Monday, May 9, 2011

Spiece Run-N-Slam-Day Two


Early on day two, All-Ohio Red U-17 squad began where they left off Friday night, with a convincing 80-63 win over the Indiana Fire.  Terry Rozier is playing some good ball so far this weekend, and his 17 points paced Red.  Jalen Robinson had another good game off the bench, as evidenced by his 14-point output.  Leroy Alexander has been shooting the cover off the ball, and finished with 14 points. The balance of the scoring included:  Elijah Macon (12), Teddy Hawkins (7), Jordan Potts (5), Kenny Kaminski (5) and Myles Hamilton (4).

In the second game of the day, All-Ohio Red faced off against the Eric Gordon All-Stars, traditionally one of the better programs on the circuit.  Red jumped all over the Indiana-based team with a trapping defense that led to several turnovers. By half time, All-Ohio had ballooned the lead to 42-29. Terry Rozier was smoking hot in the first period with a 20 point outburst.  In the 3rd quarter, Eric Gordon would later make a run of their own and cut the lead to single digits. However, Red would regroup and go on to claim a 80-63 win.

Terry Rozier-Player of the Day

Game 3 on Saturday featured an epic battle between All-Ohio Red and the Mac Irvin Fire, with one of the teams heading home.  Having lost to Mac Irvin at the Swish-N-Dish tourney in Milwaukee earlier in the year, Red had revenge on their minds.  This game was nip and tuck all the way, as neither team would give an inch. By half time, the score was knotted 37-37, and to start the 4th quarter, the game was still tied at 57-57.  The contest went right down to the last possession, but All-Ohio held on to claim the 69-67 victory.   Kenny Kaminski’s 2 free throws with 8 seconds left put All-Ohio up by 2 points and sealed the win. Kaminski led Red with 21 points, followed by Elijah Macon (12), Terry Rozier (10), Jordan Potts, Leroy Alexander and Myles Hamilton who all finished with 8 points.

Kenny Kaminski-Player of the Game

The Spiece Run-N-Slam is always a grind, as teams must play 4 games on Saturday to advance.  In the night cap, All-Ohio matched up with a scrappy Wisconsin DTA.  Although Red got of to a nice start, and was up 20-11 early, DTA came roaring back to make it a close contest.  Despite giving up a comfortable lead, All-Ohio got the 64-61 win and a chance to meet top ranked Indiana Elite/Team Indiana in the elite eight on Sunday morning. All-Ohio enjoyed balanced scoring, with 4 players scoring in double figures. Kenny Kaminski led All-Ohio with 15 points, while Jalen Robinson and Terry Rozier both added 13 points apiece.

OBC (17s) bounced back from a disappointing loss on Friday night by defeating in-state rival Team CBIZ. OBC led for most of the game, and went on to win by 12 points. The second game of the day did not go as well, as OBC would suffer a blowout loss at the hands of Mac Irvin Fire. At the end of the day, OBC could not match the talent level of the Chicago-based Fire, as the team boasts multiple high major players. The leading scorer for OBC was Winston Grays who finished with 18 points, followed by Curtis Oakley’s 14 points .

Ohio Varsity is making another run this weekend.  I caught some of the first half action in their game agianst Indiana Elite. Ohio Varsity started strong and was up as much as 19 points before stalling and letting Indiana Elite back in the game. Westerville North's Jack Gibbs was hot early, as he scored Varsity's first 7 points, but from there, Gahanna's Aaron Jackson took control, and his team-high 12 points propelled Ohio Varsity to a 7 point victory.  Deontrey Martin added 9 points and Gibbs finished with 7 points.
Jack Gibbs-2013

I finally got a chance to see Mike Duncan's U-16 Ohio Basketball Club squad, as the matched up with a very talented Spiece Indy Heat. OBC was up early and controlled the game until late in the 4th quarter.  When Spiece turned up the heat late with a trapping defense, the OBC guards struggled with turnovers. Although OBC had a shot to tie the contest, as they had the ball with 7.7 seconds remaining, they could not convert, and were bounced from the tournamnet with a 66-63 loss. The strength of OBC is the front court of Cleveland St. Joe's Demonte Flannigan and Cincinnati Withrow's Devin Williams, both of whom got busy in post and kept their team in the hunt. Williams finished with a team-high 16 points, followed by Flannigan (15), Tyler Ptacek (13) and Kevin Johnson (10).
Devin Williams-Player of the Game

I was able to catch a couple of Team CBIZ's (2013) games, and I was very impressed the team's patientce and how the they execute thier sets to perfection.  Team CBIZ makes a living by running good stuff, and running their offense until they get a quality shot. Although not blessed with a stable of high major atheletes, CIBZ is led by Jamestown Greenview's Evan Bradds, a skillfull 6'6 PF who is the clear go-to guy on that team.  Early Saturday I caught their game against the Michigan Mustangs, as they cruized to a 57-43 win.  Bradds dropped a game-high 20 points on the game.  Later in the day, Team CIBZ took down a very talented Mo-Kan by a score of 54-53.  Bradds was the team's leading scorer with a team-high 16 points.
Evan Bradds-Player of the Game

As expected with a Spiece tournament, Saturday proved to be a great day of basketaball!  Sunday should feature another day of very competitive play, as some of the top teams in each division have to play three additional games to claim the prize.  To see the pictures I took at the event, visit the Buckeye Prep Facebook Fan Page.

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