Schmidt, Burlington Central shoot past Mendota

Zac Schmidt hosted his own personal 3-point shooting competition in the first quarter Thursday.

Schmidt, a Burlington Central sophomore guard, swished shots at three different spots along the arc. He did so from the right wing, the right corner, and finally the top of the key.

He was just getting started.

Schmidt scored a game-high 17 points and made all five of his 3-point attempts for the game, part of the Rockets' sizzling shooting exhibition in a 91-26 win over Mendota in the first round of the Plano Christmas Classic.

Schmidt, who played just 17 minutes, scored 11 of his total in the first quarter. Burlington Central (7-3) jumped out to an 18-0 lead and never looked back.

Joshua Hudgens and Andrew Scharnowski each scored 12 points for the Rockets, who shot 68.4% for the game against Mendota's 2-3 zone, 58.3% (7-for-12) from three. Jake Lenschow and Schmidt each had five assists.

"My teammates were finding me and the ball was going in the hoop," Schmidt said. "I was just feeling it. We had good ball movement. They were playing a 2-3 but we were able to space the floor well. We do a good job of moving without the ball."

Burlington Central coach Brett Porto is getting used to sweet shooting from his young guard.

Last Friday Schmidt hit a key 3-pointer late in the Rockets' 54-48 win at Crystal Lake South.

"He hit a big shot late there and he's kind of continued that," Porto said. "We love his ability to guard, to communicate, to do all the little things and his shot selection is always good. As he continues to get more confidence we expect to see more performances like that."

The 6-foot-2 Schmidt got plenty of valuable experience as a freshman playing alongside Burlington Central star Patrick Mayfield. Mayfield is gone now, so others are collectively filling that scoring.

Schmidt entered Thursday averaging 7.2 points per game, third on the team behind double-digit scorers Lenschow and Hudgens.

"When teammates are setting good screens and I get open looks I got to be able to knock that down all the time," Schmidt said. "Offensively I've had to be more aggressive with the loss of a couple seniors, particularly Mayfield. Still finding the right guys, taking more shots. I'm looking forward to the rest of the season."

Burlington Central, which advanced to play Morris at 5:30 p.m. Friday, looks forward to the rest of the tournament. The Rockets won the event, now in its 57th year, in 2017, and last season reached the semifinals.

"We love coming here the way the different communities come out and support this event," Porto said. "It's always a fun environment as you get deep into those late rounds and compete for a title it's a little different environment than we get from a lot of places. That's why we like going here."