Playaz, BABC take Championships at Providence Jam Fest

New England Recruiting Report | Monday, May 11th, 2015

The New England Playaz and BABC both captured championships at the Providence Jam Fest this weekend as the Playaz won the u17 division and BABC took the title in the u15 division.

Tomas Murphy and Kellan Grady both had big days on Saturday. With big brothers Erik and Alex looking on, the youngest Murphy had 12 points and 12 rebounds in a tough 52-50 win over Harlem United on Saturday night and had scored a team high 15 points earlier in the day against Global Sports. Grady scored a team high 15 over Harlem United and had 12 points in limited minutes over X-Men to start the day.

The Playaz opened Sunday with a dominant quarterfinal win over Stamford Peace as Jimbo Lull led the way with 12 points and 9 assists. A.J. Brodeur scored 24 points in a 74-61 win over Wayne PAL.

Tremont Waters continued to be the engine to make the Playaz run all weekend long. He drilled four big three-pointers in the semifinals and then dropped a game high 25, while Brodeur 19 points and 9 rebounds, in the finals win over USAD.

Our final champ is crowned...the @NE_Playaz win the 17u Division! #HGJamFest pic.twitter.com/Tjq4vuveS6
— Hoop Group (@TheHoopGroup) May 10, 2015

Tremont Waters Earns the MVP at @TheHoopGroup Providence Jamfest. NE Playaz won the 17u Championship #HGJamFest pic.twitter.com/joWSfJiM6F
— RI AFFILIATED™ (@RIAFFILIATED) May 10, 2015

While USAD fell just short in the final, their weekend run was no less impressive as they faced an extremely tough route to the finals beginning with a match-up with Metro Boston in just the second round. They knocked off We Will (essentially the Williston Northampton team) in the third round before handling B.C. Eagles in the quarterfinals. In the semifinals, USAD knocked off Sports U, the Under Armour sponsored team from New Jersey, 77-69.

Malik Petteway and E.J. Crawford formed a lethal one-two punch all weekend long while Tyler Rowe ran the show from the point guard spot. Petteway was playing above the rim and throwing down massive dunks while Crawford was scoring the ball in high volume all weekend long.

Wayne PAL & USAD may not have as many HMs as others but they play really hard & make big shots/Will upset programs of higher stature.
— Steve Keller (@SteveKellerNRR) May 11, 2015

Not sure there is a classier grassroots basketball coach than USAD's (CT) Troy Bradford. He should be a DI assistant.
— Coach Mike Rice (@CoachMikeRice) May 11, 2015

In the u15 division the Mass Rivals advanced to the finals without freshmen A.J. Reeves and David Mitchell, who were both playing up at the u16 level, but fell just short in the final against a BABC squad that won just their latest championship this weekend.

Shandon Brown, Paul Durkee and Cole Swider all had big games at various points throughout the weekend for BABC while Alex Rivera and Jimmy Yfantopulos played well for the Rivals.

BABC keeps off Mass Rivals comeback to win the 15u championship by a score of 37-34 #HGJamFest pic.twitter.com/PDtQjzRoN8
— Hoop Group (@TheHoopGroup) May 10, 2015

Sports U took the championship in the u16 division as their 9th grade team wound up facing their 10th grade team in the final, but two local products still had huge weekends as New England Playaz swingman Nate Laszewski and Mass Rivals guard Azar Swain both played to rave reviews. Laszewski, who was named first team all-state in just his sophomore season at Avon, was especially good in the semifinals when he dropped 27 points on Sports U. Swain, who is in the midst of a breakout spring, put up three straigth 30 point games on Saturday before leading the Rivals to the semifinals on Sunday.