GASO Tip-Off: Notable Game Recaps

TexasHoops analyst Lyndon Cook jumps back into the coverage of the year's first GASO with recaps of games that caught the eye over opening weekend.

NJH Elite 69 Drive Nation 16u 66

Drive Nation had 4 looks at a game-tying three in the final 30 seconds of the game but none found their mark as Drive was upset by NJH 69-66 in a contentious game. NJH led for almost the entirety of the game and held onto their lead through 19 second half free throws, 10 of which came off technicals on Drive Nation. But after a comeback attempt from Drive, NJH emerged victorious in a frenzied end to the game. The loss won't fall on Cade Cunningham's shoulders however; the Arlington Bowie standout hit 25 points in another solid outing this weekend. Andrew Laczkowski (St. Mark's 2020) chipped in 11 for Drive as their weekend ended early.

Team Faith 17u 64 Urban ASAK Elite 17u 45

Greg Brown (Vandegrift 2020) ran roughshod for Team Faith against Austin-area rivals Urban ASAK with a 19-point performance that included a second half dunk fest. All of Brown's first half point came from the charity stripe but the second half was a completely different story where he really shined in transition and showed off his dunk package. Jordan Turner (Sunrise Christian 2019) was big for Team Faith as well, scoring 15 with Isaiah Stevens (Allen 2019) adding several assists to go with 5 points. Darius McBride (Vista Ridge 2019) continued his strong form over the weekend and showed a nice shooting touch in a 15 point game. Jelen Hanspard (Wagner 2019) was another standout for ASAK in an 11-point day.

NJH Elite 66 Lone Star Elite-Coleman 55

NJH Elite kept their impressive run going into the championship game on Sunday with a double digit win over Lone Star Elite. NJH raced out to a 7-point lead at halftime and maintained it in the second half on the back of another solid showing from Brandon Okafor who ended up with 10 points. Unsigned senior Laquan Butler of Lancaster led the way for LSE with a 15-point game and was helped out by Steven Samuels (Bishop Lynch 2018) who added 13 of his own.

3D Sports Wolverines 66 BMM 17u Black 62

The pair of Sam Freeman (Northwest 2019) and Max Abmas (Jesuit 2019) took over for long stretches of the game as 3D Wolverines knocked off BMM. Freeman might be the best pure rebounder in his class, and dominated the interior in yet another game. Freeman had a tough night at the free throw line, but still managed to put up 21 points. Abmas was feeling it from outside and nearly matched his teammate’s total with 20 of his own. BMM only trailed by 1 at the break and kept things close the entire game thanks to Quevian Adger’s (Coppell 2020) 24 point day. MJ Leslie scored 8 of his 12 in the first half but BMM just couldn’t complete their comeback and fell to 3D Wolverines by 4.

Austin Wildcats 17u 62 SABO Gold 56

Austin Wildcats used a quick start and some great outside shooting to race ahead and take a 6-point win over SABO Gold. Josh Jones (Austin 2019) was everywhere on the offensive end and finished with a game high 18 points to lead the Wildcats to a deserved victory. Anthony Guiton hit 14 to go with 9 a piece from Enzo Arnold and Ryan Ward. SABO Gold was condemned by a slow start on offense, only scoring 17 points in the first half. Great second halves from Avery Eugster and Daniel Garza made things interesting, scoring 17 and 13 respectively, but the deficit was just too much to overcome in the end.

Basketball University Gold 72 BMM Elite 63

Basketball University is yet again one of the most talented teams in the state, and looked the part here in a 9-point win over BMM Elite. Texas A&M commit Sahvir Wheeler (Houston Christian 2019) makes this team go with his speed and distribution, and came up with 11 in each half to lead his team with 22. Will Baker (Westlake 2019) will attract even more high-major attention this summer, and got off to a good start on the circuit with 19 in Basketball U’s win. Caleb Lohner (Flower Mound 2020) scored 10 right out of the gate but was shut out in the second half as BU locked things down on defense. Quevian Adger scored 24 yet again to be the leading scorer in the game, but his team struggled to close down the stretch and ended up falling by 9.