Recruiting Update - Jeremis Smith

Because this article requires a password, I'll post it here (link here if you want to sign-up). This is another re-cap of Jeremis Smith's game last night they lost.

From the DALLAS MORNING NEWS,
by Kate Hairopoulos

Free throws lift Cedar Hill over Dunbar, 70-64
12:21 PM CST on Wednesday, December 10, 2003

By KATE HAIROPOULOS / The Dallas Morning News

FORT WORTH – The two stars – Cedar Hill point guard Jason Horton and Fort Worth Dunbar forward Jeremis Smith – didn't disappoint. But the boys basketball match-up between the area's two nationally ranked and undefeated teams on Tuesday came down to a seldom-used guard.

Junior Claude Toliver went 4-for-4 from the free throw line in the final 19 seconds to ice a 70-64 victory for Cedar Hill in front of an estimated 4,000 fans at Wilkerson-Greines Activity Center.

"It says a lot about him having character, not playing the whole game hardly and coming in at the end and being put at the line," Cedar Hill coach David Milson said.

Cedar Hill, ranked No. 2 in the TABC 5A state poll and No. 22 in the National Prep Poll improved to 9-0. Dunbar, No. 1 in the TABC 4A state poll and No. 19 nationally, saw the end of its 48-game winning streak.

Horton scored 27 points and went 5-of-10 from 3-point range. Smith scored 32 points, going 10-of-15 from the field.

But the heated back-and-forth game came down to free throws. Cedar Hill went 8-of-9 from the line in the fourth quarter. Dunbar, which managed one field goal in the final quarter, went 11-of-19 from the line in the fourth quarter.

"Regardless of how many turnovers we had, the bad passes we made, the men you missed and the lousy defense; the biggest mountain in this game was failure to convert from the free throw line," said Dunbar coach Robert Hughes.

Cedar Hill used a feisty defense and spread the scoring around in the third quarter to pull out to a 56-51 lead, forcing Dunbar (11-1) to play catch up in the last quarter.

Dunbar turned to the best way to make up the difference – feeding the ball into Smith in the post. But Smith went 5-of-10 from the line in the fourth quarter.

Cedar Hill made its run when Horton's teammates got more involved. Horton scored two points in the third quarter and eight in the second half.

The two stars gave the crowd a show in the second quarter.

Horton, who has signed with Missouri, drained three straight 3-pointers for Cedar Hill and scored his team's final 11 points of the first half.

In the midst of the stretch, Smith, a Georgua Tech signee, took an entry pass, split two defenders in the lane and slam dunked.

Jason Horton
Cedar Hill, 6-1 point guard
The line: 27 points, 4 assists, 3 steals, 2 rebounds, 2 turnovers.
Highlight reel: Horton, standing near the half-court line, lobbed the ball up to teammate Roderick Adams for a powerful alley-oop early in the second half.

Jeremis Smith
FW Dunbar, 6-7 forward
The line: 32 points, 2 assists, 9 rebounds, 3 turnovers.
Highlight reel: Smith followed a teammate's missed shot by soaring up above the rim, grabbing the ball and dunking it in the third quarter.