GAME OF THE WEEK
Varsity Boys – Youngstown Flash vs. Unstoppable
With over 20 votes from the email survey our game of the week from Week #2 took us to the Edge in Twinsburg where in the Varsity Boys division undefeated Team Unstoppable took on Youngstown Flash. Known for their enthusiastic bench support, it was evident very early that Youngstown was ready to play and the hour plus drive had no negative effect on their start. Team Unstoppable has an embarrassment of talent boasting college recruits from all over Cleveland, so when Youngstown Flash took an early lead the many in attendance were a little surprised. The first 10 minutes was a battle of contrasting styles. From the tip Unstoppable wanted to push the tempo. Youngstown Flash tried to control the pace of play with a mixture of full and half court zones that seemed to work as they took an early lead of 9-4. Once TJ Steele (Shaker Hts.) and Unstoppable’s backcourt got comfortable with the zone the game took a dramatic turn. Junior phenom Esa Ahmed (also Shaker Hts.) dominated the glass and interior on both ends of the floor and his presence allowed Unstoppable to ride a huge run over the last 10 minutes of the first half en route to a 20+ point lead at half time. Unfortunately for Youngstown, Unstoppable never let up and for much of the second half this one was a blowout. With players like John Cirrilo (NDCL), Daniel Sap (Streetsboro), and Kipper Nichols (St. Eds) their team name is fitting as it is tough to imagine a team that can stop them this fall.
Highlighted Games
5th Grade Boys – Raptors vs Stow
Stow bounced back well from their week #1 loss to Hudson and played the bigger more experienced Raptors very tough, trailing by only 4 points at half time. The Raptors came out really strong to begin the second half and pushed out quickly to a ten point lead. A key steal and layup from Braden Cotton added to the Raptor’s momentum that, in the end, was too much for Stow to overcome in the 34-21 defeat. Ethan Thorne led all scorers for the Raptors with 23 points.
JV Boys – Gene #2 vs Aris
Team Aris came out much more aggressive early on and jumped on team Gene #2 right out of the gate, and undersized and under manned team Gene made a couple of runs in the 2nd half but could never cut it closer than 9 points. Team Aris was led by St. Ignatius standout freshman Austin Yarian who finished with 19 points including 3 trey balls. Final for this game was 61-43 in favor of Aris.
JV Boys – Bulls vs Spurs
The Spurs looked beyond flat in the first half and inept on offense as they finished the half down 21-7. The Bulls on the other hand jumped on the Spurs early, but did not finish the job. Throughout the second half the Spurs relentlessly chipped away at the deficit and finally took a lead at 28-27 with 7 minutes left. Aggressive and efficient on offense and up-tempo full court defense changed the game for the Spurs and the Bulls could never get the momentum back. The Bulls several chances to tie the and a late Jordan Adams 3 pointer fell just short. Greg Perella was the player of the game as his buckets for the Spurs were the difference in the 36-33 victory.
8th Grade Boys – AMS Cleveland Kings vs Ohio Bucks
In one of the closest games of the day, the Cleveland Kings came up just short against the Ohio Bucks. Ohio Bucks were led in scoring by Tommy #7 and Brian #3 with 14 and 13 points respectively. The player of the game, however was Wyel S. #4 of the Cleveland Kings and his 26 points but they were not quite enough as the OH Bucks came out on top 58-56.