SOUTH JAMAICA, NY - Championship games are the culmination of a season or a tournament. The winner of the game is the champion, no questions asked. The season started with many teams and ended with just two. Sometimes a game can come down to a single possession, just one single opportunity to win. Saturday afternoon, at the iS8/Nike Spring Basketball Classic, Jalen Gaffney literally took the ball into his own hands and shot 2GZ to a championship in overtime.
Gaffney knocked down a last second three-point shot to win the IS8 championship and knock off last year’s champions, D1 Stars. The final score was 89-88 in an overtime nail biter, and the winning shot was improbable.
The D1 Stars were leading 88-86 with 3 seconds remaining in overtime. 2GZ had to go the length of the court after Hassan Drame made two free throws to put D1 Stars on top. The ball was inbounded from the baseline past the half court line to Jacob Toppin, who caught the ball and passed it to a streaking Gaffney. Gaffney caught the ball, dribbled a couple of steps, and pulled up from three point range.
Splash!
The ball went through the hoop and touched nothing but the net. Pandemonium erupted on a Saturday afternoon at IS8 as Gaffney was mobbed by his teammates. The middle school gym was abuzz immediately after the game winner. It was a crowd pleasing outcome, even if someone was there supporting the runners-up. Well, maybe not exactly pleasing, but it was a good game, worth the time it took to sit in a gym and watch it play out.
Gaffney is going to play at UConn and was co-MVP in the game, scoring 28 points including the game winner. The other co-MVP was Isaiah Wong, who filled the basket up with a game high 36 points. Wong, who was also named MVP of IS8 this season and has a free ride to Miami, forced the issue and was aggressive all game long. Both players were keys to 2GZ success.
D1 Stars almost pulled it off, but the last second shot finally got them. They led after the first half and were ahead by two with 3 seconds left. That’s about as close as you can get to winning without actually doing it. Hassan Drame had a heck of a game, finishing with 33 points overall. It looked like the two free throws would have sealed the deal, but sometimes it doesn’t go your way.
John Wilson scored 17 for D1 Stars, while T.J. Morris chipped in with 13 points, but he made some huge baskets and free throws late in the game.
Both semi-final games were also close contests earlier in the day.
D1 Stars Edge Goldminz, 111 - 109
John Wilson was super clutch in the first semi-final game, scoring 23 points. He made big plays late, scoring on a lay-up after telling his big man to clear out. Wilson also made huge free-throws and hit a big three late in the game. Goldminz did have a double-digit lead in the 2nd half but they had to deal with twin brothers Foussenyi Drame and Hassan Drame, who dominated the paint in the 2nd half. Foussenyi finished with a team high 31 points, while Hassan had 24.
Goldminz was led by Alejandro Vasquez and Dashawn Davis, both finishing with 26 points.
2GZ Nips PD Nation, 80-79
2GZ held off a furious comeback from a scrappy PD Nation team. After holding the lead for the majority of the game and leading 67-56 going into the third quarter, they gave up an 11 point lead and had to sweat it out in the final stanza. Wong had a game high 36 points in the game, while Rhode Island commit Jacob Toppin and Jalen Gaffney had 15 and 14 points respectively.
Kayvontay Williams had 22 for PD Nation. Illinois commit Bernard Kouma added 18 while Taj Anderson had 16 points including 4 triples.
