Play Ball Nation Abuddell 64 Dallas Seawolves 54
Friday evening the GASO got started with some outstanding and competitive basketball. Play Ball Nation Aduddell opened things up with a 64-54 victory over the Seawolves. Play Ball Nation waspaced by Bryson Brown (Celina 2020) and Bryce Smith (A&M Consolidated 2020). Brown was impressive with 14 points and Smith was good from long distance with four-three pointers. The Seawolves had only six players suited up and ran out of gas late in the game, after trailing by just two points at halftime. Point guard Abdul-noor Beyah (South Grand Prairie 2023) of the Seawolves caught the eye of basketball purest with his hall-handling and passing. The youngster finished with 16 points to lead his team. His change of pace and penetration fueled his team’s effort along with his long-distance shooting.
Mudiay Elite 17-U 85 TX Playmakers 17 65
The TX Playmakers 17 were just totally overmatched inside by Mudiay Elite 17-U, losing 85-65. Amiri Crowder (FW Southwest Christian 2020) did his best to carry the torch for the Playmakers with 18 points, mostly on strong drives to the basket. Graham Stiefel played almost the entire game for the Playmakers and was impressive with his aggressive play. Mudiay Elite had a plethora of size and quickness starting with their amazing guard, Manny Obaseki (Allen 2021). Obaseki can shoot it from deep and finish with the best. He also had some of the most incredible dunks of the tournament. The Allen thoroughbred was very instrumental in his team’s 20-point victory finishing with 20 points. Darius Miles (Faith Family 2020) added 14 points and James Jones put up 15 points for the winners. Mudiay Elite led throughout the game and led at intermission 41-31.
Austin Defenders 2021 68 Bigtyme Sports 2021 53
The referee’s kind of swallowed their whistles in this one. It was late in the evening and the game was very physical. I don’t know if that was the reason or not, but it was definitely the roughest game that I viewed during the three-day event. Tristan Thomas (Reagan Early College 2021) came away with 21 points for the Defenders, while he was joined in double figures by Cade Holzman (Austin Bowie 2021) with 13. Jordon Foster (Pflugerville 2021) was a big contributor for the Austin team. With the Defenders second unit on the court late in the 2nd half, Bigtyme began pressing and closed the gap to only five points before the Defenders starters returned.
Lone Star Mustangs 67 Southwest Elite 51
The Lone Star Mustangs had their way with SW Elite. Two players showcased their talents during the contest. Beau Becker (Dallas Woodrow Wilson) put up 24 points to lead the Mustangs scoring and John Jones (Ft. Worth Southwest 2021) from SW Elite showed his physical skills. Jones was strong going to the basket and showed a strong defensive presence.
Court of Dreams Elite 71 B.I.G.D.O.G. Elite Kingz 35
Coach D.J. Jones of Court of Dreams Elite was impressed with Kobe Jones leadership and court awareness. Adrian Jubran (Allen 2020) got off to a quick start pacing Court of Dreams to a 36 point victory. Big Erik Witt (Ft. Worth Eastern Hills 2020) was one of the few bright spots for Big Dogs with his scoring and rebounding.
YGC-36-Gold 52 3-D Empire 17-U 39
One of the more impressive teams in the GASO field was YGC 36 Gold. Harrison Ingram (St. Marks 2021) showcased his talents for the b-ball fans in attendance. The big 6’8” multi-talented young man has offers from Stanford, Kansas, Texas, Texas A&M, Houston, Baylor, T.C.U., Mississippi State, Nevada and Georgetown. Duke, North Carolina, Tennessee and Vanderbilt have shown interest. Ingram led his team in rebounds and scoring with 18 points.
Latrell Jossell (Keller Central 2020) proved to be a floor general throughout his time on the court. His timely passing and vision were critical to his team’s success. Louisiana Tech and North Texas have offered Jossell.
3-D Empire hung tough with the talented YGC 36 group losing by only 13 points. Baylor Hebb (Colleyville Heritage 2020) led D Empire with 19 points. Hebb has interest from Colorado State, North Texas and an offer from Abilene Christian. Up 48-37 late in the game, YGC pulled the ball out and went into their spread offense. As a former coach, I really appreciated the defense effort of YGC players. Bryce Kennedy (Allen 2020) and Marcus Ervin (Euless Trinity 2020) were very impressive taking charges and getting on the floor for loose balls.
Texas Hardwork UA-17 69 Tx Playmakers-17 50
The basketball junkies covered the court as Texas Hardwork UA-17 and TX Players 17 prepared to tee it at the Duncanville Field House. It was a great atmosphere with so many knowledgeable fans in attendance dissecting the two teams. Keon Edwards (Findley Prep 2021), formerly from Pasadena, was prepared to show his talents that have gained him national recognition. His ability to excel in all areas of the game were on display. Edwards is a delightful young man who has offers from Texas, A&M, Virginia Tech, T.C.U., Baylor and Houston. He finished the game with 12 points. Another standout who brought his A game was Austin Nunez (Universal City Randolph 2022). Nunez showed his shooting range knocking down 5 treys and finished with 17 points. Nunez has an offer from U.T. San Antonio.
Others who made strong contributions to the Hardwork victory were Norman Beckford (S.A. Brennan 2020) finishing with 10 points, Joseph Venzant (Midland Christian 2021) put up 10 points as well, Godsgift Ezedinma (Waco Midway 2020) came away with 9 and Chris Turner (South Grand Prairie 2020) kicked in 8 points.
Although they were beaten by 19 points the TX Playmakers had some bright spots in Graham Stiefel (Convenant Christian 2020) and Jaden Wells (Euless L.D. Bell 2020). Stiefel was impressive in several facets of the game and Wells ended up 19 points in a losing cause.
