M.T.G. Summer League Championship

ST ALBANS, NY -On Saturday, two undefeated teams went at each other during the championship round of the M.T.G. Summer League Championship. After dominating the boards as and incorporating 4-star weaponry, NYC Finest would remain undefeated at 8 – 0 after taking down Team Underrated, 59 – 46.

Early turnovers by Team Underrated set the stage for NYC Finest, a team comprised primarily of players from John Bowne HS and coached by Rob Diaz, to jump out front and stay there. Rivals.com 4-star Hassan Diarra ‘20 and his younger brother Cherif Diarra (John Bowne '21) powered NYC Finest along with balance scoring and rebounding from their teammate. Conversely, T.U. under head coach Andre' Edwards had troubles putting the ball in the bucket and trailed their opponent 25 - 19

In the second half, with their foot on Team Underrrated’s neck, NYC Finest gave them a reprieve with suspect shot selection. Paced by John Longmore (Erasmus '21) and Michael Randall (John Bowne '21), T.U. trimmed their deficit to 5 points with 9 minutes left to play.

A strong second half by H. Diarra eventually began to right the ship for NYC Finest and their lead increased to 14 points with 3 minutes left to play. Because T.U. could not overcome NYC Finest's domination on the boards, they were unable to exchange baskets down the stretch.

H. Diarra led NYC Finest with 23 points with C. Diarra adding 10 points. The high man for Team Underrated was Longmore with 10 points.