BIRMINGHAM -- Basketball fans flocked to Samford University’s Pete Hanna Center last Wednesday night to see if Butler’s fabled defense could find a way to subdue the nation’s top scoring prep team, Jack Yates High School of Houston.
What they saw, however, was poetry in motion as the nationally fourth-ranked Lions poured in 41 points in the second quarter to turn a 17-17 game into a 20-point rout by halftime.
And the poet was Yates senior Joseph Young. The Providence signee scored 24 of his 29 first-half points in the second period en route to a T-Mobile record 43-point effort and Yates (12-0) downed the Rebels 108-77 in the finals of the fourth annual T-Mobile Invitational national high school basketball tournament.
The AHSAA hosted the tournament sponsored by T-Mobile and the National Federation of State High School Associations.
The Lions, fresh from winning the prestigious Iolani Classic in Hawaii, came into the tournament averaging 116.5 points a game but appeared a little jet-lagged as they put up only 82 in a 20-point semifinal win over Kentwood, WA. Young and his cohorts looked plenty rested in the finals, however, as the Lions forced 26 first-half turnovers.
Butler (10-5) suffered a mighty blow against the relentless Yates pressure when point guard Justin Pride picked up his fourth foul in the second quarter.
Yates, which outscored Butler 71-41 in the middle two quarters, only went to the free-throw line six times, making only four. With 38 forced Butler turnovers and 12 treys – 6-of-13 by Young – the Lions needed no charity help in this contest.
Ryan Ervin led Butler with 21 points. Trevor Lacey added 14 points, seven rebounds and nine assists. Eric Richardson had 10 points for Coach Jack Doss’ Rebels.
GIRLS CHAMPIONSHIP
BIRMINGHAM -- St. Mary’s High School of Stockton, Calif., overcame Hoover’s early red-hot outside shooting display to win the fourth annual T-Mobile Invitational national basketball tournament girls championship with a 50-44 win here Wednesday at Samford’s Pete Hanna Center.
The nationally 11th-ranked Lady Bucs (17-1) nailed four 3-pointers in the opening minutes to ignite a partisan Hoover crowd and built an early 12-2 lead, but nationally second-ranked St. Mary’s (10-1) just had too much defense in the end as the Rams forced an uncharacteristic 30 turnovers. Hoover led 30-24 at the half, thanks to its own fine defensive effort, but was outscored 26-14 in the final two quarters.
The game was tied at 38 heading into the fourth quarter. Coach Donnie Quinn’s Bucs didn’t allow a point for over two minutes but held a slim 42-38 lead during that span. With 4:12 to play, St. Mary’s coach Tom Gonsalves put star senior guard Afure Jemerigbe, who missed much of the second half with four fouls, back in the game. That decision proved to be the right one.
The University of California signee gave backcourt teammate Chelsea Gray, a Duke signee, just enough help as the Bucs’ attempt to hang fell short in the final 90 seconds against the Rams’ swarming defense.
Gray led all scorers with 15 points and also had six rebounds, four steals and three assists. More importantly, she had only one turnover. Jermerigbe added 10 points, four boards and three assists – and even more importantly never picked up her fifth foul.
Hoover senior Tyrese Tanner, an Auburn signee, led the Bucs with 13 points and 13 rebounds. Meghan Dunn added 13 points, eight rebounds and three steals but had 10 turnovers. Jordan Smith also had 10 points. Hoover out-rebounded St. Mary’s 48-32 but could force only 10 turnovers overall.
Hoover finished 5-of-19 beyond the 3-point stripe with just one made trey after the fast first-quarter start,
Hoover’s runner-up finish in the T-Mobile Invitational was Alabama’s second straight runner-up finish in the national tourney. Bob Jones, the 2009 Class 6A state champion, finished second to host school South Bend (IN) last year in the T-Mobile played at Muncie State University near Indianapolis. Bob Jones then beat the Bucs in the AHSAA state finals at the BJCC.
