NJ Playaz Are Kings of NY
It would seem to be a rep priority for the NY Gauchos to win their own tournament, especially one that's entitled, The Kings of New York Classic.
More importantly because the opponent in the chip was from neighboring New Jersey. Unfortunately, the Playaz Club missed that memo and Myles Mack must've have read it after his 33 point MVP performance leading his team to 100-88 win.
Advertisement
In typical Gauchos fashion, the Bronx squad initiated an up-tempo pace but the Playaz Club countered equally on the court speedometer and with 5:45 left in the first half, the Playaz had pulled to within by 3 points of the lead as Mack slipped through the Gauchos defense. A steal by Kyle Anderson (22 points) and a bucket by Dawan Lighty (11 points) and just like that, a 5-2 run ties the game at 33.
The Gauchos inability to protect the ball led to numerous steals by the Playaz Club, leaving them in a 47-43 hole at the half.
In the second half, the Playaz Club led by PG Anderson and his improved ability to knock down outside and midrange shots plagued the Gauchos. Shaquille Stokes (winner of the sportsmanship award with 19 points), Kerwin Rameau
(15 points) and Omar Calhoun (18 points) did manage to get open in transition and from the corners respectively but the Gauchos still had no answer for the NJ Juggernaut whose lead increased to 8 points with 11:52 left in the game.
PG Anthony Givens (14 points) played well, sometimes matching Mack's intensity and a trey by T.J. Curry (7 points) even cut the Playaz Club lead to 61-57 but a mid range shot by Anderson and put back dunks by Desmond Hubert (6 points) soon re-established the Gauchos deficit at 13 points with 4:09 left in regulation.
The Playaz Club also received added firepower from Myles Davis (17 points) that would counter any last ditch attempts that the Gauchos would make at a comeback.
The partisan Gauchos home crowd urged their team to mount a comeback, but down by 10 points with 1:27 left in regulation and continued Playaz Club pilfering, the Gauchos were reduced to fouling and hoping for Playaz Club missed freethrows. On this afternoon however, the NJ team was solid from the charity stripe as well.
Go to NYC Hoops for all the late breaking NYC basketball news and rankings.
Sign-up for our FREE eNewsletter to get the even more news right in your email box.
For On-Demand Webcasts of the Jordan Brand Classic Regional & International game go to:.