Morales Leads Judge Memorial

FROSTBURG, MARYLAND -- Nick Morales, a 6-2, 170 pound senior shooting guard from Judge Memorial High School in Salt Lake City, UT, led the Bulldogs to an 82-47 win over Bishop Walsh H.S. (Cumberland, MD) and a seventh place finish at the 42nd Alhambra Catholic Invitational Tournament this past weekend.

Head Coach Jim Verkovich said after the game that his senior shooting guard hadn't received the type of recruiting interest he believes Morales deserves. So far Idaho State, Portland State, American and Northern Arizona have shown interest. That could change after Morales' performance this weekend.

Morales scored the first basket of the game to give Judge Memorial a 2-0 lead. That was as close as Bishop Walsh would get in this match as they were clearly outplayed in this contest. "This was the only game with Walsh that has gone this way," Verkovich said comparing this win with previous matches at this tournament.

Morales, who left the game to a loud ovation from the crowd with 5:22 on the clock, scored 32 points on 11-for-15 shooting, grabbed seven rebounds and picked off three steals. He also was three for five from behind the arc.

Morales was named to the All-Tournament first team averaging 19.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game during the three-game event along with DeMatha's (MD) Travis Garrison, super sophomore center Brian Johnson from Bishop O'Connell (VA), Roanoke (VA) Catholic's top junior combo guard J.R. Reynolds and junior swingman Mark Zoller from Philadelphia's St. Joe's Prep.

Also leading Judge Memorial to their lone victory at this event was junior combo forward Joe Sasich who had 19 points and 5-9 sophomore Ross Zampano who tallied 10 points off the bench.

Bishop Walsh was paced by designated senior sharpshooter Jayme Bradley with 16 points and hard-working reserve point guard Sean Lindner with 10 points on 50 percent shooting (3-6) from behind the arc.

Coach Verkovich noted after the game that his kids, who play at the sole private school program in Utah, played hard and defended and passed well. At the beginning of the game, unofficial stats had the Bulldogs with 10 assists on their first 12 baskets!

Judge Memorial last played in this event two years ago beating Towson (MD) Catholic and St. John's (DC) High Schools for fifth place. Coach Verkovich also observed that recruiting for high school has changed the level of play at this post-season event. Verkovich added, "Someone told me as we left the court, 'You won the championship game of the only two teams at this tournament that don't recruit.'"