LAS VEGAS – Teams representing two of California’s top boy’ basketball club programs captured the top divisional championships of the Big Time Tournament Sunday afternoon at Bishop Gorman High.
Jalen Green Elite 17U (69-50 vs. SoCal-based BTI) and Team Lillard 17U (73-60 vs. Northern California’s Lakeshow-Amundsen) – each from program’s from Northern California) – took home the two 17U Invitation titles among the event’s 10 brackets.
Seniors-to-be Luke Isaak (Danville San Ramon Valley), Julius Olanrewaju (Fresno San Joaquin Memorial), Brandon Benjamin (Anaheim Canyon) and Chris Baudreau (Las Vegas Bishop Gorman) combined for all but eight of Jalen Green’s points in its 17U victory.
Isaak, a 6-foot-4 guard who has twice been the Gold Division MVP during the December Classic at Damien in La Verne, hit four 3s in the first half en route to a team-high 17 points.
In the other 17U finale, two of the better guards in the region (Ardarius Grayson of Oakland Tech and Elijah Perryman of Concord Clayton Valley) scored 19 and 18 points, respectively, for Team Lillard.
Grayson (pictured), who led Oakland Tech to 30-5 record State Division II title last season, scored 19 points and did nice job of pushing the ball in transition and setting up teammates with good shot opportunities.
Winning the 16U Invitation championships were Jalen Green Elite (59-49 over Seattle Friends of Hoop) and the New York City Rens (56-53 over San Diego Gamepoint Elite), with the Gamepoint Elite program winning the only 15 Invitation bracket (by forfeit since the AJ Bouye Gold squad had to catch a flight to its home base of Atlanta before the title game was set to tip at 3:30 p.m.
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