BOSTON – Saturday of weekend tournaments like the Hoopville Elite 8 are always long days, and this one was no different. Some junior high games got the day rolling, and the high school kids took it home in grand fashion as the last games of the evening were all consolation games but were among the best of the day. Three of the four games that started at 9 p.m. were decided in the last minute and the fourth was still a single-digit game.
Here are some highlights of the day:
- An early 16-under game between Expressions Elite and Bomb Squad was a dandy. Expressions had a good lead in the first half, but Bomb Squad never stops competing and this game was no exception as they rallied to eventually take a 46-40 lead. Expressions had their chances to come back but couldn’t capitalize until late – almost too late, as they won at the buzzer 52-51.
- Bomb Squad would eventually pull out a later game, 56-45 over the Greater Boston Lions. Curtis Howe’s team got nice efforts from players like his son Curtis Howe II (So. PG-SG, West Roxbury (MA) Cathedral HS), who had a nice shooting game against Expressions Elite with four three-pointers en route to 16 points, and Keandre Stanton (6’6″ So. PF, Lynn (MA) English HS), who is long and battled inside and had 13 points in the morning loss.
- The Expressions 17-under entry cruised to two wins in their pool. A key to the first win was the excellent play inside of Imoh Silas (6’8″ Jr. PF, Plymouth (NH) Holderness Academy) as he showed his great motor and disrupted the Greater Boston Lions’ offense with blocks, deflections and boards.
- Silas’ opposite number, Jacquille Taylor (6’7″ Fr. PF-C, Cambridge (MA) Rindge & Latin), showed some nice progress this weekend. His body is maturing, he’s showing improvement on his post scoring although his footwork still leaves something to be desired, and he’s showing a better feel for the game. Evidence of the last point came when he caught the ball near the corner and fired off an excellent pass to a teammate for a layup.
- Taylor’s teammate Franklin Salvador (Sr. SG, Somerville (MA) High) had a big hand in keeping them close in the loss to Expressions Elite, as he had three three-pointers that included a couple down the stretch as his team tried to come back.
- A young Expressions player who has played well is Kaleb Joseph (6’1″ Fr. PG, Nashua (NH) South HS), picking up right where he left off on Friday night. Besides his passing ability and unselfish play, he’s starting to hit jump shots as he hit a few three-pointers on Saturday and even hit a nice stop-and-pop jumper from mid-range, the kind of plays that will make him that much tougher to guard. He had 15 points while playing up in the 16-under against Bomb Squad, including a clutch three-pointer that tied the game late.
- In the 14-under division, the expected matchup for the final materialized as Expressions Elite and the Boston Spartans won all of their games by double digits. It will be a rematch of the Massachusetts AAU final last month, which was won by Expressions Elite (then Bay State Jaguars Elite).
- Mount Vernon Boys & Girls Club handed the Greater Boston Lions a heartbreaking loss in 17-under when Anthony Walker (Jr. SG, Mt. Vernon (NY) High) hit a three-pointer as time expired for a 61-58 win. Walker finished the game with four three-pointers en route to 25 points.
- All For One went 2-1 on the weekend in the 16-under division, finishing with a late 82-71 win over New York-based Mount Vernon Boys & Girls Club on Saturday night. They were led by scorer Kenny Reed (So. SG, Roxbury (MA) Reading Memorial HS) and wing Tyrese Hoxter (So. SF, South Boston (MA) High), the latter of whom is lanky, active and athletic, but also showed some bad body language a couple of times that he’ll have to improve on.
- In one of the last games of the night, MYCW’s 15-under team gave a good effort in a 49-44 loss to Mass Evolution in a very competitive game. Leading the way was Alijiah Robinson (Fr. SF-PF, East Boston (MA) High), who impressed in a prior viewing in May and looked even better this time around. The long frontcourt prospect showed a great motor and really got after it, getting blocks and finishing aggressively en route to 14 points.
- Mass Evolution has their share of nice young prospects that showed well in their late win. Mabor Gabriel (Fr. PF, Manchester (NH) Trinity HS) is the best of them, a long and athletic post player who’s a baby physically, raw and very much a “potential” kid right now. While he falls into the trap of trying to block everything, he has two things that are important for a young post player: a good motor and a feel for the game. Nate Clark (Fr. SG, Reading (MA) Memorial HS) hit four three-pointers en route to 15 points on the evening. Johnnie Spears (Fr. PG, Georgetown (MA) High), the younger brother of St. Mark’s guard Jaymie, is a quick point guard who really gets after it on the defensive end. He has a better motor than his brother and looks like he can turn steals into layups more as he gets stronger, as he almost did that a couple of times but one time dished off to a teammate and other times just couldn’t quite finish. Steve Carangelo (Fr. SF, Lynnfield (MA) High) started for his high school varsity team this past season and battled inside at times on Saturday, and the staff is high on him.
- In another 9 p.m. Game in the 15-under, the New York Panthers had a double-digit lead for a time before the Rhode Island Hawks battled back to eventually tie the game at 61, then score three more unanswered points to take home a 64-61. In a late 17-under game at the same time, the Greater Boston Lions held off Montreal United 44-43.
Sunday is the day of championship games. The first one is the 14-under final at 9 a.m., and each game after that is the title game for the next age group until the 17-under final at 1 p.m.