BOYS CONSOLATION
BIRMINGHAM--Winter Park High School junior guard Austin Rivers scored 26 points to lead the Wildcats (10-4) to a 72-52 victory over Kentwood of Covington, Wa., here Wednesday in the consolation finals of the fourth-annual T-Mobile Invitational national basketball tournament.
Rivers, the son of Boston Celtics Coach Doc Rivers and considered one of the top shooting guard prospects in the nation, was limited to just nine points in the semifinals on Tuesday in a 60-58 loss to Huntsville-Butler. However, he came out smoking on Wednesday with 12 points in the opening quarter. Already committed to Florida, Rivers finished 9-of-18 with three 3-pointers and was 5-of-7 at the foul line.
Brett Comer added 12 points and Isaac Turner 12 for Winter Park.
Kentwood, playing without 6-foot-11 UCLA signee Josh Smith, got 17 points from Skyler Genger and 11 from Isaiah Malvar. Smith is recuperating from a knee injury.
GIRLS CONSOLATION
BIRMINGHAM -- Mt. Lebanon of Pittsburgh, Pa., placed four in double figures and rolled to a 78-39 win over defending Tennessee state champion Hillsboro in the girls consolation game of the fourth annual T-Mobile Invitational national basketball tournament here Wednesday at Samford’s Pete Hanna Center.
Guard Jess Babe led the way with 16 points, four assists and 12 steals for Mt. Lebanon (6-2), ranked eighth nationally. Madison Cable added 12 points, Kelly Johnson and Sarah Nydes 10 each. Chelsea Apke also had seven rebounds and nine points.
Hillsboro of Nashville was led by Keara Holt’s 15 points.
BOYS SEMIFINALS
BIRMINGHAM -- Butler junior guard Trevor Lacey banked in a layup off a perfect pass from sophomore guard Justin Pride with four seconds remaining to lift the Rebels (10-4) to a 60-58 win over Winter Park, Fl., here Tuesday in the final game of first day action of the fourth-annual T-Mobile Invitational national basketball tournament.
Lacey, who finished with 19 points, took the pitch from Pride on the left side and laid it gently off the glass for the winning bucket. Butler now plays in the T-Mobile finals Wednesday night here at Samford University’s Pete Hanna Center against Yates High School of Houston, Texas, the No. 4-ranked team in the nation.
Lacey ran into foul trouble in the second quarter when he picked up his third foul but returned to action in the second half and never was whistled for a fourth. While he was jump-starting the Rebels’ offense, senior Fred Stewart was providing Coach Jack Doss with incredible defense on Winter Park junior shooting guard sensation Austin Rivers. The son of Boston Celtics Coach Doc Rivers did not attempt a shot in the first quarter and finished 3-of-7 on the game with just nine points. Stewart only managed seven points himself, but his defense was far more important.
Pride, who finished with three assists, scored 11 points, Charles Steele had nine and Ryan Erwin eight plus five rebounds.
Robert Lovaglio led Winter Park (9-4) with 17 points and Adam Jones added 15 points and seven rebounds.
Winter Park plays Hillsboro (WA) Wednesday at 2:50 P.M. in the consolation game while Butler and Yates are scheduled to tip off at 6:20 p.m.
BIRMINGHAM --Jack Yates High School of Houston rolled into the T-Mobile Invitational Tuesday leading the nation in scoring with 116.5 points per game and straight from winning the prestigious Iolani Classic basketball tournament in Hawaii.
The Lions (11-0) didn’t hit their average but still advanced to the T-Mobile tourney boys finals with an 82-62 win over Kentwood of Covington, Wa.
Yates showed some signs of jet lag, missing usually easy lay ups early in the game and then clearing its bench in the second half as coach Greg Wise played all 15 players who made the trip to the Samford campus. Still, the Lions managed to post a 20-point win and saved plenty for Wednesday’s finals against either Huntsville-Butler or Winter Park, Fl. at 6:20 p.m.
Kentwood played without its 6-foot-10, 280-pound center Josh Smith, a UCLA early signee who missed the game due to a knee injury. Still, the Conquerors played inspired basketball to keep the contest respectable with unbeaten Yates.
