Elite Cavaliers Advance

You know what they say; 'It's hard to beat a team 3 times." Well that saying proved to be true, as the Elite Cavaliers downed the Cincinnati Lakers 43-36 to advance to the 3rd round of the 7th grade AAU Nationals in Memphis.  The Cavaliers used all-around team basketball, good ball movement and a defense designed to limit Roderick Caldwell to capture the win.  The outcome may be surprising to some, who saw the Lakers defeat the Cavaliers 2 times this season, including the championship game at the AAU State Tournament earlier this month. Although Coach Leon Ellis described the win as a "team effort," and an example of "team basketball," the Cavaliers were led in scoring by Jarron Cumberland and Kameron Moore, who both finished with double digits. Although the Lakers' Ashon Riggins bounced back from whatever was bothering him and had a good game, it was not enough to get the win.  The Cavaliers will now face Louisiana's Sports Academy at 1:00pm tomorrow.

In Classic Bracket play, the Cincinnati Bull Dogs were sent packing after a 46-59 loss to the Hoopdawgs Sports Academy, while Dayton Salvation Army was bounced from the tournament after a 65-53 defeat at the hands of the Memphis Hoyas in the second round.

It was also tough day for the Ohio teams that were competing at the D-II AAU Nationals, as Team Court Vision went down in defeat to Dallas Blue Chips 48-39, while the Ohio Players lost to Texas Suns Select 71-62, and the Ohio Hoopsters-Rockets lost to the NC Hustle 66-71.  Hopefully the state can now get behind the Elite Cavaliers as they are the lone representative of the Buckeye state.