iS8/Nikes Friday Night Highlights

SOUTH JAMAICA, N.Y. -- Sweet and Low. Half and Half.

Sounds like an order for coffee, but that would be the best way to describe Friday night action at the iS8/Nike Fall Tip-Off Classic. On extended days, like Saturdays, there are more games and, therefore, the probability increases to witness competitive games.

However, on Friday at Intermediate School 8 (Queens, N.Y.), the games were split in terms of power struggles. Of the two matchups, one was a full-fledged, uphill battle and the other was a blowout.

Let's take a look at both contests.

J.Y.O. STAGES RUGGED COMEBACK, STEALS PLAYOFF BID FROM A FIERY BROOKLYN BALLERS, 63-60

A short-handed Jamaica Youth Organization (J.Y.O.) and Brooklyn Ballers (N.Y.) clashed from tip-off, knotting the matchup repeatedly in the early minutes of the game. J.Y.O., which is composed of players from Benjamin Cardozo High School (Bayside, N.Y.), earned a five-point advantage, 17-12.

Because Brooklyn Ballers' defense made points hard to come by, each point was earned through tough play inside the paint, especially by Amir Tutt ('16) and Armando Dunn ('15).

Though J.Y.O. was able to flush points through the hole, the strong, intense pressure defense of Brooklyn Ballers began slowly creeping up the spine of J.Y.O. As a result, Brooklyn Ballers secured stops and transition points.

Brooklyn Ballers led by the sharp-shooting and high-octane play of Kylan Guerra (Archbishop Stepinac (N.Y.) '15) and the consistent execution of Nosa Onabor (Northside Charter (N.Y.) '15) torched J.Y.O. in the second quarter.

By the two-minute mark of the period, the 3-point game of Guerra and company catapulted Brooklyn Ballers to a nine-point lead, 33-24.

J.Y.O. attempted to cut the deficit down before halftime, but as the game became increasingly more physical in the middle, J.Y.O. struggled to go on a run. As a result, Brooklyn Ballers maintained the nine-point margin at the break, as the squad led 37-28.

In the third phase, late arrivals for J.Y.O. pumped the team with what they needed to become a solid contender to finish the matchup strongly. But the question that arose was: is it too late?

With the Brooklyn Ballers obviously in command of the game and the momentum, coupled with the bruising nature of the matchup, it seemed almost impossible for J.Y.O. to come back from a 10-point deficit, 40-30.

Although J.Y.O. chipped the Brooklyn Ballers' advantage down to six, 40-34, the Ballers sprung right back to a 10-point lead, 44-34.

Acknowledging that offense wasn't enough to overcome a team like the Brooklyn Ballers, J.Y.O. tightened up on defense and inflicted its well-known man-to-man press. That defense, which quickly sent help to the weak side as the ball moved about the perimeter, slowed the buckets drained by Brooklyn Ballers to a slow drip.

J.Y.O. staged a 21-8 run from the end of the third into the fourth and final phase, which was capped by a 3-pointer and a pair of free throws by J.Y.O.'s Rashond Salnave ('16). With about 4:05 left in the game, the J.Y.O. sequence gave the squad the lead and a three-point cushion, 55-52.

Brooklyn Ballers soon after knotted the contest at 56. A goaltending call on the Ballers, gave J.Y.O. a two-point lead, 58-56. Damarri Moore (Abraham Lincoln (N.Y.) '16) tied the contest at 58 for Brooklyn Ballers. But J.Y.O quickly answered.

A high-pressured moment forced Brooklyn Ballers into a turnover, as Salnave scooped up the loose ball and was fouled. Salnave drained 2-of-2 from the line, lifting J.Y.O by four, 62-58.

Brooklyn Ballers' Guerra sank an impressive, clutch jumper, pulling his squad within two points, 62-60. Though the Ballers received an opportunity to knot the contest, J.Y.O's Tutt grabbed the rebound as Brooklyn Ballers was forced to foul with three seconds remaining in the game.

Tutt hit the second free throw of the pair of attempts. Brooklyn Ballers' Moore attempting to execute, dribbled to three-quarter court before a long pass met the hands of a teammate waiting at the wing as time expired.

J.Y.O's Salnave finished with a team-high 19 points (all in the second half), while Dunn posted 13 points. Tutt added 12 points. Brooklyn Ballers' Guerra recorded a game-high 20 points (13 in the first half), while teammates Moore and Onabor had 12 points apiece in the loss.

With the win, J.Y.O sealed a spot in next week's playoffs.

PRIMETIME ROUTS UNITED BROOKLYN, 74-58

Although the game was close in the beginning of the first quarter, as Primetime (N.Y.) led by only three points, 13-10, the condition of United Brooklyn's collective game quickly deteriorated thereafter.

By the end of the first quarter, Primetime was leading by 13 points, 26-13.

And, because of the hardwood grind of Primetime, propelled by Temple Gibbs (Seton Hall Prep (N.J.) '16), the squad led by a whopping 18 points, 44-26, at halftime.

Gibbs had 15 points of his game-high 23 points in the first stanza.

By the third quarter, one would think Primetime would restrain itself and shift the gear to cruise control to do just enough to maintain a comfortable cushion.

However, throughout the second half, Primetime never let off the gas and battled United Brooklyn (N.Y.) like it was trailing, diving on the floor for loose balls, playing a strangling defense and setting up thought-out and effective plays on the offensive end.

Primetime led by as much as the final score.

Primetime's Devonte Green (LuHi (N.Y.) '16) and Marvin Prochet (LuHi (N.Y.) '16) each finished with 16 points. United Brooklyn's Khalid Muhamed (Bishop Loughlin (N.Y.) '15) and Ryan Lawrence (Lakewood H.S. (N.J.) '15) posted 16 and 14 points, respectively.