iS8/Nike 1st-Round Playoffs is in the books
SOUTH JAMAICA, NY – On Saturday, the iS8/Nike Spring H.S. Classic playoffs got underway and as promised by its commissioner Pete Edwards, stars were born, and impostors got exposed. The action was intense with four games scheduled to take place. The level of talent both homegrown and flown in improved exponentially over the pool play basketball. Here are the first-round recaps.
Road to Riches Travel Past Vikings Basketball Club, 72 – 68
It was a competitive matchup from start to finish as the Vikings BBall Club, a team which featured players from the Federation T.O.C. runner-up, South Shore H.S. Baskets by Femi Odukale ‘19 and Kadary Richmond ‘19 kept the Brooklyn squad in the hunt.
Road to Riches countered in the first half with a strong effort from Michael Rivera (Next Level Prep ’18) and Kouma Bernard (Redemption Christian Academy ’19). With 2:23 left in regulation, the game was tied at 64 but a solid second half by Dashawn Davis (Our Savior Lutheran’19) and a clutch bucket by Kouma allowed Road to Riches to close out the Vikings with a 4-point edge.
Davis led Road to Riches with 18 points with Bernard adding 12 points. Richmond paced the Vikings Basketball Club with a game high 21 points. Road to Riches takes on Above & Beyond on Sunday ay 1:45pm at the Boys & Girls Club
Sean Bell All-Star Advance as LVBR Beasts Forfeits
Perhaps Coach Rah came too prepared to face off against LVBR as he flew in Nova bound Eric Dixon ’19 and McDonald’s All-American and LSU bound Javonte Smart ‘18 to add to his already potent roster.
The Sean Bell All-Stars advance past the no-show Beasts and lie in wait to take on Team Long Island on Sunday at 11:15am at the Boys & Girls Club.
Northeast Basketball Club Smash SE Stars, 95 – 73
An undersized and undermanned SE Stars were like lambs heading to slaughter against a high-octane NE B’ball club that featured a starting five of St. John’s bound Marcellus Earlington, LSU commit Nazeron Reid, Rutgers commit Ron Harper, Jr. along with Ohio State commit, Luther Muhammed and rivals.com 5-star Aidan Igiehon.
With Harper draining threes from the perimeter and Reid and Igiehon seemingly bending the rim with successive earth shattering dunks, the NE Basketball Club moved out front by 22 points by halftime and never looked back. The SE Stars did receive an impressive second half spark from Will Kondrat (Our Savior Lutheran ’19) and Justin Forest (Campus Magnet ’18) but unfortunately, they were alone on an island unsuccessfully trying to fend off a pack of hungry wolves.
SE Stars match their opponents in the second half, but a porous defense prevented them from gaining any ground. The result was a 22-point loss.
Earlington and Harper paced the Northeast Basketball Club with 16 points apiece with Reid and Igiehon contributing 12 points and 8 points respectively. Kondrat was high man for SE Stars with a game high 23 points. The Northeast Basketball Club faces off against the Beacon Elite at 12:30 pm on Sunday at the Boys & Girls Club.
2GZ survives and advances over D1 Stars, 90 – 86
As the iS8/Nike defending champs, 2GZ wears the proverbial bulls eye on its forehead and in Saturday’s finale the D1 Stars took aim and gave it their best shot. The lead would seesaw throughout the contest and temper flared as 2GZ fought hard to defend its crown.
7’2” Moses Brown ‘18 led the way early and often for 2GZ with emphatic dunks as well as defensive stops at the rim. They also received firepower from Tyler Bourne. The D1 Stars remained in the hunt with good pay from Nate Tabor ‘19 along with help from the Drame twins ‘19 (Fouseyni and Hassan). At the half, 2GZ only maintained a 33 – 30 advantage.
In the second half, the intensity ratcheted up as high flyers D1 Stars freshman sensation John Kuminga (Huntington Prep ’21) went at the rim against K.C. Ndefo (Abraham Lincoln ’18) at every opportunity. While that subplot played out, 2GZ managed to increase it lead to 12 points to start the final quarter as D1 Stars had no answer for the questions that Brown threw down, dunk after dunk.
D1 Stars made a push in the fourth quarter as Kuminga and PG John Wilson (Abraham Lincoln ’20) teamed up with offensive assistance from Christian Brown ‘19. 1:39 remained in regulation and 2GZ’s lead had dwindled to a mere point. In the end it was clutch free-throws down the stretch by Bourne coupled with missed buckets from the charity strip by D1 Stars that sealed their fate. 2GZ will play Shooting Stars on Sunday at 10:00 am at the Boys & Girls Club.
