Team Scan Wins S16 National Title

by Lucas Beaney | Sunday, May 26th, 2013

In the national division final, Team Scan gained another impressive victory, knocking off a talented New Heights squad. After a close first half, Team Scan was able to open up the score in the second behind lock down defense, and feeding the ball inside to their bigs. Kassoum Yawke anchored Scan’s efforts down low. The big man was powerful down low, blocking and altering shots, as well as being aggressive on the offensive glass. Mammadou Diarra also played impressive defense down low as Scan made their run in the second half.
    
The New Heights coach characterized his team’s second half performance by saying they had a lot blown assignments defensively along with bad positioning on offense. Sayon Charles and Prince Ali, once again led New Heights offense as they pushed the ball in transition, and saw the floor in the open court, setting teammates up for layups.

Scan beat an equally talented New England Playaz team in the semifinals.  From the start of the game, it was clear Devonte Green was hot for Team Scan. The guard scored from all areas of the floor, whether it was knocking down the three point shot, getting to the rim in transition, or occasionally displaying post moves to score.  Bryce Aiken also played well for Scan, as he handled the ball and set teammates up for open shots the entire game, along with playing pesky defense that led to turnovers and easy layups on the other end.

The Playaz had a very balanced offensive game, getting contributions from different players throughout the game while playing inside-out around Jarred Reuter in the middle.  Without Crew Ainge, a variety of players stepped up in the backcourt including Ben Judson and Tyree Weston.  

The other semifinal was played at an equally high level as New Heights held off the Rhode Island Hawks.  New Heights was anchored by the play of Sayon Charles and Prince Ali. The two guards were both very effective in the open court, in both finishing and creating opportunities for their teammates to score, which led to transition buckets throughout most of the game.

The Rhode Island Hawks boasted a skilled and unselfish squad.  The backcourt core was especially impressive with Corey Daugherty running the show and Ian Sistare being aggressive off the ball.  The interior tandem of A.J. Brodeur and Ryan Noel also made a nice one-two punch around the rim.