7th Grade AAU Nationals-Day Three Report

On Wednesday, teams finished up pool play at the 7^th Grade AAU Nationals in Memphis. For some teams, Wednesday’s games solidified spots in the championship bracket, while for other teams their worst fears of a trip to the Classic bracket were realized.

King James finished 2-1 in pool play with a 63-52 win over the Atlanta Celtics. SMAC U went undefeated in pool play after a 67-58 win over an Atlanta Celtics B team. King James will square off against Chicago Select tomorrow at 2:20pm in the opening round of bracket play. Murphy AC is perfect in pool play after a 67-62 win over OC Vision. Murphy AC will matchup with Southern Stampede on Thursday in their first bracket game at 5:00pm. Because the Hoopsters ended up in a 3-team pool, they were idle on Wednesday.  However, their first bracket game will match them against Motivator1 on Thursday, then a possible date with SMAC U later Thursday night if they get past their 1st opponent.

All-Ohio Red finally got a win (67-63 over the NJ Cmex Bulls), but a 1-2 pool record almost always earns a team a trip to the dreaded Classic bracket. Like All-Ohio, Team Excel finally had some success on Wednesday with a 63-22 victory over the San Antonio Legends, but as I’ve said before, a 1-2 record only buys you a one way ticket to the Classic bracket.

TK Robinson-Dayton

In D-II action, Dayton Metro finished 3-0 in pool play after a 10 point victory (58-48) over the LA Evangel Eagles. Metro was down by 14 points in the first half but fought back to get the win. TK Robinson was the high man with 21 points, followed by John Alessandro with 18 points. Next up for Metro is a second round game with either Memphis Prep or Stamford Force. The Shining Stars suffered their first loss of the tournament at the hands of St Louis Gateway by a score of 51-47. The Stars were down 16-2 early, but cut the lead to 10 by halftime. By the third quarter the Stars had taken a 6 point lead; however, they relinquished that lead in the forth and would go on to lose the game. Jack Cravaack led the Stars with 14 points, followed by Javon Hicks with 10 and Tate Goodyear with 9 points.

Cameron Carlisle Paced Buckeye Prep

Buckeye Prep will enter championship bracket play on Thursday packing a 3-0 pool play record after a tough 66-53 win over the hometown Memphis Prep. Although Prep has won their first 2 games by an average of about 30 points, a young Memphis (had several 6^th graders on the team) squad played fearless and tough and pushed Buckeye Prep the entire game. Buckeye Prep enjoyed balanced scoring from 4 players who all scored in double figures. Cameron Carlisle scored a team-high 14 points, followed by Teon Jennings with 13 and Garrett Tipton and Therron Jennings both with 12 points. He may not have put up big numbers, but Gahanna’s Chase Rankin provided solid guard play. Buckeye Prep will open bracket play against the Tennessee Legends at 6:20pm tomorrow.

Team Toledo dropped another game, this time to the Garner Road Bulldogs 46-29. Of course their 0-3 record means a trip to the Classic bracket. Joining them in the Classic is Truth Basketball with a 1-2 record and a Wednesday loss to MI Eastside Hoops 47-41.