Joseph Young, a Providence signee, poured in 20 points for Yates, sinking 4-of-9 3-point goals and grabbing five rebounds in just 21 minutes of playing time. No other Lions player was on the court more than 19 minutes. Darius Gardner added 17 points and 10 steals and Brandon Peters, a Western Kentucky signee, had 13 points.
Kentwood was led by Jason Boyce’s 12 points. Skyler Genger added 11, Taylor Jones and Isaiah Malvar 10 each. The Conquerors had 40 turnovers under the intense Lions pressure.
GIRLS SEMIFINALS
BIRMINGHAM -- Alabama host team Hoover High School used its tenacious defense to shut down defending Tennessee state champion Hillsboro of Nashville 64-32 to advance to the finals of the fourth annual T-Mobile Invitational national basketball tournament here at Samford’s Pete Hanna Center.
The Lady Bucs (17-0) relied on that defensive effort for much of the first half as star senior Tyrese Tanner sat the bench after picking up her third foul in the first quarter. Hoover led 24-15 at the half, but when Tanner returned to the lineup in the third period, the Bucs broke the game wide open by outscoring the Burros 23-9 by forcing 11 turnovers in the third period alone. Hillsboro had 42 turnovers for the game..
Hoover will now take on St. Mary’s of Stockton, CA, the defending California state champs, Wednesday in the finals at 4:30 p.m . The Rams are ranked second nationally. Hillsboro plays eighth-ranked Mt. Lebanon of Pittsburgh, Pa., in the T-Mobile consolation game at 1 p.m. Wednesday.
Tanner, who has six points in the opening period, finished with 15 points and three rebounds. Shannon Steinert added 11 points, Nicole Tanner and Meghan Dunn 10 each.
Isabelle Harrison led the Burros with 19 points and 14 rebounds.
BIRMINGHAM -- St. Mary’s High School of Stockton, Calif., forced 38 turnovers and held on to a 61-52 victory over Mt. Lebanon of Pittsburgh, Pa., in the first game of the fourth annual T-Mobile Invitational national basketball tournament here Tuesday at Samford’s Pete Hanna Center.
Duke signee Chelsea Gray, considered one of the nation’s top senior guard prospects, led the Lady Rams (10-1) with 26 points, 10 steals and four assists. She was 3-of-7 on 3-point goals – two coming at the final buzzer of the first half and third quarter to stretch narrow leads. She was 9-of-10 down the stretch at the foul line.
Teammate Afure Jemerigbe, a University of California signee, added 14 points for St. Mary’s, ranked No. 2 nationally. The Rams, the defending California state champions, opened the season ranked No. 1 but lost in the finals of the Tournament of Champions in Arizona last week.
Junior Madison Cable led Mt. Lebanon (5-2), ranked eighth nationally, with 18 points, 12 rebounds and three steals. Lauren Arbogast added 16 points and Chelsea Apke had 13.
St. Mary’s plays the Hoover (Ala.)-Hillsboro (Tenn.) winner in the finals Wednesday at 4:30 p.m. The boy finals will follow at 6:20 p.m.
The T-Mobile Invitational is the only national high school tournament sponsored by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) and is being hosted by the AHSAA.
FINAL RESULTS
TUESDAY (Dec. 29)
Girls
St. Mary’s (Stockton, CA) 61, Mt. Lebanon (Pittsburgh, PA)
Hoover (Hoover, AL) 64, Hillsboro (Nashville, TN) 32
Boys
Yates (Houston, TX) 82, Kentwood (Covington, WA) 62
Butler (Huntsville, AL) 60, Winter Park (Winter Park, FL) 58
WEDNESDAY (Dec. 30)
Girls
(Consolation) Mt. Lebanon 80, 39
(Finals) St. Mary’s 50, Hoover 44
Boys
(Consolation) Winter Park 72, Kentwood 52
(Finals) Yates 108, Butler 77
Comments: