He's a special shooter, IMO, but has way more game to him that your prototypical "shooter." He's so clever as a finisher, just a really unique combination of being creative and solid. My guess is he's going to be a very good decision-maker and a low-turnover guy at Purdue.
• Furst made a bunch of fallaways and a mid-range jumper. The shooting touch looked pretty well-refined tonight, and the two games I've seen him play this season, he's looked really sharp putting the ball on the floor out of face-ups and getting to the basket. That'll be a huge advantage against centers in the Big Ten when he plays inside. He can be a real handful out of the high post or the wing against bigger people.
He dealt with extra defenders all night and in a big moment had the presence of mind to burn the double team with an assist to a wide-open teammate at the basket, tying the game at 55 right before Homestead's Loyer-fueled run.
• Furst was good on the offensive glass, and needed to be with his team struggling to make jumpers. I think he had two and-ones off putbacks.
• I spoke with Luke Goode afterward to get comments on both Loyer and Furst and I think he described Furst perfectly, that he's just so "consistent." You get the same thing from him every time out, it seems, and that's what we mean when we say players have high floors. At the high school level, I've never seen him not get 20 and 10 or something along those lines. He plays hard, he leverages his advantages and he plays well as part of a team.
Goode had to guard Furst, his good friend, in the post and did a nice job a few times slipped out of being sealed off to jump the entry for steals, but otherwise obviously had his hands full.
The Illinois-bound Goode scored 22 points. Good player.
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