Some thoughts after pulling the back-to-back Fridy night/Saturday afternoon game watch.

Lafayette's boys impressed in front of the home crowd, but Cameron showed exactly why it is a team of the present and the future.

Mitch Hatten hit his first four shots -- all jumpers from various parts of the floor -- and the sophomore appears to be developing a versatile game. Sean Skilling struggled to only six points, and the Dragons clearly weren't firing on all cylinders.

A big credit to coach Kevin Nichols and his staff for getting their team turned around for a fourth-quarter charge, even though it came up short.

Cody Miller put up one of his best games for Lafayette since returning from a shoulder injury in early January.

The hero of last year's district semifinal upset of Benton, Miller dislocated his right shoulder prior to the Hillyard City Basketball Showcase in mid-December. He previously hurt the same shoulder during football.

Miller now wears a brace that encompasses nearly his entire right arm and fits around his chest. The whole setup looks awkward.

After scoring 12 points against Cameron, Miller admitted the restraint device has been hard to deal with and he still hasn't fully adjusted.

Miller still plans to wear it because he doesn't want to risk a re-injury with only two weeks before districts.

Highlight of the weekend

Newtown-Harris junior Justin Ralls caught me off guard on Saturday.

The lanky 6-foot-6 junior provided a huge spark off the bench in the Class 1 Tigers' upset of Class 2 Mid-Buchanan.

Ralls put up seven points, nine rebounds and five blocks, and provided highlight reel play during the first half.

Off of a missed shot, Ralls dove out of bounds to save an offensive rebound, tipping the ball all the way out to Canaan Fairley on the perimeter. Fairley then sent a pass right back to Ralls on the right block after he got back to his feet.

Ralls drop-stepped and threw down a two-handed dunk that gave Newtown-Harris a 21-16 lead.

The play came with leading scorer KJ Cool on the bench with foul trouble and provided a huge lift in an up-and-down first half.