iS8/Nike Saturday 4/20 Recaps
SOUTH JAMAICA, NY - This weekend’s slate of games at iS8/Nike Spring Classic had a lot of talent get on the floor to play and a few put on impressive performances. However, when it came to the actual games, the suspense was less than compelling. The theme of the day was one of the teams would eventually pull away and win comfortably.
LPAC Runs Over NE Basketball Club, 97 - 78
LPAC versus North East Basketball Club was the 2nd game on the schedule. There was a ton of D1 talent on the floor for that one. In fact, Mr. New York Basketball Joe Girard, was on the NEBC roster. Girard played well, knocking down multiple threes in the game. Joe was outstanding, but this one had a different last name. Joe Toussaint lit up the floor after a slow start and helped lead his team to a runaway victory.
The game was nip and tuck for a while, with the game being tied at 39 at halftime. NEBC could boast that there was a division one player on the court no matter who was playing. That wasn’t enough to hold off the relentless attacking of LPAC players whose main mission was to get to the hoop as fast as possible. They blew the game open in the 2nd half, first off, the impressive shot making from Toussaint. Then as everyone else found their rhythm, there was no mercy at the hoop.
Toussaint, who is committed to Iowa, finished with 23 points, but he wasn’t even the high scorer for LPAC. That honor would go to Dontae Walker who continued to be the finisher on the fast breaks that LPAC consistently finished, especially in the fourth quarter. Walker finished with 28 points, while teammate Elijah Wynn added in 21 points of his own. Big man Amadou Traore also hit double figures with 13 points while holding his own in the paint.
Wichita State bound Tyson Etienne scored a team high 21 for NEBC. Girard had 20 points in the game.
Team Nation Smacks Elmont, 81 - 48
Team Nation dominated the game from start to finish. The game was never in doubt. Freshman guard Zion Cruz scored 22 points, 20 in the first half, while Bendji Pierre added 20 points. Sophomore center Moussa Cisse had 16 points and played above the rim for most of the game.
Goldminz Stops Team Nation, 94 - 88
Goldminz took advantage of Team Nation with suffocating defense, who were playing their second game of the day. This was a game full of turnovers caused by Goldminz. There were periods where Team Nation couldn’t even get the ball across half court. The game’s final score was closer than the game actually was. There was never a moment in the final quarter when you thought Team Nation would have been able to pull it off.
Alejandro Vazquez finished with 24 points for the winners, while Justin Champagnie added 22 points. Chad Baker led Team Nation in their second game with 19 points.
D1 Stars Outshine Shooting Stars, 75 - 58
Fousseyni Drame led D1 Stars with 20 points. Jaylen Davis had the same total for Shooting Stars.
NE Basketball Clubs Almighty Force, 60 - 43
The score was 26-20 at halftime. That kind of gives you the idea of how much the ball actually went through the net in this game. Joe Girard knocked down 4 threes in the game to basically lock it up for NEBC. He finished with a team high 17 points.
2GZS Slams PD Nation, 98 - 74
Jalen Gaffney was hot in the first half and knocked down 5 three-pointers on his way to a game high 28 points. The other guard in the backcourt also went off in the first half, Isaiah Wong had 13 of his 17 points early. Jacob Toppin also added 17 points for 2GZS. Kayvontay Williams had a great effort and scored 22 points for PD Nation.
