MESA, AZ — The three West Coast Elite Under Armour Association (UAA) swept their Sunday games at the Legacy Sports Complex Sunday to end up a collective 11-3 over the weekend during Session I of the UA Next boys’ basketball circuit.
Session II — during the second and final spring “live evaluation” period permitted by the NCAA for its Division I-affiliated coaching staffs — for this weekend in South Carolina.
Six-foot-9 Xinyi Li — who helped lead St. John Bosco to the CIF Southern Section Division Open division championship game and the No. 3 spot in the BurlisonOnBasketball SoCal 2022-23 team ratings — scored a game-high 18 points to help the WCE 17s improve to 5-0 Sunday afternoon a 54-46 decision against Canada Elite (3-2).
Li is one of three Class of 2023 (senior) players in action for the WCE over the weekend that are still in pursuit of a college program to play for next season.
Six-five, senior-to-be Vyctorius Miller (who was at Irvine Crean Lutheran as a sophomore but played at Arizona’s Compass Prep this past season) added 15 points for WCE, with 12 of those coming from four 3-pointers.
An hour before, the WCE 16s bounced back from their two Saturday losses to roll past SOH Elite (Florida), 64-53.
Six-six (and rapidly growing) sophomore E.J. Vernon (pictured) of Santa Monica Crossroads powered his way to 18 points and 10 rebounds for WCE, which also got 12 points from 6-1 sophomore Gavin Hightower (L.A. Windward).
Vernon was able to continually carve low-post position for layups or moves that coaxed defenders into fouls (he converted eight of 10 free throws).
And, in a game that tipped off at 8 in the morning, the 15s — who opened Friday with a 65-58 loss to Wisconsin Playground Elite — knocked New York’s Riverside Hawks, 59-45.
WCE also played host to the “Cactus Classic” over the weekend in Phoenix and its surrounding cities, wrapping up things with a set of “Super Showcase” games at Inspires Courts in Gilbert.
Included among those games including a National Junior/Community College all-star game.
The team wearing white jerseys prevailed over its black jerseys-counterparts, 95-67.
Selected the game’s “Most Outstanding Defender” was 6-8 freshman Larry Olayinka, a graduate of Birmingham High in the San Fernando Valley, who played for Garden City Community College in Kansas City this past season.
The “Most Outstanding Offensive Player” was Prophet Johnson, a 6-2 guard from Bellevue (WA) Community College who was the MVP in the Northwest Athletic Conference playoff.
And the camp’s overall “Most Outstanding Player” was 6-9 sophomore Yaxel Lendeborg (Arizona Western College)
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