When viewing the matchup tonight at the Rumble in the Bronx on paper between the New York Elite and Rhode Island Breakers, a fairly objective fan would think that the team from New York would have a tremendous advantage. The frontline of the Elite featured NBA bound forward Andray Blatche, 6-foot-9 John Garcia, and 6-foot-7 James Tschana.
And the Rhode Island Breakers had Jimmy Baron, a name very familiar with most college basketball fans. His dad, Jimmy Sr., is the head coach of Rhode Island and former coach of St. Bonaventure. Jimmy Sr. and his beautiful wife were on hand to watch their son light up the Elite.
Baron scorched the Elite defense by scoring 34 points. However, even his great effort could not offset the great wealth of talent the Elite possess. The Elite won their third straight pool game with a 77-69 victory over the Breakers.
Tyvon Williams had several key baskets for the Elite. Williams finished with 17 points. Blatche was held to seven points while Garcia finished with eight points.
The Elite led 43-36 at the half. Baron had 16 of his 34 points in the first 16 minutes of play. The Elite certainly took notice of Baron and chased him around, bumped him, and defended him hard for the final 16 minutes. Baron, a guard who will prep next year at Worcester in Massachusetts, had five three-pointers.
Baron's effort matched Blatche's early morning great run. Blatche scored 34 points to lead the Elite to a victory over a talented Houston Elite team. Blatche hit jumpers, pushed the ball upcourt in transition, blocked shots, grabbed rebounds, and even dove on the floor a couple of times to retrieve loose balls. In addition, he took a pop to the mouth that led to some bleeding at the end of the game. Blatche did return after the injury.
The Elite advanced to the Gold Medal round and will play in a quarterfinal game. An opponent has yet to be determined. But the start time is in the morning and slated for Fordham University's Rose Hill Gym.