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PSA alums make noise at next level
Putnam Science Academy has had its fair share of alums move on to play college hoops but few have made an impact quite like the trio of seniors from last year’s National Prep Championship team: Kyle Lofton, Osun Osunniyi and Jose Perez.
Lofton and Osunniyi teamed up to play at St. Bonaventure while Perez found the perfect fit with former Mustang Jaheem Cornwall at Gardner-Webb.
Kyle Lofton, who in his time at Putnam Science Academy didn’t receive a Division 1 offer until the last game of the year, has played over 40 minutes a game in his freshmen year for the Bonnies and has been a catalyst in propelling the team to a 12-6 conference record. That 12-6 record helped the Bonnies earn a double bye as the 4th seed in the upcoming Atlantic 10 Conference tournament.
Osun has been a major factor in St. Bonaventure’s success. The 6-foot, 10-inch freshmen big man has exploded on the scene as a shot blocker and rim protector in his first season at the college level. Osun leads the Atlantic 10 in blocks with 81; he’s third in rebounding averaging 7.5 per game and ranks seventh in field goal percentage right around 57 percent. The freshmen tandem has been a huge boost for Head Coach Mark Schmidt and will look to keep it up in the A-10 conference tournament.
Putnam Science Academy alum Jose Perez has beat the odds and blossomed as a freshman at Gardner Webb. Perez has found his fit as a “Runnin Bulldog” compiling just over 15 points per game and leading the team in rebounds (5.7) and assists (3.0). Perez has seen success in his first year at Gardner Webb being named Rookie of the Week a whopping six times while helping the team to a 22-11 record in the Big South Conference. Perez also made history scoring over 500 points on the season, becoming the first freshmen in program history to do so. The Bulldogs used Perez by increasing his minutes and his play only benefited.
History wasn’t done being made as Gardner Webb finished with an 11-6 conference record, winning 11 of their last 13 games taking home the Big South Conference Championship as the #4 seed knocking off 2 seed Radford March 10. The win was the first Big South Championship for the Bulldogs as they punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament, another program first.
Josh Sanchas
Sports Information Director
Putnam Science Academy
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