SOUTH JAMAICA, NY – Three exciting games took place on Saturday to determined who would be crowned the iS8/Nike Fall Tip-Off High School Classic champions. In the semis, Rundown faced off against Killa Dawgs followed by Team Long Island vs Beacon Elite.
Semifinal One: Run Down barely slips muzzle on Killa Dawgs, 91 – 90
There was plenty of barking and growling from the stands as the Killa Dawgs (players from Thomas Jefferson Campus) promised to eat Run Down assuming they would eventually succumb to the Brooklyn squad’s aggressiveness on both ends of the courts. The Killa Dawgs did deliver Run Down a steady diet of buckets, but an unbridled Brandon Williams led the charge that eventually put the Killa Dawgs in a 10-point hole to start the final quarter.
A strong quarter by Conner Sprattley '25 and Antony Isaacs '23 managed to tie the game at 89 with 30 seconds remaining. The Killa Dawgs may have won the battle of aggressiveness but they lost the battle at the free throw line down the stretch and lost by a point.
Williams was the high man for Run Down with 26 points with Taj Bryant (Eagle Academy II '24) adding 18 points. Spratley was the Killa Dawgs top scorer with a game high 27 points.
Semifinal Two: Team Long Island Defeats Beacon Elite, 82 – 76
The Nassau/Suffolk squad lived up to its name as “team” work was making the dream work. Josh Pascarelli gave Beacon Elite lead after one quarter but a strong first half by Frank Wilson (Half Hollow Hills West '23) put Team Long Island ahead 33 – 30 at the half.
Both teams fought neck and neck throughout the second half, and it became a game of inches. Although Beacon Elite kept the game close it continuously played catch-up. With 3:55 left in regulation, Team Long Island held on to a two-point advantage and would get no closer.
Wilson paced Team Long Island with 25 points with Derek Reed contributing 14 points. Marist bout Pascarelli netted a game high 32 points for Beacon Elite.
Championship: Run Down’s Team L.I. en route iS8 Chip, 69 – 59
In the warm-up quarter, both teams matched up evenly but in the second quarter, Team Long Island had no answer to the problem that was Brandon Williams. The UCLA bound big man morphed into a one-man-show with his perimeter game on full display.
Run Down led 40 – 29 at the half spearheaded by Williams’ four first half three-pointers . Frank Wilson who was a major force for Team L.I. during the semifinal round, netted only four points during the championship. Trailing by 9 to start the final quarter, Team Long Island was unable to recover.
Williams was named the tournaments MVP scoring a game high 27 points with teammates Taj Bryant and Markell Alston (Christ the King '23) adding 19 points and 16 points, respectively. Leonidas Vlogianitis (Garden City '23) led Team Long Island with 13 points
