BOSTON – Sunday was a day of championships to close out the Hoopville Elite 8 Tournament. Four games were played one right after the other in the high school age groups, and all were good matchups.
The 14-under final that opened the day proved to be the best game, as Expressions Elite and the Boston Spartans met in a rematch of the state AAU final just over a month ago. The teams traded early runs in what would be a tight game throughout, and each had their ways of scoring and holding the other team at bay in a great contrast of personnel and styles. Expressions used their size and 2-3 zone to slow down the Spartans, while the Spartans put the pressure on Expressions’ ball-handlers (especially minus injured point guard Pat Benzan) and created turnovers that led to baskets.
Expressions dominated inside, with future Milton High School big man Jeremy Miller blocking and altering shots and Jared Reuter, who will attend St. Mark’s, scoring in several ways in close and rebounding as the Spartans had no answer for him. Spartans guards like Damion Smith and Mike Rodriguez, who are among several on the team who will attend West Roxbury High School in the fall, made life difficult for the Expressions guards.
Expressions had a 54-53 lead in the final minute when they got the ball to Reuter and he drove around a couple of Spartans for a layup with less than 40 seconds left to put them up 56-53. After a late defensive stop and a foul, a missed front end of a one-and-one gave the Spartans one last chance. Expressions fouled a Spartan after the inbound to put him on the line with 1.4 seconds left, and after making the first and intentionally missing the second free throw, the ball was knocked around and the final 1.4 ran off to give Expressions Elite a 56-54 win.
Reuter led the winners with a game-high 31 points, scoring by backing players down and dribbling around defenders to get from the foul line to the block for scores. A balanced effort for the Spartans was led by 16 points from Markus Neale (West Roxbury (MA) High) and Rodriguez and 14 points from Smith.
The 15-under final was up next, and it was clear during the first half that one player wanted this game more than anyone else. As BABC and Expressions Elite battled in a back-and-forth game, Wayne Selden (6’3″ Fr. PG-SG, Roxbury (MA) O’Bryant HS) was being very aggressive at the offensive end. While Selden said after the game he knew they would have more driving lanes without their starting big man, that alone couldn’t explain how he grew up as a player in this one as he’s often shown an inconsistent motor despite having some clear talent.
BABC didn’t play the way they wanted to as Expressions largely controlled the pace, but down the stretch it was Selden and BABC that made the plays to take home a 68-56 win. Selden finished with a game-high 26 points and had a big offensive rebound off a missed free throw that helped them pull away late.
The 16-under final was all BABC, as they scored the first 10 points of the game against a depleted Expressions Elite team that was without three frontcourt regulars en route to an 89-41 win. BABC was without two guards that were injured, but they had a good size advantage that they took full advantage of along with their terrific team chemistry to take this one home behind a big game from Nerlens Noel (6’9″ So. PF-C, Everett (MA) High).
The 17-under final was a tale of two halves between the Long Island Lightning and Expressions Elite. The Lightning warded off a strong start by Expressions by getting points off turnovers, then they were the tougher team for much of the half to take a 10-point lead late in the opening frame and a 37-29 edge at the half. They continued that early in the second half, before Expressions Elite came alive with a 17-1 run that gave them the lead for good, and their defense was better down the stretch as they took home the title with a 71-62 win. Ricardo Ledo (6’6″ So. SG-SF, Providence (RI) St. Andrew’s School) led Expressions Elite with a game-high 19 points.
Stay tuned for one more notes column looking back at the Hoopville Elite 8 Tournament.
