iS8/Nike Abbreviates On Saturday

SOUTH JAMAICA, N.Y. -- Despite a truncated schedule with just five contests on tap Saturday, there were a few solid matchups that took place on the hardwood of the gymnasium at Intermediate School 8 (Queens, N.Y.) as part of the iS8/Nike Fall Tip-Off Classic.

As usual, NYCHoops.net was in the building to check out the action. Let's take a look at a few recaps.

2GZ-WILL (N.Y.) TAKES TWO, NOW 2-1 IN LEAGUE PLAY

As hard as it is for some teams to win a game in the pool play portion of the iS8 tourney, 2GZ-Will, which came into the day 0-1, was able to secure two victories and improve its record to 2-1.

In the 9 a.m. contest, 2GZ easily ran through Shooting Stars, 65-44. Daquaise Andrews (Impact (Pa.) '15) finished with 20 points in the victory, while teammate Jonathan Grimsley (Capitol Christian (Md.) '15) posted 19 points.

The second contest, scheduled for 11:20 a.m., was not as simple. In the matchup with Lehigh Valley Basketball Rankings (LVBR), 2GZ could not just switch to cruise control and trounce its Pa. opponent. Instead, 2GZ outworked the competition from tip-off to end-game.

In the first quarter, 2GZ and LVBR held brief leads before repeatedly knotting the contest. The squads stayed within a possession of one another until late in the second half when LVBR could not keep up with the pace of Andrews' ability to put the ball through the hoop.

Sometimes, it seemed as if anything Andrews threw toward the rim drank from the bottom of the well, as he cashed in on off-balanced shots, floaters, jumpers and buckets that manipulated backboard physics. He sank 24 points en route to his game-high 36 points in the first half alone.

LVBR's young and tough David Kachelries (Emmaus (Pa.) '17) did not seem to be phased by Andrews, as he displayed a strong skill set of his own -- from ball-handling and distribution to shooting range and intense man pressure. Kachelries was a large part of keeping LVBR's head above water during the first stanza, recording 14 of his team-high 25 points in the half.

Still, 2GZ led 45-36 at halftime.

While everyone in the gym knew that slowing down Andrews' offense would impact 2GZ' productivity, there was another player on the squad's roster who was able to inflict just as much damage -- Grimsley.

With a milder Andrews and a similarly dynamic Grimsley, 2GZ maintained a safe distance ahead of LVBR until LVBR's Tyler Kohl (Coastal Academy (N.J.) '15) began to really make his presence felt.

Primarily he and Kachelries brought the game within two points, 47-45, midway through the third phase. Grimsley and Andrews lifted their squad to a six-point advantage, 53-47, but LVBR quickly made it a one-possession game, 53-50.

Though 2GZ was able to lead by seven points, 57-50, Kachelries cut it to five just before the fourth quarter.

The 2GZ squad led again by as much as seven, 59-52, in the final phase but, midway through the period, a 3-pointer by Kachelries narrowed the margin to just an ace, 69-68. A lane violation, while Andrews was shooting a free throw, gave LVBR an opportunity to take the lead.

However, LVBR's empty possessions allowed Andrews and Grimsley to string together four consecutive points with 2:27 left in the game and lifted 2GZ by five, 73-68. With 1:47 remaining, Kachelries effectively executed a spin move to the rack and chipped the 2GZ lead down to three, 73-70.

Still, 2GZ would do just enough to keep LVBR at bay for the duration of the matchup and win it 79-74.

For 2GZ, Andrews finished with 36 points, while Grimsley netted 26. LVBR's Kachelries posted 25 points, while Kohl recorded 19 points. Teammate Tajon Roberts (Dieruff (Pa.) '16) added 10 points.

BAYSIDE BB CLUB (N.Y.) STAGES COMEBACK, CLIPS TEAM PRICE (N.Y.), 53-49

Team Price (N.Y.) grabbed hold of the advantage early, but Bayside Basketball Club was able to close out the first quarter within two points of the competition, 9-7.

However, in the second period, Bayside Basketball Club, which is composed of players from Bayside High School (Bayside, N.Y.), earned its first lead of the contest and, then, extended it to four points, 13-9, on a 3-pointer by Denzel Morris ('15).

A team effort from Team Price quickly gave way to the squad regaining its footing and grabbing a five-point advantage, 25-20, with a minute left before the close of the first half. Yet, another triple from Morris brought the game down to just one possession, 25-23, by halftime.

Team Price used the early minutes of the third quarter to elevate its small lead to a solid cushion of seven points, 30-23, on a 3-pointer by Ambioris Peralta (Washington Irving (N.Y.) '15). Bayside answered with a trey of its own, but Peralta would sink another trey to maintain the seven-point margin, 33-26.

