The Shooting Stars have iS8 Championship hardware to prove their dominance, but don't call this an "upset". A statement from a coach in the stands at the Roy Wilkins Park site resonated loud and clear...

"You may be the best ball player on your high school team in NYC, but don't forget, that rule applies to every state."

The Connecticut Basketball Club may not have had names familiar to the iS8 faithful, but they took down a Shooting Stars team with a good number of NYC notables, 70-68. Meanwhile, they spoiled Spring 2008 Championship Coach Kareem Meminger's second game in his return to the tournament.

Both teams came out smoking, as top Brooklyn PG Davontay Grace pushed the ball with vigor and accuracy in the open court and one half of Cardozo's Twin Towers -6'7 forward Dwayne Brunson- dominated the offensive glass and cleaned up the mess on the inside. Ct. Ball Club would match the intensity, as they had their own front line of 6'8 freshman Karon Iverson (Northwest Catholic HS) and BJ Cardelli. Most of the point production, however, came from the smallest man on the court, lithe 5'10 marksman Tyrus Weaver. The Windsor HS senior showed no signs of Sunday morning rust from outside, nailing with ease over Shooting Stars' 3-2 zone. Christ The King standout Omar Calhoun would get aggressive around the hoop late in the quarter, and the Shooting Stars finished the quarter on a 5-0 run that would have them up, 22-17.

The 6'3 Calhoun would continue to be the man for Shooting Stars, from both inside and out. But his work was negated by Shooting Stars' turnovers, which Ct. Ball Club used to make a run. The NY team also began to struggle on the offensive glass, and to compound matters, they failed to get back on defense. Meanwhile, Ct. Ball Club exercised patience with the zone defense, and when Weaver nailed his fourth trey of the game, they had gone up, 37-34. Much like his NBA namesake -albeit 8 inches taller and 20 years younger- Iverson was able to get out in the open court for a fast break bucket -in addition to knocking down a three pointer earlier in the quarter- to extend Ct. Ball Club's lead to five. On the ensuing play, 5'11 SG Phil Gaetano cashed in on another Shooting Stars turnover, giving Ct. Ball Club a 41-34 lead at the half.

Brunson and Grace would start the second half making a push for Shooting Stars, and Brunson's inside hustle -coupled with Ct. Ball Club's slacking on the box out- brought them within three, 43-40. But they would get no closer for the time being. The pendulum would swing in favor of the Constitution state for the remainder of the third quarter, as continued failure to get back on defense and turnovers were the bane of the Shooting Stars. Not to mention, Brunson and Grace were the lone Stars to score in the third. By the time the fourth quarter began, the Shooting Stars were down twelve, 56-44. Despite poor shooting and missed lay-ups, Shooting Stars managed to conjure up a 9-0 run, and missed shots from Ct. Ball Club and the hard to defend antics of Grace enabled the Stars to creep back into the game. With Shooting Stars only down two, 60-58, the pressure was on. Ct. Ball Club pulled off a 5-0 run of their own, and they still remained up seven after Weaver fed swingman Mike Fraylon with a slick dish to go up, 66-59. The trio of Brunson, Grace and Calhoun would again answer the call, nonetheless, and a three from Calhoun with 1:15 left to play tied the game at 68. Ct. Ball Club would answer with a careless turnover on an inbound pass, and with a final possession left, Shooting Stars had a chance to go for the win. With PG Jevon Thomas running down the clock for the final play, their fatal flub would come with 12 seconds left in regulation. An attempted pass was picked off by Ct. Ball Club guard Gary Allen in an impressive display of hustle defense, and when he flung the ball from the floor to a streaking to the open basket Gaetano, the Connecticut team sealed the win.

Tyrus Weaver led Connecticut Basketball Club with 20 points, while Karon Iverson crashed the boards all game and added 15 and Phil Gaetano, 11 (including the game winner). Davontay Grace dropped a game high 24 points for Shooting Stars, in addition to a good number of crafty assists. Dwayne Brunson added 18 points, while dominating for the Shooting Stars on the glass. Omar Calhoun was second in scoring with 21 points.

The time between games for Connecticut Basketball Ball Club caused some very obvious cobwebs. After starting the game at the donut end of a 8-0 start, it was obvious that some atrophy had set in. Gotham Hoops got rolling quickly, behind the astute play of St. Ray's wing Kerwin Okoro. The 6'3 wing used his strength to get to the hoop with some swift post moves, as well as ringing in a three pointer for good measure. Ct. B-Ball Club's frigid shooting start combined with Gotham's on the ball pressure caused the Ct. squad to be down by twelve going into the second quarter, 24-12.

Rice's 6'4 senior forward, Zadock Laws showed toughness inside as the second quarter progressed, and Okoro continued to resonate with his versatility. Weaver began to shake off the frost, nailing an NBA range trey from near center court to cut Gotham's lead to seven, 36-29, at the half. But Ct. B-Ball Club were still missing lay-ups and shooting poorly as a whole.

Okoro continued to dominate in the second half, creatively using his body to get to the rack. Guard Melvin Johnson would step up for Gotham as well, but they didn't get much help elsewhere. Iverson, Weaver and Gaetano all pitched in to give Ct. B-Ball Club some steam, with Gaetano's two huge threes pulling them within a deuce, 49-47. The game would remain a dog fight from that point onward, and when guard Ishmael Kalilou scored his tenth point of the game, the Ct. team had their first lead, 61-59. Okoro would again carry the load and do all he could for Gotham -including provide a persistent defensive effort- but after Johnson nailed a corner three to put Gotham up, 64-61, he had no more help. Despite Ct. B-Ball club blowing a few lay-ups late, an Iverson bucket pulled them back to a tie, 68-68. Ultimately, free throws decided the game. Weaver, Iverson and Gaetano got to the line in the bonus and combined to shoot a prudent 6-6 from the stripe, while managing to take care of the ball under Gotham's swarming pressure. Ct. B-Ball Club went back home 2-0, with a 74-68 victory in their second game of the day.

Tyrus Weaver and Keron Iverson led Connecticut Basketball Club with 19 and 18 points, respectively. Phil Gateano chipped in with 14. Gotham Hoops' Kerwin Okoro scored a game high 23 points.

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