EYBL Session 2 Recap

Monday, May 13th, 2019

Nike held their second of three EYBL regular season sessions this past weekend in Indianapolis and Expressions finished a perfect 4-0 to push their season record to 6-2 and put themselves in great shape heading into the final session of the season in two weeks in Dallas. 

They opened the weekend with a 78-56 win over the Georgia Stars in which Enoch Cheeks led the way with 18 points on 6-9 shooting from the field and 6-6 from the free-throw line. Bensley Joseph had 10 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and just 1 turnover while Moussa Cisse had 8 points, 16 rebounds, and 7 blocks. Saturday morning's 92-73 win over Alabama Fusion saw six different players score nine or more points. Terrence Clarke set the tone and got everyone involved with 17 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists while Aaron Gray had 14 points on 6-7 shooting and Cisse 13 points on 6-8 shooting. Cheeks added 11 while Joseph and Chad Venning each had 9. It was an even more balanced attack in Sunday morning's 76-71 win over Brad Beal Elite as five different players scored 12 or more points. Joseph had 17, Dyondre Dominguez had 14 and 7 boards, Clarke had 13, and Gray and Cisse both had 12 inside. 

Saturday night's game against BABC, dubbed the "Battle for Boston" by D1 Circuit, saw Terrence Clarke control the floor game with 17 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists while Dominguez had a huge game of his own with 15 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists. Cisse dominated the defensive end with 21 rebounds and 7 blocks. Quest Harris and Matt Cross led the way for BABC. Cross had 23 points and 11 rebounds while Harris had 23 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, and 4 steals. 

Those numbers were consistent with what Cross did all weekend as he averaged 23 points and 9 rebounds throughout the session. Cem Kirciman had a solid outing against The Family with 12 points while Josh Ogundele had his best outing against Seattle Rotary with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Jadon Archer provided a secondary weapon Friday night, in a game against AOT in which Cross went off for 30, by adding 10 points and connecting on 2-3 shooting from three. 

Expressions wasn't the only team to go a perfect 4-0 this weekend as PSA Cardinals also went undefeated with a number of key performances from New England prep products. Richard Springs and Jamal Mashburn Jr. both chipped in with 9 points in a 79-52 win over Bluff City Legends on Friday. Hassan Diarra had 11 points, 12 assists (against just 2 turnovers), and 6 rebounds in a Saturday morning win over the NJ Playaz while Mashburn dropped in 19 more on 7-12 shooting. That tandem was again crucial on Saturday night in a 80-73 win over Team Melo as Diarra had 16 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists while Mashburn had 17 points and 4 rebounds. Springs had his best game of the weekend on Sunday morning, in a 84-62 win over Each 1 Teach 1, with 14 points and 6 rebounds while Mashburn added 10. 

Bunnell forward Max Edwards exploded Friday night for 25 points and 7 rebounds for the New York Lightning as they knocked off Howard Pulley 82-62. The Lightning finished the weekend with a 3-1 record as both Edwards and Windsor guard Amir Spears played important roles. The duo had 11 and 9 respectively in a Saturday morning win over the City Rocks while Edwards finished the session with a double-double of ten points and ten rebounds, along with 5 assists, against the Lightning. 

Vermont Academy guard Symir Torrence had 21 points and 8 rebounds in the game against the Lightning after putting up 13 and 6 assists in a Friday night win over Indy Heat. It was a similarly balanced stat line with 15 points, 7 rebounds, and 5 assists in a 75-56 win over Georgia Stars while St. Thomas More big man Jai Smith added 12 points. Torrence flirted with a triple-double Sunday morning as he went for 19 points, 10 assists, and 7 rebounds. 

The New York Renaissance went 2-2 on the weekend. Sacred Heart's Nate Tabor was at his best on Saturday. He opened the day with 11 points, 3 rebounds, and 2 assists vs. a loaded Vegas Elite team and finished with 9 points and 6 assists in a win over Each 1 Teach 1.