Bayside BB Club's coach shifted the defensive strategy, calling for his players to "close out the corners" which, ultimately, slowed down Team Price's perimeter offense. Still, without Team Price's 3-balls, the team acquired a lead of as much as 11 points, 39-28, because of the advantage it already earned.

While the defensive moves were working, Bayside shifted gears offensively, stepping up its intensity, moving the ball for better looks and getting other players (besides Morris) much more involved in the second half.

In the fourth quarter, Bayside Basketball Club snapped Team Price's lead to just one point, 39-38. Bayside went on a 7-0 run in the ensuing minutes, catapulting ahead by six points, 45-39.

Though Team Price attempted to retake the lead it had for much of the contest, the mid-game adjustments made by Bayside on both sides of the ball effectively shut them out from doing so.

Bayside Basketball Club's Morris led his team with 12 points (11 in the first half), while teammate Danny Hernandez ('15) finished with 11 points (eight in the second stanza). Ryniek Holloway ('15) and Chase Hudson ('15) netted nine and six points in the win, respectively.

Team Price's Peralta led all scorers with 17 points, while Jerry Mejia (postgrad) and Romello Chariandy (Automotive (N.Y.) '15) added 12 and 10 points, respectively. Teammate Mike Bush (postgrad) had eight points.

PRIMETIME (N.Y.) THROWS SHADE AT BIG GAME BASKETBALL (N.Y.), 67-47

Behind the efforts of Devonte Green (LuHi (N.Y.) '16) and Temple Gibbs (Seton Hall Prep (N.J.) '16), Primetime (N.Y.) gained control of the game's momentum early, shooting off to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter.

Big Game Basketball, which is composed of players from Paul Robeson High School (Brooklyn, N.Y.), began to put points on the board late in the period, chipping the deficit down to 11 points, 17-6.

In the second phase, the margin stayed relatively the same as Primetime led 30-17 at halftime.

Big Time Basketball began to warm up in the third quarter, nearly matching Primetime's point production. However, the point differential did not change much because of the hole that was dug earlier in the contest. And, with a third go-to-guy on the floor in Jamal Allen (Brentwood H.S. (N.Y.) '16) emerging for Primetime, a comeback seemed impossible since Big Time Basketball was trailing by 14 points, 44-30, at the close of the period.

In the fourth and final phase, Big Time Basketball built on the momentum it had established in the third quarter and, ultimately, propelled by two back-to-back plays from Adam Goldsberry ('15), the squad was within nine points, 49-40.

A bucket by Big Time Basketball's Yousef Kante ('15) cut down Primetime's lead a little more to eight points, 50-42.

Sparked by Gibbs, Primetime answered with a flurry of baskets, outscoring Big Time Basketball 17-5 in the remaining minutes of the game.

Primetime's Allen finished with 14 points, while Gibbs and Green recorded 13 and 11 points, respectively. Big Time Basketball's Goldsberry scored a game-high 15 points, while teammates Isaac Kante ('16) and JJ Murray ('16) had eight points apiece. Yousef Kante added six points.

RAVENS (N.Y.) HANDS LVBR (PA.) ITS SECOND LOSS OF THE DAY, 60-47

After dropping the ball against 2GZ-Will earlier in the day, Lehigh Valley Basketball Rankings (LVBR) was handed its second loss of the day -- this time by the Ravens (N.Y.).

The contest with the Ravens, which is composed of players from St. Raymond High School (Bronx, N.Y.), was seemingly decided when, behind the hardwood grind of Rich Ross ('15), the squad led by as much as 17 points, 29-12, in the first half.

LVBR's dynamic duo, Tyler Kohl (Coastal Academy (N.J.) '15) and David Kachelries (Emmaus (Pa.) '17), put the squad within eight points, 33-25, just before halftime.

Kohl and Kachelries accounted for 23 of their team's 25 first-half points.

In the opening minutes of the second half, LVBR narrowed its deficit to as low as one point twice -- the last time was when the score was 35-34. Still, a basket by Ravens' Malik Mooving ('16) and teammate Dajour Armstrong, got the Ravens moving again, pushing them ahead 41-36.

LVBR was not ready to pack it up just yet, as the squad deflected the ball twice and came within two points, 43-41. However, that would be the end of LVBR's gap-closing.

The Ravens closed out the game on a 17-6 run to put LVBR away for good.

Ravens' Ross finished with a game-high 16 points, while Mooving netted 13 points. Teammates Armstrong, .Alonzo Christian and Omar Silverio each had six points. LVBR's Kohl and Kachelries recorded 13 and 12 points, respectively.