Get the rundown on even more top games taken in by GASO Staff at the Dallas Tip-Off with these game summaries.
Mudiay Hoops 17-U 70 BMM 17-U 64
Manny Obaseki (Allen 2021) took over in the 2nd half scoring 15 points to bring Mudiay Hoops from behind for the 70-64 win over BMM 17-U. Once again, Obaseki brought everybody to their feet with some monster dunks. Mudiay Hoops came back from a 34-29 halftime deficit. Elijah Taylor (Wylie 2021) played a key role for BMM with his ball handling skills and quickness. Quevian Adger (iSchool Entrepreneurial Academy 2020) showed exceptional shooting range pacing BMM in scoring. Adger knocked down three treys as well as driving to the bucket. Creighton has offered Adger. Preston Lawrence (Lake Highlands 2020) kept BMM hopes alive with his three-point shooting.
.
3d Empire-15 76 PRO21GE 16-U 48
Three different players were recognized by 3d Empire coach Shawn Ward in his team’s 28 point victory over Pro21ge 16-U. Coach praised Ryan Agarwal (Coppell 2022), “Ryan has the ability to score on all three levels, around the basket, shoots with range and has a mid-range game.” Nazir Brown (L.D. Bell 2022) once again was impressive with 10 points for 3d. Brown was named first team All-District during the season playing for the Blue Raiders as well as being named “Freshman of the Year.” Terrance Ramirez (Grapevine 2022) was the leading scorer for 3d Empire with 18 points. “Terrance is playing at an elite level with his catch and shoot ability,” Ward said
Texas Hardwork 16s 76 BMM 16-U 50
Hardwork jumped out to a 37-29 halftime advantage and ran away in the 2nd half with a 76-50 victory. Vince Iwuchukwu (San Antonio Cole 2022) showed his tremendous potential affecting the contest in many areas. Vince also managed to put up 19 points to pace Texas Hardwork. Cole Benson (Austin Bowie 2021) showed his shooting range connecting on three long-distance buckets. Benson finished with 14 points for Team Hardwork. Thibaut Tagnon (Carrollton Newman Smith 2021) was a bright spot for BMM 16-U hitting six three-pointers.
BMM 17-U 63 Asak-17 Elite 61
This game went back and forth throughout the contest. Both teams were substituting freely and therefore both groups had a hard time getting into a consistent rhythm. There were several lead changes over the course of the game. I came away impressed with several players on both teams. Caleb Golden (Cedar Ridge 2020) was impressive for Asak 17-Elite finishing with 8 points. Caleb was joined by Max Smith (Austin Anderson 2020) hitting three 3-pointers for Asak. Big DeAuntre Davis (Chilton 2020) fouled out late hurting Asak's inside game.
Asak trailed at halftime by seven but tied things up at the 7:19 mark of the 2nd half at 44 apiece. Preston Lawrence (Lake Highlands 2020) went nuts putting up six treys to spark BMM 17-U throughout the game. Javon Pitts (Cedar Ridge 2019) of Asak hit two of his game-high 17 points late to tie the game at 61-61. Quevian Adger (iSchool Entrepreneurial School 2020) came to the rescue for BMM hitting two key foul shots with 4 seconds remaining.
Drive Nation Shelby downed Team Fusion 17-U
Drive Nation built up 36-24 advantage at halftime and continued extending their lead to 50-34 with 7:20 remaining in the 2nd half. The highlights of the game were mainly some spectacular dunks. Colin Smith (Dallas St. Marks 2022) started things off with a rim rocker while being challenged by Andrew Casteel (El Paso Chapin 2020) of Team Fusion. Not to be outdone was Jordon Walsh (Dallas Faith Family 2022) with a two-handed flush in the 2nd half. Walsh has received a lot of attention from several schools, Texas A&M, SMU, Texas Tech and Baylor. Colin Smith finished with 13 points and Walsh added 10 points to the Drive Nation total. Top dog for Drive Nation was Lee Dort (Bethany Christian) with 17 points. Dort’s high school does not have a basketball team, so he was excited to have the opportunity to show his skills. Drive Nation was in total control of the game late leading 60-36.
Hess Elite Colorado 83 Lone Star Mustangs Elite 70
This was one of the more competitive games I viewed and was very entertained. I don’t know if I enjoyed watching the Hess Elite coach or his team more. The emotional coach was juiced like few coaches I’ve seen.
