Northeast Hoops Festival Saturday Morning Recap
The big story of Saturday morning was the play of Syracuse Select’s u16 team. Dajuan Coleman a 6’8” freshmen from Jamesville-Dewitt High School, and son of former NBA star Derrick Coleman, was wowing the crowd with his immense talent. His team dominated their opening pool play match-up with Connecticut Flame. Looming on the horizon is a potential clash of two of the top underclassmen big men in the country as Coleman’s Syracuse Select team could meet up with Andre Drummond’s CBC team in the semi-finals.
CBC’s u17 team scored their second win of the weekend and consequently clinched first place in their pool and a trip to the quarterfinals with a commanding win over Lone Wolf’s rising senior team. Luke Matarazzo, Spencer Smith, Julian Harris, and Isaiah Salafia picked up right where they left a night earlier as their defensive pressure led to a ton of easy baskets in transition.
YABC is another team headed to the quarterfinal. They scored a dramatic two point win over the Granite State Jayhawks in the day’s opener as Paris Massey and Mike Rivera formed a lethal inside-out combination. Louis Montes took over in the second as his scoring ability on the win led the team to a nice win over CT Gold. Eric Dean was the story for the Jayhawks as he scored a game high 18 points.
Perhaps the best game of the day thus far took place when Lone Wolf’s seniors squared off against the Memorial Park Playaz. The double overtime thriller featured big shots from Isaac Ransom and D.J. Campbell while Jon Goldberg had his fingerprints all over the win as usual.
The Bay State Magic lost a hard fought clash with a Long Island Lightning team but Matt Barboza was a bright spot as he scored 18 first half point using a variety of scoring moves in the mid-range area.
In the u16 division the Granite State Jayhawks scored a commanding victory using the same disciplined approach shown by their 17’s a night earlier. Balance was the key as Steve Spirou had 10, Mike O’Loughlin 9, Connor Green 9, and Sean McClung 8.
They weren’t the only northern New England squad to make a statement Saturday morning as the Vermont Basketball Group crushed a Long Island Lightning team.
Xpressions Elite went 2-0 in the u15 division as Andrew Chrabascz led the way, scoring inside and dominating the glass.
Andrew Chrabascz
Louis Montes
Isaiah Salafia
Jon Goldberg
Eric Dean
D.J. Campbell
Paris Massey
Mike Rivera
Matt Barboza
Luke Matarazzo
Spencer Smith
Steve Spirou
Julian Harris
Sean McClung
Connor Green
Andre Drummond