RALEIGH, N.C. – The Bob Gibbons Tournament of Champions annually hosts teams from all over the country. While held in North Carolina, and with North Carolina well-represented, the big draw for media and fans is often the teams from out of state, including teams from the western half of the country that travel a long way to compete there. Usually, North Carolina teams acquit themselves well, but the championships are often dominated by teams from outside the Tar Heel State. This year, the home teams fared better than usual, and saying they acquitted themselves well would short-change them.
North Carolina teams won two championships and were runners-up in another two out of six championships that were determined here. While some might note that this year’s tournament was very different because the field was smaller and a lot of powerhouse teams like the Atlanta Celtics and D.C. Assault didn’t come, that’s still an impressive run regardless and the programs that did well have traditionally been good ones here.
In the 15-Under Select championship, Boo Williams beat Ty Lawson Team Takeover 61-59. Jimmy Paige (6’4″ Fr. SF, Leesburg (VA) Middleburg Academy) led Boo Williams with a game-high 17 points. Darien Anderson (5’11” Fr. PG, Washington (DC) St. John’s College HS) led Team Takeover with 13 points.
The 15-Under National championship went to another Virginia team, Team Loaded, as they held off Charlotte-based Team United 65-62. Caleb Martin (6’6″ Fr. SF, Mocksville (NC) Davie County HS) led Team Loaded with 15 points, while Trey Foster (5’10” Fr. PG, Charlotte (NC) West Charlotte HS) led Team United with a game-high 20 points in the losing effort.
In the 16-Under Select championship, Team United regained the lead in the latter part of the first half, then blew open a close game in the second half with numerous fast breaks off misses and turnovers en route to a 72-49 win over Caron Butler Team Takeover. It was the second straight year that this team won a title in this event, as the same group won the 15-Under National a year ago. MVP Josh Newkirk (6’1″ So. PG-SG, Raleigh (NC) Word of God Academy) led Team United with 20 points, while Sindarius Thornwell (6’5″ So. SG-SF, Lancaster (SC) High) added 14 and Tarique Thompson (6’5″ So. SF, Fayetteville (NC) Hoke HS) had 13.
The 16-Under National championship game saw the Garner Road Bulldogs jump out to a double-digit lead in the first half, before Long Island Lightning got it within single digits at halftime, down 33-25. The Lightning rallied again to take the lead, then twice broke a tie in the final minute on tip-ins by Larry Beckett (6’6″ So. PF, Bronx (NY) Satellite Academy). They were up 57-55 in the final seconds when Anton Gill (6’2″ So. SG, Raleigh (NC) Ravenscroft HS) hit a running three-pointer at the buzzer to give Garner Road a 58-57 win. Gill finished wit a team-high 13 points, while Zach Lewis (6’2″ So. PG-SG, Windsor (CT) Northwest Catholic HS) led the Lightning with a game-high 14 points.
In the 17-Under Select final, T.J. Warren (6’7″ Jr. SF, Raleigh (NC) Word of God Academy) capped a superb weekend by hitting two late free throws to seal a 79-76 win over Belmont Shore. Warren, who scored 41 points in a tough pool play loss to Team Loaded on Saturday, had 39 points in the win, while Terry Henderson (6’3″ Jr. SG, Raleigh (NC) Neuse Christian Academy) added 24 for Garner Road. Belmont Shore was led by Ikenna Iroegbu (6’1″ So. SG, Sacramento (CA) Oak Hill Academy) and Zena Edosomwan (6’8″ Jr. PF, North Hollywood (CA) Harvard-Westlake) with 17 points apiece.
The 17-Under National final saw Southern Phenoms go on a 13-0 run in the second half to take the lead for good, then hold on for a 59-53 win over the South Florida Panthers. The game was close throughout the first half, but the aforementioned run was a key as the Panthers went several minutes without scoring and couldn’t rally in enough time. MVP Devonta Pollard (6’7″ Jr. SF, Porterville (MS) Kemper County HS) closed out a stellar weekend with a game-high 19 points to lead Southern Phenoms, while Fred Thomas (6’4″ Jr. SG, Jackson (MS) Jim Hall HS) added 15 and Chris Bilbo (6’0″ Jr. SG, Jackson (MS) Forest Hill HS) added 14.
The tournament went well despite the NCAA’s best efforts to kill it off entirely, as Gibbons secured the beautiful Ravenscroft School as the main facility for it. In addition, it was a big weekend at a major tournament for North Carolina – better than what usually happens.
