RICHMOND HILL, NY - If you wanted to make the iS8 Nike/Fall Tip-Off Classic Final Four, you needed to get through Sunday's quarterfinals that took place at the Boys and Girls Club. After a lopsided day of blowouts on Saturday, Sunday saw four excellent games that showed off the best of New York and New Jersey's talent as we now recap what took place in Queens.

This contest saw Ben Gordon, which is also known as Mt. Vernon H.S., jump out to a huge lead before the Shooting Stars fought their way back to get within 1 early in the 4th quarter. Credit to the youngsters of the Knights though as they never faltered and lost the lead, maintaining their composure to hold on for the 8 point victory.

The Shooting Stars were the 2nd seed in the iS8 playoffs, and a team many booked as a team to win it all, but even with stars such as Nicholas Richards (The Patrick School, NJ '17), Jordan Tucker (Archbishop Stepinac '17), Temple Gibbs (Seton Hall Prep, NJ '16), Taurean Thompson (Brewster Academy, NH '16), and Sid Wilson (St. Raymond '17), they couldn't overcome a poor start, as a lack of offensive rhythm put them in what could only be described as a major hole early.

It was 17-9 in favor for Mt. Vernon after one, but it was the second quarter where they really exploded. Knights big man Greg Calixte '17 was able to dominate the inside against players bigger and more well known, but he was able to finish with both hands and show great footwork in the paint.

Marco Morency '17 was able to pull up and consistently knock down jumpers from all over the floor, and Demetre Roberts '18 slithered his way through the Shooting Stars defense time and time again as Ben Gordon went on a 15-1 run midway through the 2nd to take control.

It kept getting worse for the Shooting Stars as Richards had back to back dunk attempts blocked inside, and with only Tucker doing anything offensively, the team fell deeper and deeper behind with Mt. Vernon jumping out to what looked to be an insurmountable 46-22 lead at the half.

It looked insurmountable, but at iS8, and with a team with as much individual talent as the Shooting Stars had, anything is possible, and they proved that with a 3rd quarter that propelled them right back into the game.

Even with Tucker picking up his 4th foul with 5:38 to go in the 3rd quarter, he was disciplined enough to not do anything to draw a 5th foul to foul him out, and soon after that it became the Gibbs show.

The Mt. Vernon guards, all sophomores and juniors for the most part, seemed to be buckling a bit by making unforced turnovers, and Gibbs was lighting it up at the other end as he scored 14 points in the quarter, and rallied them Stars to within 7 after three.

He continued his hot shooting early in the 4th as well as Gibbs connected on a step back three to open the final stanza, and then a reverse layup off a steal in the backcourt while being fouled allowed the Shooting Stars to get within 62-61 with 7:28 to go in the game.

Reeling and vulnerable, the Knights needed a bucket, and needed something to turn the game back in their favor, and that is when Noah Morgan '17, saddled with foul trouble for the entire first half, came up big with an straightaway three pointer to push the Mt. Vernon lead back up to 4, and most important, give them a little breathing room once again.

The lead for Ben Gordon was pushed down to 1 again at 65-64 when Chris Coalmon (Long Island Lutheran '17) threw down a massive one handed dunk, and he could've tied the game up with a FT as he was also fouled on the throw down, but he missed from the charity stripe, and Calixte putback his own miss inside to make it a 3 point Mt. Vernon lead with 5:22 left.

A missed jumper by Tucker allowed Morency to get out and run the floor for a bucket in transition, and Calixte once again was having his way inside for a lefty finish around the rim, and the Knights were up 5 with under 3 minutes to play.

Roberts was facilitating the offense throughout the game, and his ability to break down the Shooting Stars defense was huge, especially late when he ran around a screen and converted driving in, and with just over a minute to play, and the Mt. Vernon lead back at 7, the game looked finally in the grasp of the Knights.

Thompson had a nice putback off a missed Gibbs jumper late, but it was too much of a climb for the Shooting Stars to fully overcome as Mt. Vernon proved that they can hang with anyone in iS8 this fall, pulling off the mild upset with an 81-73 win.

Morency and Calixte each had 16 points to lead the way for the Ben Gordon All-Stars, with Roberts adding 13, and Jason Douglas-Stanley '18, a good looking perimeter shooting threat, pouring in 12.

Gibbs did all he could for the Shooting Stars as he scored 30 points, with Tucker adding 19 points of his own in an effort that was not quite enough for the Shooting Stars in the loss.

This was a PSAL Brooklyn "AA" battle as Juice, also known as Abraham Lincoln H.S., took on the Eagles, Robeson H.S., in a game for not just a berth in the iS8 semifinals next weekend, but also Brooklyn bragging rights.

Robeson got out to a quick double digit lead, but Lincoln slowly chipped away, finally taking the lead for the first time late in the 3rd quarter, and even though the Eagles never let the game get away from them, they couldn't grab the lead back in the 4th as the Railsplitters held on for the 5 point victory.

Before anyone could blink in this one it was Robeson taking an 8-0 lead as Aquon Butler '17 was able to pressure the ball in the backcourt and swipe a pair of steals which led to easy buckets as Lincoln seemed to be struggling to get going early.

A couple of finishes inside posting up by big man Isaac Kante '16 gave the Eagles a 12-2 lead, with 2:35 to go in the first, but that is when Lincoln started turning up the intensity as a couple of long balls from Donald Flores '17 allowed the Railsplitters to get within 19-14 after one.

After a tough opening 8 minutes, Cahiem Brown '16 started to get things going for Lincoln in the second as he finished a putback inside while getting fouled, and then after a pair of FT's, he was able to drive down the baseline for a reverse layup, cutting the deficit to just one for the first time at 25-24.

