Strong Saturday at iS8

The action at iS8 in Queens picked back up on Saturday with a marquee matchup between Montibello and the Ben Gordon All-Stars to close out the day. Overall is a day of solid games from start to finish, but the fans in attendance had to be happy as the final game did not disappoint as both teams went toe to toe until the closing seconds to determine a winner. From top to bottom it was a strong day and here now is a recap of Saturday's action.

Montibello 63- Ben Gordon All-Stars 62

You couldn't have asked for more than what you got between a local Queens power in iS8 Fall Classic runners up Montibello, and the Ben Gordon All-Stars which is Mount Vernon H.S.

The game got off the way Bello wanted as they jumped out to the quick 13-4 lead with Jamel Horton (Holy Cross '16) getting out in transition and scoring 6 quick points off of steals by both Aaron Walker (Cardozo '16) and Jaheam Cornwall (Francis Lewis '16).

The defense by Montibello, and the struggles of the Ben Gordon guards to handle the pressure that was being applied on them allowed the Queens team to build up a quick lead, but as soon as Bello made subs, it allowed Ben Gordon to free up for better looks at the rim. Greg Calixte (Mt. Vernon '17) was able to finish easier inside when Joshua Nurse (Queens H.S. of Teaching '15) came out, and Justin Alleyne (Mt. Vernon '15) was able to penetrate into the lane for a pair of buckets, and the Ben Gordon deficit after 1 was down to 16-10.

Ben Gordon kept on attacking in the halfcourt, and after an Eric Monroe (Mt. Vernon '17) finish while being fouled, the game was tied at 20 with 2:05 to go in the half.

Rahmel Thompson (Queens H.S. of Teaching '16) helped Montibello grab the lead back with a three from the left wing, and that momentum allowed the Queens team to maintain the lead heading into the half, going up at the break 26-22.

The first 6 points of the 3rd quarter were scored by Bello as they once again with there starting five back in the game were able to dominate possession and score getting out in the open floor. Horton scored 5 of the first 6, and Montibello was back up double digits just 2 minutes into the quarter.

Marlon Taylor (Mt. Vernon '15) and Calixte were continuously able to do good things inside and control the glass which helped Ben Gordon stay close in the game, though with the guards for Mt. Vernon H.S. struggling to get to the rim with Nurse as a rim protector inside, Bello hung onto the 40-36 lead going into the 4th.

After back to back baskets by Horton and Nurse, Bello took a 48-39 lead with 6:40 to play in the game, and while the momentum seemed fully in Montibello's favor, that all changed on a dime as Taylor scored on a pair of possessions inside, and though Isaac Grant (Archbishop Molloy '16) was able to score posting up to break up a 8-0 Ben Gordon run, a three by Monroe soon after gave Ben Gordon their first lead of the game at 55-54 with 2:30 to play in the game.

Monroe actually scored 7 straight for Ben Gordon, and totaled 11 in the 4th quarter as he was a key cog in helping his squad take the lead, and the lead grew to as much as five at 61-56 with under a minute to play, but Walker stepped up and buried a corner three while getting fouled to make it once again a one point game at 61-60.

Each team traded going one of two from the FT line late, and then in what was the biggest moment of the game, Montibello was able to tie up Ben Gordon with just 9 seconds to play, giving the ball back to Bello, and in the closing moments, Walker made a beautiful pass inside to find Grant for the easy finish inside, giving Montibello a 63-62 lead with 4 seconds to go.

Ben Gordon would have one more chance, but solid pressure defense in the backcourt never allowed them to move the ball up the court to get off a shot for the win, and Montibello would hang on for the hard fought 63-62 victory.

Walker finished with a game high 17 points in the win for Montibello, with Horton adding 14, and Grant chipping in with 10.

In the loss, Monroe had a strong game finishing with 13 in the win, while Taylor had a very good game inside to add 12.

Ben Gordon All-Stars 90- LVBR 84

In Ben Gordon's other game of the day it looked like they were in serious danger of falling to LVBR, down as many as 13 in the opening half, but with a dominant 2nd half from Calixte inside, they were able to rally in the 4th to take the 6 point victory.

