Usual Suspects Repeat as Funsport HS Champs
Erving Walker drained a buzzer-beating three-pointer to lift Usual Suspects to a dramatic 91-88 victory over All Game in the championship of the Funsport High School Classic at Jefferson H.S.
The final minute was played with the packed crowd on its feet and included a rare exchange of offsetting calls - a ten-second backcourt violation on All Game followed by a five-second violation on Usual Suspects, which gave All Game possession at halfcourt with 10.3 seconds left and the score tied at
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88-all.
All Game's Keith Spellman got in the lane but his game-winning attempt was blocked by the Suspects' MVP Justin Greene, setting up Erv's clutch shot at the other end that gave the winners back-to-back Funsport titles.
The first quarter began as a three-point shooting contest and the Suspects held a 28-27 advantage on the strength of 4 treys and 15 points from Kemba Walker and 7 assists by Erv Walker.
Consecutive threes by Kemba Walker and Chris Fouch expanded the margin to 42-31 midway through the second quarter before All Game rallied behind David Coley (15 first-half points) to narrow it to 50-47 at the break.
The Suspects, behind 10 third-quarter points from Erv Walker, maintained control and entered the final period with a 69-65 lead. All Game managed to stay close and briefly went ahead on back-to-back three-pointers from freshman Davontay Grace and Coley that made it 75-74 with 5:49 remaining. The game would then become a classic seesaw battle right down to the final shot.
Kemba Walker led five Suspects in double figures with 22 points, followed by Greene (19 points and 17 rebounds to go with his game-saving block), Erving Walker (18 points and 8 assists), Ryan Pearson (15 points) and Fouch (13 points).
Coley topped All Game with 22 points while Joel Wright added 20 points, Spellman finished with 16 points and David Imes scored 12 points and grabbed 8 rebounds.
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