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By: Jim Hicks (Rcs Sports www.rcssports.com)
The Dallas Mustangs entered the Pearland Classic undefeated and possibly the talk of the country. After all, who could argue? The adidas sponsored powerhouse had accumulated over 20 straight wins over teams from all over the country, highlighted by the championship of a prestigious event held in Arkansas last weekend. Meanwhile, the unsponsored Houston Hoopstars entered this event looking for some long overdue props. Not only did the Hoopstars achieve that goal, they performed one of the most dominating six game stretches in Pearland Classic history, capped by a 65-46 victory over the Dallas Mustangs in the championship game -- their second double digit win over the Mustangs within a 30 hour span.
Unsigned senior Jonathan Evans hit three consecutive three pointers to help push the Hoopstars to a 15-0 lead, and the team never looked back. The Mustangs didn’t get their first field goal until the 8:39 mark, when Jherrod Stiggers knocked down a three pointer. That basket was part of a 11 point spurt which closed the lead to 15-11. The Hoopstars didn’t buckle one bit. They kept spreading the rock around the perimeter, and connected on a remarkable 7 of 9 attempts from behind the curve. The lead reach double digits again, but the Mustangs used the aggressiveness of Ben Dillard and LeBryan Nash to close the half on a strong run to get within 32-24. In the first half, the Mustangs were (6/21fg, 2/6treys, 10/11ft) compared to the Hoopstars’ (10/24fg, 7/9treys, 5/6ft).
In the second half, the Mustangs got as close as 45-40 with 11:00 to go, before Cameron Ridley went to work on both ends of the floor - scoring all 10 of his points in this half, and Thomas Walkup (whom I have officially identified as the ultimate x-factor), delivered a game high 22pts including a trio of treys which pretty much put the game out of reach, for good.
College coaches are surely to be checking on the status of Evans, who finished with 14pts. Plus, Ryan Manuel and newly acquired sophomore floor general Trey Pinkney added 7pts each in the win.
Dillard, a smooth stroking guard led the Mustangs with 10pts and Nash scored all 6 of his points in the first half, which factored into a very interesting defensive statistic which proves just how effective the Hoopstars were. Through the six games, no opposing team totalled more than 49 points, and not a single player scored more than 10pts against the Hoopstars. Also, all six games were won by double digits with the closest game being a 64-49 win over this same Dallas Mustangs team during pool play. In that particular game, Nash (who is the state’s #1 player) was limited to a season low 4pts.
As expected, the Hoopstars closed the game with class and didn’t attempt to taunt or embarrass the Mustangs. During the final moments, they simply spread the floor and ran the clock down without any challenges, as the parents and fans from both teams applauded in support of a job well done -- by both teams.
HH (23/50fg, 12/20treys, 7/8ft): Thomas Walkup (Deer Park HS) 7/12fg, 5/6treys, 3/4ft; Jonathan Evans (Bellaire HS) 14pts, 5/9fg, 4/7treys; Cameron Ridley (Bush HS) 10pts, 5/10fg; Trey Pinkney (Seven Lakes HS) 7pts 2/4fg, 1/1 treys, 2/2ft; Justin Foreman (Westbury Christian HS) 3pts, 1/3fg, 1/3treys; Rodshard Davis (Bush HS) 2pts, 1/4fg; Aaron Durley (Dulles HS) 0pts, 0/1fg; Jared Brown (Klein Collins HS) 0pts; Chris Hull (Brenham HS) 0pts
DM (15/42fg, 3/12treys, 13/15ft): Ben Dillard 10pts, 2/4fg, 1/2treys, 5/6ft; Devonta Abron 8pts, 2/4fg, 0/1treys, 4/4ft; Luke Mergerson 8pts, 3/10fg, 2/2ft; LeBryan Nash 6pts, 2/6fg, 0/2treys, 2/2ft; Keaton Miles 6pts, 3/5fg, 0/1treys; Jherrod Stiggers 5pts, 2/6fg, 1/4treys; Jevante Thompson 3pts, 1/4fg, 1/1treys
In the North Division Bracket, the host team, Houston Elite Red smacked the Gulf Coast Blue Chips (71-42) to win the title. CJ Shelvin (Madison HS) and unsigned senior Teris Bourgeois (Clear Springs HS) led all scorers with 19pts apiece while Jones HS duo of DeMarcus Johnson and Joe Miles produced 11 and 10pts respectively.
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17s RESULTS
NORTH DIVISION
FINALS: Hstn Elite Red 71 GCBC 42
SEMIS: GCBC def Hstn Lynx White, Hstn Elite Red def Celtics Black
QRTRS: Hstn Lynx White def Friendswood Select, GCBC def Louisiana Future, Hstn Elite Red def Tx Blue Chips White, Celtics Black def Hstn Clippers Black
SOUTH DIVISION
FINALS: Hstn Hoopstars 65 Dallas Mustangs 46
SEMIS: Hstn Hoopstars def Hstn Lynx Blue, Dallas Mustangs def Franchize All Stars
QRTRS: Hstn Hoopstars def Hstn Select, Hstn Lynx Blue def Port Arthur Heat, Franchize All Stars def Celtics Green, Dallas Mustangs def Dallas Showtyme
SATURDAY PEARLAND CLASSIC RECAP
By: Jim Hicks (Rcs Sports)
The top seeded Dallas Mustangs suffered their first lost of the summer season (in pool play vs Houston Hoopstars), but both are still in position to set up a possible rematch in the finals. In bracket play, Mustangs used their veteran savvy in the second half to beat Houston Defenders Select (61-47) for the second time this season, and will face Dallas Showtyme Elite while the Hoopstars guided by coach Keith White draws the Houston Select.
