After watching this game, it is easy to see that Mason County is a much different team when they have Downing and Hamm playing. Downing gave the Royals a defensive spark, a little scoring, and some intensity that they desperately needed and Hamm brought leadership and good point guard play to help them. It is a night and day difference between Tuesday and Friday night. A 20 point win against a good Cov Cath team on the road is impressive.
Phil Barner and Neal Pawsat played great tonight. Both have greatly improved from last year and I was amazed to see how much bigger Neal had gotten. Both of these players will play key roles for the Royals this year.
It didn't really show up in the scoring column, but I think Russ played a good game as well. He pretty much scored at will, but it was nice to see him help his teammates get involved in the offense as well. He is a smart player and obviously knows that if the Royals are going to be successful this season, he will need help from several of his teammates and cant handle the entire scoring load by himself. This team will just keep getting better as the season goes on and they play more together.
Great win Royals.