The duo of Tyler Kohl (Coastal Academy, NJ '15) and Karl Charles (Rutgers Prep, NJ '15) were able to dangerous as could be for LVBR as both were long and athletic wings that gave Ben Gordon fits in the first half. Both attacked the rim with ease, as especially Kohl in the early going was near unstoppable.

Combined those two with the sharpshooting of Aidan Ellwood (Northampton, PA '18) who connected on 4 first half threes, and LVBR looked as if they would run away with things, but Alleyne connected on a pair of threes, and inside Ben Gordon were dominating the paint and scoring off putbacks time after time with Calixte and Taylor, and a late 10-2 run allowed Ben Gordon to tie the game up at 43 heading into the half.

LVBR, from Lehigh Valley, Pennsylvania, again came out strong in the 3rd as they were once again comfortably getting in the open court and finishing in transition with Charles the one who was able to do most of the damage.

The lead for LVBR was as much as 9 late in the quarter, but a late three by Jared Young (Mt. Vernon '16) and a dunk to close the quarter out by Taylor brought the deficit back down to 66-62 after 3.

Ben Gordon was able to tie the game back up again at 68, and when Calixte scored using his left hand inside, it gave them the lead for the first time in the game with just under 5 minutes to play.

Calixte proved to be the difference in the 4th as he had 12 points in the final quarter alone as they continued to feed the big 6'8" big man, and with only 6 players, LVBR wore down late, unable to make a late charge, falling to Ben Gordon, who closed the day 1-1, 90-84.

Calixte had 22 points to lead Ben Gordon in the victory, while Taylor and Alleyne had 14 and 12 respectively in the winning effort as well.

It was an impressive outing for a number of LVBR players in the loss as Charles had a game high 30 points, Kohl added 21, and the young lefty Ellwood had 19 in what was a very tough defeat.

Brooklyn Ballers 96- LVBR 89

While the Ben Gordon defeat was tough, this one may have been tougher as LVBR had to come right back and play immediately after there loss against a solid Brooklyn Ballers team.

Kohl got hurt 2 minutes into the game and did not return so with just 5 players LVBR went down by as many as 25, but they never quit, fighting back to make a game of it before ultimately falling short in losing by 7.

LVBR went up 20-18 after the first quarter, but they seemed to be wearing down soon after that as the Brooklyn Ballers began to take over.

It was the backcourt duo of Eduardo Morgan '15 and Isaiah King '15 that did most of the damage for the Ballers as Morgan was able to attack to the rim and score in traffic inside, while King put on a show from the perimeter connecting on jumper after jumper as they scored 33 points in the 2nd quarter to take firm control going up 51-37 at the half.

The Ballers went up by 25 midway through the 3rd, but with Charles able to score in the midrange, and George Tzelalis '15 pumping in 5 second half threes, LVBR willed there way back into the game.

The deficit was cut to just 5 on a pair of occasions in the 4th quarter after trailing by 13 entering the last 8 minutes, but each time it seemed like LVBR would make that push to get over the hump, the Ballers had an answer, specifically Morgan who had a team high 26 points to lead the Brooklyn Ballers to the 7 point victory.

Morgan had 26 and King had 19 as the two were dangerous and tough to content with on both ends of the floor, leading the Brooklyn Ballers to the win.

Charles for the second straight game had 30 points to lead LVBR, while Tzelalis added 19 on six made threes as well for the Pennsylvania club.

Playaz 100- Long Island Elite 67

Playaz 93- Positive Direction (Long Island) 57

Both of the Playaz games were nearly identical so we combine them here as both were easy wins for the New Jersey Nike EYBL power.

Against Long Island Elite, it was Cyril Langevine (The Patrick School, NJ '16) who was able to dominate inside to the tune of 14 points and well over double digit rebounds, and add in 18 points from Asem Johnson (Paterson Eastside, NJ '15), 14 of which came in the 2nd half, and Kaleb Bishop (St. Anthony's, NJ '16) chipping in with 14 and it was a team runaway effort for the 33 point win.

The game against Positive Direction proved to be even more dominating for the Playaz as the Jersey kids knocked down a total of 16 threes in the game, with Shakur Juiston (Paterson Eastside, NJ '15) knocked down 6 threes, scoring a game high 27 points, while Jamir Harris (The Patrick School, NJ '17) added 23 points, hitting 7 threes as they were given space to shoot, and connected more times than not in the easy and convincing victory.