Easy like Sunday morning @ iS8/Nike

Sunday morning proved to be as easy as the song said for some of the teams participating in the iS8/Nike Fall Tip-Off Classic.

Double-digit victories seemed to be the theme for the day, as teams faced off at the Variety Boys and Girls Club in Long Island City, NY. Despite the lopsided wins, the day still brought about some very impressive individual efforts.

The first game between the Variety Boys and Girls Club and Team Buckets set the tone for the rest of the day's blowout, as Variety easily handled Team Buckets with a 112-56 victory. St. John's University-bound Maurice Harkless led all scorers with 45 points for the Variety Boys and Girls Club. Emile Blackman led Team Buckets with 21 points.

Game two saw the Long Island Lightning put away the NIA Prep National squad 95-81. The Lightning held a 19-point lead in the 3rd quarter before NIA Prep started the 4th quarter on a 15-5 run, cutting the lead to within 5. Shaquille Thomas kept NIA Prep in the game, showing he could get to the basket at will. He'd finish with a game-high 38 points, but it wouldn't be enough as the Lightning's balanced scoring would prove to be too much for NIA Prep. Jason Boswell led the Lightning with 22 points, while Kuran Iverson and Oscar Oussie chipped in with 20 points and 17 points respectively.

Team Ocean had a rough Sunday, going 0-2, dressing only 5 players for the day. The first game was a 73-55 loss to the Gauchos. Top scorer Rich Council had 24 points to lead the Gauchos. Team Ocean had a 10-point lead to start the game, led by Anthony Walker and his 22 points. But the Gauchos started the 2nd quarter with a 10-1 run to put them back in the game and outscored Team Ocean 26-7 in the fourth quarter. "We just got tired" says Walker about his team losing the lead late in the game. "If we would've had more players, we would've done better."

The Sean Bell All-Stars held a 35-19 lead against the Minutemen after the 1st quarter and never lost the lead, as they cruised to a 79-54 win Sunday. Chris Jones was the top performer in this matchup, leading all scorers with 28 points. Shelton Mickellwas the Minutemen lone shining star in this one, leading his team with 16 points, including scoring 9 of the Minutemen's first 11 points in the 3rd quarter.