Basketbull HOF Invitational Championship Sunday

SPRINGFIELD, MA - While the 17u bracket didn't go the way that New York may have liked, the 16u side of things was a whole different story at the Basketbull HOF National Invitational on Championship Sunday.

PSA Cardinals down the New York Lightning to take home 16u Title

The 16u division championship saw a pair of local Nike EYBL teams face off as the PSA Cardinals took on the New York Lightning in a battle for New York supremacy. It was a tight game early on, but the second half proved to be a one sided affair as the Cardinals were able to run away and cruise in the title game taking the 64-42 victory.

Early on it was anything but an easy game for PSA as the Lightning were the aggressive and more focused team throughout the opening half. Jordan Walker (Long Island Lutheran '17) was quick and elusive slicing his way to the basket, while big man Nathan Mensah (Redemption Christian Academy '17) was doing a nice job in the paint finishing from 5 feet and in.

That isn't to say there were no bright spots early on for PSA as talented forward Mohamed Bamba (Westtown, PA '17) blocked a straightaway three point attempt, got the loose ball, dribbled it up court and on a two on one break found Hasahn French (Commonwealth Academy, MA '17) with a behind the back pass that was a real eye opener.

Bamba was his usual all around impressive self in the opening half, but too many turnovers, and too many settled for jumpers allowed guard Jared Simmons(Newington, CT '17) and the rest of the Lightning to take a 33-29 lead into the half of the 16u Championship.

It was not exactly a crisp first half for the PSA Cardinals, but they were still in the game only down four, and with PSA head coach Jacque Rivera urging his team to turn things up, they came out with a whole different attitude and feel it the second half and began to really turn it on.

French put back in his own miss to tie the game up at 33 less than a minute in, and a slash down the left side by guard P.J. Person (Abraham Lincoln '18) gave the Cardinals the lead for what proved to be for good.

Deondre Bourne (Leman Prep '17) would then take control and score 6 in a row for PSA as the Cardinals would go on an impressive 18-1 run to really put the Lightning in a major hole seeing them go down 49-34 with 9:45 to play.

Apart of the problem for the Lightning was lackluster zone defense that allowed the Cardinals to slash the ball inside, and if they missed, the size advantage that they had proved to be too much.

Bamba and Ibrahim Doumbia (Arlington Country Day, FL '17) both were altering and blocking shots every time the Lightning took the ball inside, as that along with poor shot selection was really setting them back after a very good opening half, and an even more impressive 30 point win in the semifinals over another EYBL team, CIA Bounce of Canada.

Doumbia was relentless inside controlling the glass and finishing with ease around the rim, and Bamba proved why dozens of coaches came to watch him all weekend as both inside and out he was about as unstoppable as could be.

Up by over 20, the end seemed near as PSA held the ball late as the celebration was soon to be in full effect. Najja Hunter (Westtown, PA '17) finishing in transition late to close things out in style as the PSA Cardinals took home the 16u Basketbull HOF Invitational Championship with an emphatic and decisive 64-42 victory.

Bamba finished as the leading scorer for the PSA Cardinals as the versatile big man had 15 points along with a good number of both rebounds and blocks as well. Person added 12 while Doumbia chipped in with 11 in the championship game victory.

Walker was the lone double figure scorer for the Lightning as he had 13 in the defeat as they were held to just 9 points in the 2nd half against a strong and efficient PSA Cardinals defense that helped them get crowned as champions.

City Rocks fall just short after a strong 17u weekend

The PSA Cardinals had a chance to get deep in the 17u field too but after being down by 21 points with just 13 minutes to play to GTA Bounce things looked bleak.Virginia bound guard Ty Jerome (Iona Prep '16) then walked into the building after just landing off a plane from a weekend at the Nike Global Challenge in Missouri and things then started to change in a hurry.

With Jerome in tow the Cardinals proceeded to fight all the way back as the star guard scored an astounding 20 points in just 12 minutes. He was making big play after big play as he helped PSA take the lead with 14 seconds left in what looked like it would be an improbable comeback win.

It was not meant to be though as a late foul by Jerome put GTA on the FT line where they sunk a pair to retake the lead and a couple of turnovers really stung in the closing seconds as the comeback would not be completed as they ultimately fell to CIA Bounce's secondary team by 4.

The teams that did have a chance were both from City Rocks as the 17u EYBL team made it to the semifinals, but after having a lead as big as 6 early in the second half, the athleticism from Mass Rivals took over as they were able to fly past them 64-52.

Guard Quinton Rose (Bishop Kearney '16) had a solid all-around game, while fellow guard Kevin Huerter (Shenendehowa '16) also returned from the Global Challenge on Sunday to help City Rocks, but even a strong game from him was not able to get them past the Adidas Gauntlet power.

Mass Rivals ultimately won the 17u Left Bracket taking down GTA Bounce in the title game, but the Right Bracket was still up for grabs and in that championship game was the City Rocks 16u team as they took on another 16u team in BABC.

City Rocks impressively knocked off the CT Gladiators in the semifinals behind big efforts from forward Hameir Wright (Albany Academy '17) and guard Dominick Welch (Cheektowaga '17) who both went off for 17 points apiece, but the Championship Game proved to be a different animal.

BABC jumped out to a big 22-7 lead in the early going as they were able to pressure the ball and get steals and turnovers which led to easy transition baskets as it really put the young City Rocks group in a tough early hole.

A good looking guard in Keith McGee (Leadership Academy '17) proved to be a solid weapon on the wing, while Welch continued to impress with his high flying abilities when he was able to get to the rim, but more often than not the opportunities for City Rocks were limited. They made a run to make it a 10 point game late, but it was just too big a hole to overcome as BABC 16's won the Right Bracket over City Rocks 16's 58-42 in a game that saw Welch lead the way again with 12.

All in all it was a solid weekend for New York teams with some up and coming teams in the 17u Division such as XMen Basketball and Southern Tier Rage proving that when given the chance they are more than capable of hanging with some of the best from around the country, while City Rocks showed that they are truly among the best in the region, and the PSA Cardinals once again left Massachusetts as champions.