Meanwhile, another rematch could be on the horizon. Last week’s championship of the Real Deal in the Rock featured Dallas Mustangs vs Franchize All Stars. Well, those two teams could meet again (@ 2:20p on the main court of Pearland HS) pending victories this morning.
The brackets are set to yield 4 separate champions (North, South, East, and West brackets). Many fans have already annointed the South Bracket as the most potent, because of all the forementioned teams (in addition to the Port Arthur Heat and Houston Lynx Blue) assigned within it.
The host, Houston Elite Red is in the North Bracket, and after beating Jr Hardballers (79-63) in the second round, it would be nearly embarrassing if they didn’t advance to the title game against either the Gulf Coast Blue Chips or the Louisiana Future. Speaking of the Louisiana bunch, they trailed Galveston Hornets by 2pts with :05 to go. Then one of their players was fouled as he hit a layup. He sank the free throw for the stunning win.
FRIDAY PEARLAND CLASSIC RECAP
By: Jim Hicks (Rcs Sports)
The Pearland Texas Classic is upon us. With 72 teams in the 17s Division, a portion of those teams were in action on Friday evening. The host Houston Elite Red team dashed out to an 18pt lead before the Galveston Hornets rallied back to take the lead during the closing minutes. Teris Bougeois (Clear Springs HS) scored 18pts for the Elite. The game went into overtime, and the Elite used a tip in by Joe Miles (Jones HS) to take an 89-88 with less than :10 left. The Hornets got 17pts by Terran Petteway (Galveston Ball HS) who barely missed a potential game winning acrobatic baseline dunk attempt at the buzzer.
Unsigned seniors Andre Adams (Cy Woods HS) and Reggie Hill (Atascocita HS) combined to net 30 of the Junior Hardballers 58pts during their five point win over the Houston Clippers Black.
The Houston Hoopstars added a double shot of potency to their backcourt in the form of Trey Pinkney (Seven Lakes 2012) and Chris Hull (Brenham 2011). With that being said, Keith White’s bunch jumped all over the Austin based Next Level Kings 56-18 to set up a much anticipated Saturday morning showdown against the nation’s #1 team, Dallas Mustangs.
"Is Yates playing here", asked one of the uniformed police officers prior to the Houston Select’s game against the Houston Hoops-Taylor. Indeed Yates HS coaches Greg Wise and Jawaan McClellan were in the building, but the recently crowned national champion players were not. Instead, McClellan made his debut on the sidelines, coaching the Houston Select to an impressive 86-69 win. The Hoops-Taylor got another monster game and a few monster dunks (23pts) from Everett Pleasant (Atascocita HS) while Emonte McMillan (C E King HS) added 12pts. For the Select, Sheldon McClellan (Bellaire HS) scored 15 of his 20pts in the first half, which also provided a bit of drama. Although the Select led 39-36, Anthony Davis (South Houston HS) took off his jersey and left the building during the break. Anthony Odunsi (Travis HS) sank 5 treys and newly acquired LeKeytrick Quinn (Wheatley HS) provided 13pts in the win. Coach Wise actually sat apart from the bench, and evaluated his players as well as his assistant. However, he’s expected to coach this afternoon when Elton Roy (Yates HS) is slated to join the squad as well.
MORE FRIDAY RESULTS
17s DIVISION
@ Pearland HS
Hstn Knights -Essuman 66 Hstn Blazers 52, GCBC Jackson 81 Tx Cagers 61, LC Lobos 62 Clippers White 52, PA Heat 60 Crossover Kings 46, Lynx Yellow 61 Uptempo 59, Hstn Hoops Rudy 70 SA D1 Ambassadors 65, SA Legends 75 D Gib 70, Lynx Blue 74 Pacers ITP 25, H Town Takers 58 Bay Area Kings 51, Clippers 32 Kingwood Mustangs 24, Knights -- Mataya 62 Fever 60, Celtics Green 69 Str8 Ballin 66, Raptors 56 Celtics Black 53, Elite Red 89 Galveston Hornets 88 (OT), Hstn Select 86 Hstn Hoops Taylor 69
@ Pearland JHS
Friendswood Select 55 D Gib Hoops Clayton 36, Elite White 76 Mustands 52, Hstn Gold 45 Rim Shakers 24, Brazoria Ballers 52 Team Tx 48, Jr Hardballers 58 Clippers Blk 55, Cat 5 65, Hstn Hoopstars 59 Next Level Kings 18, Select Defenders 64 Superstars 49