As for his team, they came away with a tough win over a strong Mustangs Elite crew. Jaedon Bowles (Denver Manuel 2019) jump-started his team to an early 40-32 lead at halftime. Bowles paced his high school team back in Colorado to the Class AAA state title. His ability to take you off the dribble and dish to a teammate proved to be effective. Bowles inability to hit foul shots limited his final point total. As it was, Bowles finished with 27 points.
Hess Elites driving force was none other than the coach's son, Lian Ramiro (Aurora Grandview High 2020), who did it all during the course of the game. The ball seemed to be in his hands throughout the game, especially during the critical periods of the game. Ramiro took over the game late with penetration and shooting threes. The young guard finished with 27 points and several assists.
The Lone Star Mustangs Elite were powered by the amazing outside stroke of Devon Hancock, who continued to drain threes during the tournament. Hancock hit six against the Colorado outfit. The Mustangs size and depth enabled them to stay close for most of the game. At the 7:30 mark of the 2ndhalf, the score stood at 62-56 in favor of Hess Elite. Over the next six minutes, the Mustangs made some substitutions, which allowed Hess Elite to go on a 21-4 run. That pretty much ended the Mustangs hopes, as they were down 83-60. Hancock was joined in the Mustangs scoring column by MekilPope (DeSoto 2020). Pope was deadly from the three-point line during the game hitting five treys
YGC-36 Gold 60 Team Hardwork UA-17 44
I would have to say the most anticipated game of the tournament was probably the game between YGC-36 Gold and Team Hardwork. YGC started Bryce Kennedy (Allen 2020), Julian Larry (iSchool 2020), Harrison Ingram (St. Marks 2021), Andrew Laczkowski (St. Marks 2020) and Marcus Ervin (Euless Trinity 2020).
Team Hardwork countered with an impressive lineup as well. Austin Nunez (Universal City Randolph 2021), Chris Turner (South Grand Prairie 2020), Jerrell Colbert (SA Cornerstone 2021), Keon Edwards (Findley Prep 2021) and Joseph Venzant (Midland Christian 2021) took the court for Team Hardwork. Down 10-3 early,Team Hardwork introduced Anthony Scott (Waco Midway) into the contest and their fortunes changed almost immediately.
The little point guard pulled his team close trailing 24-21 when he existed. Scott took charge on both the offensive end as well on the defensive end with steals and pressure defense. Nunez, Venzant and Edwards stroked early threes to keep Team Hardwork close trailing 34-31 at intermission.
YGC’s Harrison Ingram was strong in every faze of the game, both inside and out. Ingram came away with steals, threes, blocks, handled the press and provided a strong inside game. The second half opened with Anthony Scott on the bench for Hardwork. With Scott out YGC opened up their biggest lead of the afternoon 42-33. Scott returned with his team down and teamed up with high school teammate Godsgift Ezedinma (Waco Midway 2020), to pull Hardwork within five 47-42. Edezina came up big in the 2nd half scoring nine points. YGC pulled away late for the 16 point victory. Latrell Jossell (Keller Central 2020) and Andrew Laczkowski(St. Marks 2020) were critical for YGC’s success. Laczkowskihas an offer from San Diego and being looked at by Yale, Princeton, Northern Iowa and Rice.
Southwest Soldiers 72 Mustang Select 17-U 52
Two players demonstrated some major offensive skills in this one for the Southwest Soldiers. Dillon Walker (Plano High) showed he has some game finishing with 19 points and John Achebe (Wylie 2019) added 17 points. Achebe has Wayland Baptist and Midland J.C. looking at him.
Lone Star Mustangs Elite 59 THP Elite 17-U 30
The dynamic outside shooting of Devon Hancock (Mesquite Horn 2020) fueled the Lone Star Mustang once again. Hancock lives on the three-point line and connected on four treys against Pro21ge 16-U. U.T. Arlington has shown interest in Hancock. Nehemiah Washington (Royce City 2020) pulled down some big rebounds inside for the Mustangs in the win.
BMM 17-U White 63 Bigtyme Sports 25
The game was a total mismatch as Jacob Randle (Flower Mound Marcus 2020) seemed to be everywhere defensively. At 6’11” Randle is very long and hard to get away from. Bigtyme Sports struggled to get their offensive game together
