Bracket Play: Garrett, Gooden, Levi & Sherfield head into final day of GASO

Carrollton - Halfway through Day 2 of the Memorial Day GASO the competition stepped up a notch as it becomes "Win or Go Home". GASO beat writer Lyndon Cook jumps into the action from the elimination rounds on Sunday.

SwagHouse 59 Texas Bluechips 17U 56 F/OT

Donovan Burks (Red Oak 2017) nailed 5 triples and Marcus Garrett (Skyline 2017) came up big in the clutch to deliver SwagHouse a thrilling victory over Texas Bluechips in overtime. Garrett gave SwagHouse the lead with 16 seconds to play off an impressive coast to coast up and under finish while being fouled for an old-fashioned three-point play, before a Camryn Givens (McKinney 2017) free throw for Texas Bluechips sent things to OT. Issiah Smith scored 4 of his 14 in the extra period to help SwagHouse see out the win. Texas Bluechips was led by JeMichael Bowens (Madison 2017) with 17.

3D Empire 61 THP Elite 17U 55

A bizarre sequence of events in the final stages of this contest saw 2 technical fouls called against THP Elite and 3D Empire moving on to the next round with a 6 point win. Made free throws following a technical foul against THP Elite and then a subsequent tech for calling too many timeouts a la Chris Webber saw 3D Empire move on to the next round. Empire trailed by 15 at halftime, only for Zach Rouseau (Plano 2018) to spark a comeback with 11 of his 14 points coming after halftime. Braylen Young (TC Byron Nelson 2018) also had 14, including 3 treys. THP Elite were led by a gutsy performance from Jeff Gary (Austin High 2017), who hit 3 threes on the way to an 18 point night. Mark Wilson (Reagan 2017) added 17.

TX D1 Ambassadors-West Texas 68 Nike D1 Premier Bennett 66 F/OT

A back and forth game in every sense of the expression, this one always needed more than regulation to settle the score. Even in overtime, it went right to the wire when Daniel Venzant (Midland Trinity 2017) found a cutting Aaron Dove (Trinity 2017) for the backdoor game winner. Venzant has shown out all tournament long, today dropping 32 and eliminating D1 Premier Bennett in the process. Carter Laramore (Seminole 2018) tallied 10 including 2 treys for TX D1-West Texas. D1 Premier Bennett was led by the play of Brenton Mills (Allen 2018), who finished the game with 26. Jadyn Bennett (Frisco Liberty 2018) added 20 to his team's total.

Seawolves 73 ATX Future 64

Seawolves were able to convert a 3 point halftime advantage into a 9 point victory over ATX Future thanks to more stellar guard play from Brendan Brooks (Lakeview 2017) and Donald Whiteside Jr. (Mansfield 2017). Brooks dropped 24 points, while Whiteside hit 4 triples in the second half on his way to an 18 point performance. Oyo'ita Eyo (Lakeview 2017) added 17 for Seawolves in the victory. ATX Future gave Seawolves all they wanted but came up just short in the end. Darian McDonald (Manor 2017) opened up his night with 3 threes on the way to a 16 point outing. Donovan Armstrong (Round Rock 2016) was the high point for ATX Future, totaling 24 points in the loss.

YGC36 2017 Elite 70 Texas Future (San Antonio) 53

YGC36 Elite started their first game bracket play on the wrong end of a 9-0 run before being lifted to the next round via a 17 point win over Texas Future. Mansfield Summit 2019 Grant Sherfield was at it again, this time posting a triple-double of 17 points, 12 assists, and 10 boards. John Scully (Flower Mound 2017) and Jake Roberts (Denton Guyer 2017) chipped in with 12 and 11 points respectively. Texas Future (San Antonio) were only down 1 at halftime but fell behind for good after an inspired surge from YGC36 Elite. Texas Future was led by Devin Blair (Judson 2016) with 17, while Jordan Wilson (St. Mary's Hall 2017) added 13.

