Rumble in the Bx: Championship Rounds

New York dreams of the empire striking back at the Rumble in the Bronx were dashed simultaneously on two courts inside of Fordham University.

The East Coast Elite and the Connecticut Basketball Club would make the championship an out-of-state event as New Heights and the NY Panthers were taken out in the semifinals. In the end, East Coast Elite would take the crown defeating CBC, 63-58.

New Heights Falls to East Coast Elite, 63-46

The Bronx, NY based New Heights squad would take on a potent East Coast Elite team from PA in the semifinals. In the first half, Jaylen Bond carried the Elite squad as Jermaine Sanders and 6-foot-5 Emanuel Andujar scored in transition led New Heights to an 16-14 half time lead.

The second half belonged to the East Coast Elite as 6-foot-5 Elijah Bonsignore punished New Heights. 6-foot-3 Tyquan Goodlet added some firepower in an attempt to close a slowly widening gap.

In the end, New Heights had no answer for the length of East Coast Elite who would go on to win by 17 points and advance to the chip.

Bonsignore led the Elite with 17 points followed by Bond with 13 points and Corey Blake with 12 points. Sanders scored a game high 20 points for New Heights while Andujar added 14 points.

Conn. Basketball Club Takes NY Panthers In OT, 73-67

In the first half of the second semifinal game, the New York Panthers held on, outscoring CBC most of the way as DeShaun Wiggins and Sterling Gibbs were productive on offense. CBC's Tavon Allen, a 6-foot-7 rising senior would drive in with a one hand layup increase his team's score but back-to-back scoring from 6-foot-7 forward, Jordan Allen and 6-foot Scotch Plains guard, Charles Oliver kept the NY Panthers in the lead 20-15 at the end of one quarter.

The Panther's lead slowly disappeared in the second half after miss shots and foul trouble. With 12:45 left in play CBC big man Andre Drummond scored back-to-back baskets, making it a three point game with the Panthers ahead, 33-30. With nine minutes left in the half, CBC's Greg Langston hit a three-pointer making it a one point game but the Panthers still led 38-37 at the half.

Both teams would exchange baskets down the stretch. Allen would hit a three-point basket, tying the score 64-64. As the clock ran down, with 8.1 seconds left in play, Jeffrey Short drew a foul and scores two at the line. At the close of the half, CBC scored the last two points tying up the score again, sending the game into overtime 66-66.

With two minutes being added back on to the clock, the Panthers would gain control of the ball at the tip but Langston would score off an inbound pass and draw a foul to extend CBC's lead to 71-67. CBC would foul at the other end sending Short to the line to score one last point for the Panthers. Allen would land the final blow for CBC who would go on to win by 6 points.

CBC's high man was Langston with 22 points with Oliver adding 12 points and Drummond, 11 points. Wiggins led the Panthers with 17 points followed by Gibbs with 14 points.

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