Kante and J.J. Murray '16 were able to get themselves to the line where they combined on back to back trips to go 4 for 4 and push the Robeson lead back to 5, and while Lincoln was back in the game, they couldn't get over the top in the first half as a big three ball late by Butler allowed the Eagles to stay in front at the break, 33-31.

It took them a while, but Lincoln took their first lead when it was Lovell Ambrister '18 knocking down a three from the right side to put them up 40-39 with 3:48 to play in the 3rd.

That was the start of what proved to be a big 9-0 run as Brown scored out in transition off a feed from Jahlil Tripp '16 and it seemed the Railsplitters were hitting their main gear.

The lead for Lincoln grew to as many as 8 in the 4th quarter, but even though it looked as if their opponents were going to take over, Robeson refused to quit as each time the Railspitters got the lead to 7 or 8, it was Kante scoring inside or Carl Jackson '18 knocking down a big trey from the outside.

A long Jackson three made it just 59-58 in favor of Lincoln with 1:48 to go, but Brown hit on a couple of big FT's, and a big turnover by Murray when he had Butler open in the corner, allowed Lincoln to once again push the lead open more, and though they gave it their best shot, the Eagles couldn't get any closer after that.

Lincoln may not have had their "A" game, but with big games by Brown and Flores, they had enough to get by a scrappy and tough Robeson squad that they will see a lot more of in the coming months ahead, 66-61.

Brown had a team high 21 points in the victory for the Juice All-Stars, and he got help from Flores who added 17 points. Tripp may not have had his best scoring game in this one, putting in just 8, but his teammates picked him up in the winning effort.

Kante was a man among boys inside as the 6'7" forward scored 27 points to lead the way for the Eagles, while Jackson and Murray each had 12 points to help Robeson prove that they are a legitimate contender going forward this season in the PSAL.

St. Anthony's H.S. of New Jersey, playing under the name B.B.A. Hoops here in iS8, was the top seed in the playoffs for the Fall/Tip-Off Classic, and while they didn't play like the #1 seed in this one, struggling for most of the night from deep, they got big shots when they needed them from both Jagan Mosely '16 and Shyquan Gibbs '16, as they rallied late against a team in J.Y.O. comprised primarily of players from Benjamin Cardozo H.S. to take the difficult 4 point win.

For much of this game it was St. Anthony's missing three point shot after three point shot as the New Jersey power seemed to settle for perimeter shots against a physical JYO defense, and with the Friars struggling, JYO got good play early on from Rashond Salnave '16 as they took a surprising 30-25 lead into the half.

Even after three it was still JYO with a 38-35 lead as Salnave was doing a nice job setting up Amiri White '16 in the paint for easy buckets, and with St. Anthony's having made just 1 three through 3 quarters, it seemed like maybe the top seed would be knocked off in Sunday's quarterfinals if they couldn't put together a big 4th quarter showing.

Aaron Walker '16 gave JYO a 43-37 lead when he knocked down a three from the left side, but R.J. Cole '17 was able to convert on BBA's second made three of the game to cut the deficit in half, and with that one made three, it seemed like the St. Anthony's offense was finally starting to wake up.

Gibbs knocked down a three from the right corner to tie the game up at 45 with 4:04 to go in the game, and then when Gibbs was able to drive through the JYO defense, he gave the Friars their first lead of the game with just over 3 minutes to play.

JYO did have chances though, but Salnave was never given room to operate driving inside, and a couple of settling jumpers failed to fall late, as a very physical game saw Mosely and Gibbs really take over down the stretch, allowing BBA Hoops to come from behind to stay alive with the 55-51 victory.

Mosely kept St. Anthony's alive when everyone else for the Friars was struggling and he had a game high 22 points, with Gibbs adding 15 points, and Cole knocking down 3 threes and finishing with 12 points as well in the win.

In what was a very tough loss for a talented JYO team, Walker led the way with 15 points, while Salnave was held to 13 points in the defeat.

While this game proved to be the lone game where a team won by double digits, it was still a tight game most of the way with The Rens leading by just 3 heading into the 4th before pulling away in the final stanza for the convincing victory.

The Rens added both Jose Alvarado (Christ the King '17) and Isaiah Washington (St. Raymond '17) this weekend, but this game was the Tyrone Cohen (Christ the King '16) show as the recent Holy Cross commit scored 14 points in the first half and scored 26 overall in the game as he paced The Rens in their win to head into the semifinals.

Matur Maker (Orangeville Prep, ON '17) was able to throw down some impressive dunks when he was able to free himself inside around the rim, but more often than not he was swarmed by an aggressive Rens defense, while the guard play for the New York City squad pushed the tempo and tried to run up and down against CBC, which seemed to wear out there opponents late as they certainly faded down the stretch.

On top of Cohen's 26, Alvarado scored 15, Jared Rivers (Christ the King '16) scored 13, and Washington added 11 to help The Rens pull away late in the win.

Mike McGuirl (East Catholic, CT '17) was a bright spot in the defeat for CBC as he had 11 of his 15 points in the first half, while Chaylyn Martin (Weaver, CT '17) also had 15 points in the defeat for the Connecticut based team.

With the conclusion of Sunday's play, the matchups for the iS8 Fall/Tip-Off Classic Semifinals were set. BBA Hoops will take on The Rens in one semifinal at 11:00am this Saturday at iS8 in Queens, while in the other semifinal, the Juice All-Stars will face off with the Ben Gordon All-Stars in an Abraham Lincoln H.S. vs. Mt. Vernon H.S. matchup at 12:30pm.