Live Period GASO: Day 3 Game Recaps
It's officially moving day at the Live Period Great American Shoot-Out, with the Saturday schedule working out to bring you the perfect mixture of bracket games and high profile showcase matchups. TexasHoops.com's Lyndon Cook clocks in to break down the top games from the third day of GASO action.
Nike ProSkills 17U EYBL 72 Basketball University 17U Gold 52
Bryce Cook (SGP 2019) had himself a monster second half in this one, scoring 15 of his game-high 20 points in the second frame to lead ProSkills to a showcase win over a drained and depleted Basketball University Gold team. Cook was masterful as a point guard, getting into the paint and finishing as well as finding big man Franklin Agunnane for some dump down jams. Drew Timme (Pearce 2019) looked the part of the No.3 player in his class with an assured performance, showcasing his footwork and post passing as well as scoring 8. Quentin Grimes (College Park 2018) kept a strong weekend going with an impressive 18-point game, including a monster dunk over Agunanne. Sahvir Wheeler (Houston Christian 2019) worked out again to score 13 from the guard spot.
Texas Hardwork 16U 65 LA United Dynasty 17U 64
After trailing by 10 in the first half, Texas Hardwork 16U charged all the way back to take the win and eliminate LA United Dynasty on a Jalen Jackson (Wagner 2019) driving layup at the buzzer. Jackson finished the game with 13 points to his name, while Zion Richardson (Frisco Liberty 2019) celebrated picking up an offer from Sam Houston State by scoring 13 as well. Quinton Uribe (St. Anthony's 2019) hit 3 threes en route to scoring 11, with Jahmius Ramsey (Mansfield Summit 2019) returning from Under Armour camp with a 9-point outing. Vincent Iwuakor (Sulphur Springs 2019) showed his athleticism by blocking several shots this weekend. Spencer Mays and Eric Reed (both LSU Lab 2018) went for 17 and 15 respectively to pace LA Dynasty as they were knocked out of the Live Period GASO.
Houston Defenders 17 UA 63 Urban ASAK Elite 61
Houston Defenders opened up their Saturday with a 2-point win over Urban ASAK Elite, though the end of the game was mired in some controversy. ASAK wanted a goaltending call that would have sent the game to OT on a Caleb Golden (Cedar Ridge 2020) layup attempt as time expired, but the referees called the game and Defenders got the win. Miller Kopp (Houston Christian 2018) versus Brock Cunningham (Westlake 2018) was the big draw for coaches, with Kopp winning the battle in the scorebook 20-12. However, Cunningham had an impressive run in the second half where he steered his team back into contention. Defenders' Jabari Rice (Marshall 2017) and Jakobe Dill (Beaumont Central 2018) combined to score 33 in the win, with Golden and Shasirae Harvey (Austin LBJ 2018) scoring 14 and 12 respectively.
Texas Hardwork 17U 55 Yes II Success 51
The combo of Justin Nimmer (Waxahachie Life 2018) and Tristan Green (Boerne Champion 2018) proved to be too much for a Charles Bassey-less Yes II Success team in Saturday showcase play. The duo scored 13 a piece, with Bryson Etienne (Fort Bend Bush 2018) adding 9 in a low scoring win. St. Anthony 2018's Sam Chaput and 7-footer Ousman Ndim scored 16 and 12 respectively as they dropped a close one to Hardwork.
Factory Elite 17U (AZ) 60 Texas Elite GATA 52
A huge second half performance from Cedric Bridges (Valley Vista 2018) was just enough for to see Factory Elite past Texas Elite GATA and through to the next round. Bridges dropped 17 of his team high 19 after the break. GATA only trailed by 1 with just over a minute left, but two transition dunks effectively killed off the game for Factory. Emmanuel Taban (Apollo 2019) posted 15 points for his trouble, with Steele Bennett (Desert Vista 2018) adding 12 in the win. Texas Elite GATA's Casey Armour (Ellison 2018) looked like he was capable of galvanizing his team into a win, but came up just short in an 18-point effort. Caleb Asberry (Pflugerville 2018) chipped in 11 as his team were knocked out late Saturday night.
RM5 EYBL 17U 77 Dallas Seawolves 53
RM5 tipped off the bracket play portion of their weekend with a comfortable 24-point win over Dallas Seawolves. Tyrese Maxey (South Garland 2019) dazzled with a 26-point outing, showcasing his range, quickness, and elite finishing ability. Behind Maxey the offensive output was spread around evenly throughout the rest of the team, with Keonte Kennedy (Westlake 2018) totaling 11 and Avery Anderson (Northwest 2019) scoring 7 in the win. Seawolves' highly touted 2020 duo of Greg Brown (Vandegrift) and KJ Pruitt (Little Elm) put up 17 and 9-point games respectively as their weekend was cut short by a day.
Dallas Mustangs 17U 72 Houston Defenders 16 UA 47
Dallas Mustangs capped off their Saturday with a strong showing in a 25-point victory over Houston Defenders 16U. Jase Townsend (Skyline 2018) has been feeling it all weekend long, and hit 6 threes as part of 24-point barrage. Jordan Buck (Bishop Lynch 2018) has caught the eye of college coaches with his size and shooting ability, knocking down 3 threes in an 11-point night. Lamar Everd (Dallas Wilson 2018) has also seen his stock rise, and here finished with a 18 to his name. Defenders were paced by Isaiah LeBlanc (Kinkaid 2020) with 14, while Corey Nickerson (Sterling 2019) and Anderson Kopp (Redemption Christian 2019) going for 8 a piece.
OnPoint Hoops 67 Yes II Success/Texas Future 16U 62 F/OT
Adokiye Iyaye (Putnam City North 2018) put on a show in dropping 29 points as his OnPoint Hoops squad nosed past Texas Future and on to the semifinals. A UTSA commit, Iyaye hit 3 threes in addition to scoring 7 of his team's 12 points in OT. Blake Owens (Putnam City North 2018) scored 10 in the bracket play win. Kevin McCullar (Wagner 2019) scored 11 of his team's first 13 points and was the answer for Texas Future on many occasions, but fouled out in overtime and had to watch as his team was eliminated. McCullar ended up with 20, while Jacari Sanders (Brennan 2019) chipped in with 13 and Tay Fisher (FB Foster 2019) tallied 10.