Bryan/College Station GASO: Day 2 Recaps

TexasHoops/GASO breaks down some marquee games from the Bryan/College Station Great American Shootout as several nationally recognized prospects made their presences known.

Texas Elite Mel 17-U 58 Fort Worth Jayhawks-Mouser 51

In a see-saw game that went back and forth with several swings during the game, Texas Elite defeated the Ft. Worth Jayhawks 58-51. There were two turning points in the hotly contested game. The Jayhawks, Tommy Brubaker (Keller 2020), lifted his team to a 43-41 lead with 5:14 left in the game. Brubaker came up with three straight key plays to give his team their first lead on the day. The 5’10” guard impacted the game with his steals and drives to the basket. Full-court man defense proved to be the difference for Texas Elite with a six-point run late in the 2nd half. After taking a 56-51 lead, Texas Elite was in control the rest of the way. Defensive standouts for Coach Melvin Holloway were numerous. Elija Thomas (Ridge Point 2020) played both ends of the court and finished with six points, while Melvin Holloway (St. Thomas Episcopal 2020) was Elite’s leading scorer with 11 points. Other players singled out by Coach Holloway were Westley Sellers (Morton Ranch 2020) and Stephen Faramade (Ft. Bend Bush 2020). Brubaker paced the Jayhawks with 14 points.

JL3 16-U 82 CenTex Attack Parish 79

In one of the best games of the tournament, JL3 16-U held off a late charge by CenTex Attack 82-79. The full court pressure by Cen Tex Attack really gave JL3 trouble throughout the game. One of the best individual performances of the day was turned in by Carson Perkins (Liberty Hill 2020) of CenTex Attack. Perkins was active all over the court and was the main offensive weapon for CenTex late hitting six treys. JL3 had a comfortable lead by as many as nine points early only to fall apart from the defensive pressure applied by CenTex. Several turnovers by JL3 turned the game into a one possession game at the end. With the clock running down, CenTex put up a weak attempt at the end barely drawing rim. JL3’s superior size proved to be the difference in the two teams. JaVier Francis (Westbury Christy 2021) and Cameron Amboree (Foster 2022) came away with nice games in the JL3 victory. Francis ended up with 18 points while Noah Robledo (Leander 2021) added 21 points in a winning effort. The highlight of the game was Griffin Datcher’s tomahawk dunk midway through the 2nd half. Datcher (Oak Ridge 2021) also added 12 points to the JL3 cause. Matthew Minor (Cedar Park 2020) was active for CenTex finishing with 22 points.

Houston Defenders 15-U 62 YGC 36 Gold 60 F/OT

Houston Defenders lost a 14-point lead down the stretch, but recovered in overtime to claim a 62-60 win over YGC36. Foul shooting didn’t prove to be a strength of the Defenders in the late stages of the contest, going 6 for 11 from the stripe. YGC shot better at the line hitting 8 of 12. Cameron Crockett (Ft. Bend Travis 2022) had a nice alley-oop in the first half to entertain the crowd. Crockett also led the scoring for the Defenders with 17 points. Nobody else reached double figures for the Houston team. Jace Wilson (Denton Guyer 2022) paced the YGC squad with 13 points and Ritchie Torres (Southside 2022) added 11. Torres came up with some big plays late to keep YGC close. With six second left, Torres scored off a rebound to send the game into overtime. Wilson hit some pressure foul shots late to help send the game into overtime.

Texas Titans 67 Houston Defenders 17-U 42

The Texas Titans defeated the Houston Defenders 67-42 in their match game. Montreal Pena (Arlington Martin 2020) led the way for the Titans with 20 points. Cade Cunningham (Monteverde 2020) also hit double figures for the Titans with 10 points. Both players were dominating both inside and outside. Mike Miles (Lancaster 2020) directed the offense with numerous assists and JaKobe Coles (Denton Guyer 2020) and Richard Amaefule (Dallas Woodrow Wilson) handled the glass for the Titans. Eddie Lampkin (Katy Morton Ranch 2020) finished with 10 points for the Defenders.

Team Harden 75 Texas Hardwork 17-U 70 F/OT

Team Harden and Texas Hardwork came together in one of the most anticipated and competitive games of the day. The team from Houston got the 75-70 overtime win against Texas Hardwork. Marcus Williams (Dickinson 2020) came up big for Team Harden scoring five of his team’s final seven points in the overtime. Williams hit a clutch three pointer and followed that up with a blocked shot on the defensive end. Williams was immediately fouled following his rebound. The talented senior to be, calmly knocked down the two foul shots, to make the final 75-70. Williams finished with 17 points on the day. The human highlight award went to the “thunder dunker,” Mykell Robinson (Ft. Bend Hightower 2019), who rattled the rims with his eye popping dunks. Robinson was dominating at times and finished with game high 32 points. Williams and Robinson are both ballers who impressed the GASO followers. Texas Hardwork had several standouts performance as well with Austin Nunez (Randolph 2022) contributing 19 points and Godsgift Ezedinma (Waco Midway 2020) putting up 24 points

Houston Defenders 17-U 86 Team Harden Elite 17-U 82

The Houston Defenders took out their revenge from their early loss to the Texas Titans on Team Harden Elite 86-82. The game was far from easy, with both teams having big runs during the heated contest. After trailing by only six at halftime 48-42, Team Harden Elite struggled early in the 2nd half. The Houston Defenders were able to outscored Team Harden 14-2 in the opening minutes. Team Harden responded with a run of their own outscoring the Defenders 29-6, to take the lead at 73-68 with 4:47 left in the 2nd half. The Houston Defenders finally regrouped from the foul line hitting 12 of 15 from the charity stripe. Once again, Marcus Williams (Dickinson 2020) had a big game providing excitement with nice steals late in the game. Williams plays with an intensity seldom seen at the high school level. Williams finished with another big game putting up 25 points. Mykell Robinson (Ft. Bend Hightower 2019) was held to only ten points by the Defenders. Deuce Guidry joined Robinson and Williams in double figures for Team Harden with 17 points. The Defenders looked to Justin Hill (Ft. Bend Travis 2020) for 22 points on 10 of 11 from the line

Texas Titans 65 Texas Hardwork 17-U 46

Cade Cunningham showed once again why he is one of the most highly recruited players in the country, as he paced the Titans to a 65-46 victory over Texas Hardwork 17-U. Cunningham had numerous assists and rebounds and finished with a game high 17 points. Austin Nunez (Randolph 2022) and GG Ezedinma (Waco Midway 2020) enabled Hardwork to stay close hitting 11 and 15 points. The Titans kicked it into gear in the 2nd half after only leading 33-29 at halftime.