GASO: Focused Texas Assault claim NBA title

DUNCANVILLE, Texas -- From the opening tip Monday afternoon, the Texas Assault established dominance, maintained focus and showed relentlessness. They did everything right on one of the biggest stages of the 23rd annual Great American Shoot-Out.

The Assault proved it was one of the elite summer select teams around -- and also made believers out of first-time viewers -- by defeating the Dallas Mustangs-Booker, 74-54, at Bob Knight's Fieldhouse in Duncanville. The Assault jumped out to a very fast lead early and never pumped their brakes in front of hundreds of college coaches.

Ten of the 11 players on the Assault roster scored at least two points. Seven of those 10 scored at least six points.

"We told the guys to go to war with them," Assault coach Vonzell Thomas said. "They're winners, and they wanted to prove that they were winners. It was one of those games where they knew it was one game for all."

The Assault had a double-digit lead early in the first half. By halftime, the Mustangs-Booker were looking at a 43-26 deficit.

"We played them in pool play already, so we knew what they could do," Thomas said. "We knew we'd have a challenge. I told them that nobody's going to remember second place. It was first place or nothing with them."

The Assault was led by Clarke Overlander, who had 14 points and capped a solid tournament overall. Marcus Smart and Holt Harmon added 12 points each, and Phil Forte had 10.

Leyton Hammonds and Marcus Foster led the Mustangs-Booker with 14 and 12 points, respectively, while Ben Emelogu had 10.

Red Division: Arkansas Hawks top Family First: In a battle of border states, Arkansas outplayed Texas to win a GASO championship.

The Arkansas Hawks won the NCAA Red Division title by defeating Family First, 51-41, at Bob Knight's Fieldhouse. The Hawks kept a slight lead throughout the first half and was able to turn it into a double-digit victory in the second half.

Defense played a major role in the Hawks' success early, as they held Family First -- a team made up predominantly of players from Arlington Grace Prep - to only 16 first-half points. Family First features Isaiah Austin, the No. 3 player in the nation in the Class of 2012 according to Rivals.com, but the team only received five points from him in the first half.

The Hawks were paced by guard Jamarlin Jackson, who had nine of his team-high 15 points in the first half. Emmanuel Adayi added nine points for the Hawks. Austin had 15 points and was the only player in double figures for Family First.

Quick hits

Trinity Elite, a team consisting of playing from Lubbock Trinity Christian, won the NBA Gold Division by defeating the TX Bluechips-White, 78-45. Trinity drained 13 3-pointers for the game, including five from Dave Miller, who finished with 19 points overall. Parker Wentz added 17 points for Trinity. Revey Norton led the Bluechips with 11 points. … The Tulsa Union Select won the NBA Silver Division by defeating the Free Agents, 54-38. Phillip Leonard had 16 points, and Yuri Hager added 14 for Tulsa. Davis Holliman was the leading scorer for the Free Agents with nine points. …

DJH5-Williams overcame a first-half deficit to defeat the Saints Elite, 58-56, in overtime to claim the NBA Bronze Division. Hasan Ridgeway scored the game-winning basket with 1:05 in the extra period. Tyler Jacobs had 14 points to lead DJH5, while the Saints' Darrian Dempsey led all scorers with 15.

23RD ANNUAL GREAT AMERICAN SHOOT-OUT

(At Bob Knight's Fieldhouse, Duncanville)

NBA RED DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP GAME BOXSCORE

ARKANSAS HAWKS 23 28 - 51

FAMILY FIRST 16 25 - 41

Hawks: Jamarlin Jackson 15, Jordan McIntosh 7, Trentt Whiting 8, Chris Winston 2, Emmanuel Adayi 9, Jackson Rawlings 8, Tirrell Brown 2

Family First : Isaiah Austin 15, Chad Rykhoek 1, Emmanuel Mudiay 7, Jelon Hornbeak 4, Zeldric King 4, Trey Davis 7, Zach Ghormley 3

NBA BLUE DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP GAME BOXSCORE

DALLAS MUSTANGS-BOOKER 26 28 - 54

TEXAS ASSAULT 43 31 - 74

Mustangs-Booker: Soma Edo 4, Bradley Umoru 5, Cornelius Hudson 3, Ben Emelogu 10, Leyton Hammonds 14, Marcus Foster 12, Nathan Hawkins 6

Assault: Marcus Smart 12, Nick Banyard 7, Ricky Roberts 2, Phil Forte 10, Taylor Luster 2, Clarke Overlander 14, Charles Hill 7, Johnathan Gray 2, Holt Harmon 12, John Malone 6

NBA GOLD DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP GAME BOXSCORE

TRINITY ELITE 35 43 - 78

TX BLUECHIPS-WHITE 25 20 - 45

Trinity: Zebby Wilson 2, Tanner Gregory 9, Dave Miller 19, Luke Stephenson 4, Austin Ammons 11, Tucker Wentz 3, Parker Wentz 17, Myles Leonard 3, Beau Durham 4, Vladimir Filipovic 6

Bluechips : Corey Green 3, Josh Green 5, Tevin Parker 10, Revey Norton 11, Devonte Pryor 7, Eric Love 3, Brett Lincoln 4, Darrolyn Jordan 2

NBA SILVER DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP GAME BOXSCORE

TULSA UNION SELECT 26 28 - 54

FREE AGENTS 18 20 - 38

Tulsa Union: Phil Leonard 16, Kyante Smith 1, Sedrick Johnson 8, Jared Hartzler 9, Tim Stromberg 6, Yuri Hager 14

Free Agents : Davis Holliman 9, Hunter Burtschell 6, Sean Tolinger 3, Caleb Kimbro 3, DeCortier Fields 2, Ian Gullick 8, D.J. Gardner 7

NBA BRONZE DIVISION CHAMPIONSHIP GAME BOXSCORE

SAINTS ELITE 28 28 0 - 56

DJH5-WILLIAMS 20 36 2 - 58

Saints: Mike Robinson 4, Darrian Dempsey 15, Shawn Jackson 1, Xavier Lindsey 11, Jalen Odoms 9, Abrie Anderson 16

DJH5: Jalen Bennings 8, Austin Combs 12, Cade Keger 7, Lee Brown 7, Tyler Jacobs 14, Hasan Ridgeway 7, Torian Johnson 3