BROOKLYN, NY – The Hype City VIII single elimination tournament began on Saturday at South Shore high school and the games were fast and furious. The event featured four catholic schools versus four public schools. Here are brief recaps

Kareem May controlled the lead guard spot for South shore which resulted in a fast and productive start for the host team. Key baskets by Kadary Richmond and Sekou Sylla ‘18 led to a 17-5 first quarter advantage. A few defensive stops from Iona Prep cut the deficit but Shore kept pilling it on ending the first half leading by 16.

The beginning of the second half was more of the same for Iona Prep who was missing starters Souleymane Kouressi ‘19 and Josh Alexander ‘18. An and-1 dunk by Femi Odukale ‘19 woke the quiet South Shore gym up a bit. With the score being 50-26 at the tail end of the third, South Shore went on to win the contest handily.

Sylla paced South Shore with 23 points with Richmond adding 14 points. Bryce Wills '19* was high man for Iona Prep with 16 points with 6’7” freshman Jonathan Kuminga ‘21 contributing 12 points.

Both teams came out with a high intensity. A back and forth first quarter it was. Jefferson’s starting 5 didn’t seem to do much their guards but reserve Jaquan Carlos 21' calmed the Orange Wave and kept them from losing composure. Jefferson went into the second quarter down by 2.

St. Raymond’s started the second quarter with brothers Demarco ‘19 and Dallas Watson ‘18 who arrived late to the game and didn’t play the first quarter. Dallas Watson made an instant impact with his strong drives to the rim. Jefferson had a 6-point advantage with a minute to go ending the half and ended the third leading by 10.

The Watson brothers with help from Gary Grant ‘20 and Darius Lee ‘18 slowly sparked a Raven’s comeback. A strong drive and dish cut Jefferson’s lead to 6. The lead was further cut to 3 points after free-throws by Demarco Watson. Another turnover and foul sent St. Raymond’s to the line but they went 1 for 2 from the charity stripe.

The lead was cut to just a bucket at this point until Marcus Burnett ‘20 made it a two-possession game with 1:54 left in regulation. St. Rays was fouled at the three-point line and made Jefferson pay nailing all three at the line.

Lee hit a key bucket with 14 seconds left giving St. Ray’s the lead, 73- 72. Jefferson got fouled and went 1-2 which sent the game into overtime knotted at 73 apiece. Lee turned it over for Raymond’s. In overtime, Carlos left two critical points at the line. Dallas Watson came down and hit a three to tie it. A clutch shot but St. Rays couldn’t hold on in OT.

Burnett scored a game high 28 points for Jefferson with transfer Luis Kourtright ‘20 scoring 20 points for St. Ray’s

Back-to-back threes by Josiah Lewis ‘18 and John Wilson ‘19 started the game and Lincoln would lead by 6 points to end the first quarter. The Railsplitters continued to lead 38-31 at half even with Tyrese Williams ‘18 coming to play for Hayes as he ended the first half with 13.

The game was close through the 3 but a 7-0 run by the Railsplitters gave them the lead 43-42. Both teams been gritty through the third quarter but the Cardinals went on a run and ended with a 50-48 lead after three quarters.

Both teams kept up their defensive prowess in the fourth as baskets were hard to come by. The fourth predictably was more theatrical as both teams could smell the finish line. Call after call was made as the refs tried to keep control. The game finally regained a flow with 3:50 to go.

Lincoln stretched their lead to 4 points but Terrence Reaves ‘18, who’s been playing well all game, continued as he got fouled going to the basket after a Lincoln three-ball. He went 1-2 at the line then Jontai Williams tied it at 63 all with 3:28 to go in the 4.

The score became 72-65 after a 3 by Reaves. Hayes was fouled at the 3-point line and went 2 for 3. Hayes had a 5-point lead with less than a minute to go and extended it to 5 points for the win.

Reaves finished with 17 points.

* Monsignor Scanlan tops Cardozo, 78 – 77 in Quarterfinals

* Cardinal Hayes knocks off Scanlan, 67 – 66 in the semifinals

* Jefferson beats South Shore in semifinals, 72 - 69

Championship Game: Jefferson vs. Cardinal Hayes