(Ray Blackwell gets to the basket for Maryvale)
Maryvale 61, Hamburg 51
Ray Blackwell scored a team-high 27 points and kept his team in front of Hamburg the entire second half, as the Flyers won for a second straight day to earn the championship trophy as the host of the annual Coaches vs. Cancer Tournament at Maryvale High School. Blackwell earned Tournament MVP honors after posting 49 points over the two games.
"I can't say enough about Ray Blackwell," said Maryvale coach Mark Kensy. "He guides us through the offense and attacks the glass really well."
Blackwell spread his offensive output evenly over the four quarters of the game and seemed to have an answer for the Flyers every time they seemed to be searching for one. The junior guard and primary ball handler for Maryvale did an excellent job of penetrating the Bulldogs' defense throughout and repeatedly drew foul calls, earning 11 of his points from the stripe. A higher percentage on his charity tosses would have given him a career-high.
Ted York-Brown added 16 points in the tournament championship victory. Brian Sullivan, Tahron Goudelock, Dylan Casey, and Mark Bailey all provided valuable backcourt minutes for the Flyers, while Adam Meyerhofer continued his workman-like approach in the paint all game.
"My teammates open it up for me all the time," Blackwell said. "They help me out a lot."
Patrick Hart finished with a game-high 33 points for Hamburg that included four 3-pointers and collected 14 of those in the final stanza, refusing to let Maryvale put the game away. Hart, along with Jake Genzel, each scored 11 points in the first half for the Bulldogs, who traded leads with the victors during the second quarter and held a 25-22 lead on Maryvale with two minutes left in the first half.
"Genzel was giving us a really difficult time in the first half, so we switched and tried some diamond & one," said Kensy.
The switch in Maryvale's defensive approach took away part of Hamburg's two-headed monster. While Hart continued to thrive in the second half, Kensy's decision focus on limiting Genzel disrupted the Bulldogs' offensive continuity. Goudelock, a sophomore guard, played a key role defensively for the Flyers in the second half.
"We went to Tahron, who did just a wonderful job," Kensy said.
A 3-pointer from Hart made it a one-point game midway through the third quarter, but a 9-0 Maryvale run late in the stanza opened the tight contest up a bit and Hamburg never managed to get closer than four points the rest of the way.
Maryvale 15 - 13 - 15 - 18 = 61
Hamburg 13 - 12 - 10 - 16 = 51
Point Totals
Maryvale: Ray Blackwell 27, Ted York-Brown 16, Brian Sullivan 6, Tahron Goudelock 5, Dylan Casey 2, Adam Meyerhofer 2, Mark Bailey 2, Rashad Law 1
Hamburg: Patrick Hart 33, Jake Genzel 13, Mark Henry 3, Kevin Mahoney 2
All-Tournament Team
Ted York-Brown, Maryvale
Patrick Hart, Hamburg
Jake Genzel, Hamburg
J'Son James, Cleveland Hill
Jalen Bradberry, Niagara Wheatfield
*****************************
Cleveland Hill 44, Niagara Wheatfield 30
The Golden Eagles used a 16-5 third quarter to break open a game that had gone to the intermission tied at 19-19, to defeat the Class AA Falcons in the tournament consolation game. J'Son James, who scored a game-high 14 points for Cleveland Hill and was named to the All-Tournament team, was relied upon over the final two quarters to help facilitate the offense for his team from his forward position. The Golden Eagles were able to reduce second half turnovers and took a more deliberate approach with the ball.
"We took care of the ball better on offense," said Cleveland Hill coach Jason Przybysz. "We let J'Son James play in the high post, made him square up to the basket, made defenders come up & play him, and it took some of the pressure off our guards."
Freddrick Johnson scored 10 points in the victory, while Paul Woodward added eight points for the Golden Eagles. The pair, along with Tyler Phillips, Naszir Nance, and James, were outstanding in the defensive end during the second half. Cleveland Hill extended its zone and seemed to make a concerted effort to hit the glass, resulting in just 11 total points in the second half for the Falcons.
"We spread our zone out a little bit more and limiting them to one shot, trying to get that defensive rebound," Przybysz said.
Jalen Bradberry finished with a team-high 11 points for Niagara Wheatfield in the loss.
Cleveland Hill 11 - 8 - 16 - 9 = 44
Niagara Wheatfield 8 - 11 - 5 - 6 = 30
Point Totals
Cleveland Hill: J'Son James 14, Freddrick Johnson 10, Paul Woodward 8, Naszir Nance 6, Tyler Phillips 6
Niagara Wheatfield: Jalen Bradberry 11, Anthony Ruffino 9, Davon Ware 6, Benjamin Devantier 4
-centercourt
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