Dallas Showtyme Elite 63 Basketball University 16U 58

Dallas Showtyme Elite weathered the storm from an inspired Basketball U 16's squad. Sebastian Kowarski poured in 31 for Showtyme to lead all scorers, and teammate Anferene Adams (Homer 2016) added 12. Basketball University 16U held a 10 point advantage at halftime, but couldn't hold off Showtyme's charge to complete the comeback. Greg Brown (Brentwood Christian 2020) dropped an impressive 13 points against much older competition. Jalon Clark (Houston Christian) added 11 for Basketball U in their defeat.

YGC36 2017 Elite 65 3D Empire 63 F/OT

YGC36 Elite flirted with disaster for a second straight game, falling behind 13-0 before getting on the board against 3D Empire. Also for the second straight game, Grant Sherfield (Mansfield Summit 2019) drove his team forward to victory, escaping with a 2 point win in overtime. Sherfield tallied 26 points on the night, including 4 three pointers in the second half. Jake Roberts (Denton Guyer 2017) came off the bench to add 10 to his team's total. 3D Empire was led by the sharpshooting of Braylen Young (TC Byron Nelson 2018), who canned 7 treys en route to a 23 point outing. Brother Bryant Young (Byron Nelson 2018) scored 10 as his team was eliminated.

SwagHouse 66 Dallas Mustangs 54

SwagHouse's attacking triumvirate of Trae Jones (WF Hirshci 2017), Daveaun Brookins (Spruce 2017), and Marcus Garrett (Skyline 2017) proved they have the firepower to make a deep run in bracket play, knocking out Dallas Mustangs in the process. Jones led his team as he hit 5 threes on his way to 19 points, with Garrett and Brookins adding 17 and 16 respectively. Augustine Eng (Creekview 2017) countered with 19 of his own, while Antoine Hailey chipped in with 11 for the Mustangs. The win will see SwagHouse move on to Day three of the Memorial Day GASO still in contention to win their bracket.

D1 Premier-Hall 69 Basketball University 68

Quentin Grimes (Woodlands College Park 2018) turned in a massive 25 point performance for Basketball U late on Day 2 of the Memorial Day GASO, only to see his team fall to a Cam Gooden (Lone Star 2017) free throw that sealed the game with 2 seconds remaining. Gooden finished with 17 on the night, while teammates Chris Conaway (Homeschool 2017) and Gabe Tanella (Homeschool 2017) each added 13 for D1 Premier. Grimes was aided by a 14 point game from Greg Bowie (Athios Leadership 2017).

Texas Impact 4:13 69 Texas Knights GHOST 17 52

Texas Impact moved into the Elite 8 of the Memorial Day GASO by knocking off Texas Knights GHOST with inspired performances from Austin Johnson (Abilene 2016) and Xavier Bryant (Greenhill 2018). The duo combined for 44 points on the night, while Jaylon Rucker (Frisco Heritage 2017) added 8. Cailen Bond (South Grand Prairie 2016) nailed 4 triples on his way to a 16 point outing but it wasn't enough for GHOST, as they fell by 17.

Dallas Showtyme Elite 61 TX D1 Ambassadors West Texas 56

The guard combo of Odessey Keeling and Javon Levi was too much for West Texas as they fell victim to Showtyme 61-56. The pair combined for 35 points, with Levi going for 19, and Keeling totaling 16. Showtyme and West Texas were knotted at 35 with around nine minutes to go, and then Showtyme went on a 10-0 run. West Texas closed within two with under a minute left but Showtyme finished off the game with free-throws. Daniel Vanzent 22 points.

Texas D1 Ambassadors 17U 69 Dallas Mustangs-Darius 51

Bubba Furlong (Midway 2017) propelled D1 Ambassadors to an 18 point victory over Dallas Mustangs-Darius on the back of a 20 point game, including 4 makes from deep. Kelden Pruitt (Rockwall-Heath 2017) led D1 Ambassadors on the score sheet with 24. Dallas Mustangs-Darius was paced by Deion Dobbins (N Little Rock 2017) with 14, while Devin Pullum (Little Elm 2017) chipped in with 13.