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