Recap Of The Rumble In The Bronx

Russ Blake takes a detailed look back at the Rumble in the Bronx

BRONX, N.Y. -- Here is a look at how the playoffs unfolded on Sunday in the 17 and under Gold bracket of the 2005 Rumble in the Bronx, which was won by Buffalo based G.C. Ballers:

QUARTERFINALS

Louisiana Select 70 Ravens/New Heights 55

After falling behind 30-20 at the half, the Ravens/New Heights conglomerate were buoyed by a strong second half start, cutting the deficit to 42-40 early in the second half on a three pointer from forward Pat Crean. Demond "Tweety" Carter, a sharp-shooting rising senior guard already committed to Baylor, changed the game's momentum moments later by canning a pair of treys to put Louisiana up 50-43. They never looked back and coasted to the 15 point victory. Carter led his team with 16 points, and Select also got double figure contributions from top 2007 power forward prospect Leonard Washington (12 points) and 2006 wing forward Elijah Millsap (11).

Juice All-Stars 70 Miami Tropics 66

This game was delayed because Juice arrived quite late for its scheduled 9:45 a.m. matchup with the Tropics, and early on it looked as if Juice shouldn't have shown up at all. The Tropics raced out to a 23-6 lead, threatening to squeeze all the life out of Juice in the process. However, Juice rallied to be down just 35-26 at the half. Juice chipped away at the Miami Tropic lead, finally pulling even at 56 on a dunk from forward Jamie Peterson. Florida State bound lead guard Josue Soto countered with an old fashioned three-point play to put the Tropics up 59-56 with 5:32 to play, but it was the last hoorah for Miami. Malcolm Grant, who helped Juice get back into the game with his perimeter marksmanship, connected on a three pointer to give his squad a 66-63 lead. As it turned out, it would be a lead that Juice wouldn't relinquish. Grant led his team with 25 points, while Peterson hit for 13 and slasher Vernon Teel chipped in 12. Soto led all scorers with 29 points, while the inside tandem of Jason Bennett and A.J. Stewart (both of whom fouled out) added 10 points each.

New York Panthers 66 New Hampshire Playerz 52

The Playerz cinderella run came to and end at the Rumble, as the Panthers placed four players in double figures to advance to the semis. Rashard Green led the way with 21 points, Jenard Fleming 12, Mike Davis 11 and Tyrone Hanson 10. Sharp-shooting swingman Taylor Roche and forward Pape Nyam each scored 14 points for New Hampshire in the loss.

G.C. Ballers 78 Long Island Lightning 71

Corey Fisher's 28 point effort wasn't enough as the Lightning bowed out in the quarters to the eventual tournament champions. Lazar Hayward paced the Ballers with 20 and Quintin Redfern added 10 for the winners. Akeem Bennett (10 points), Justin Burrell (nine points) and Nick Murphy (eight points) played subordinate roles for the Lightning in defeat.

SEMIFINALS

G.C. Ballers 85 New York Panthers 79

The Ballers jumped out to a healthy double digit lead, but clung to life over the final three minutes before emerging with a six point victory. Trailing 74-66, the Panthers ratcheted up the defense, forcing several turnovers in a quick 6-0 blitz that sliced the deficit to 74-72. Moments later, a technical foul by power forward Mike Davis seemed to swing the momentum back to the Ballers' favor. A basket by Lazar Hayward and a pair of free throws from point guard Johnny Flynn stretched the lead to six at 80-74 with 52 seconds remaining. The Panthers got no closer than three, and a late steal by Hayward with 10 seconds to play helped seal their fate. Robert Garrison (22 points), Hayward (21 points) and Flynn (16 points) led the Ballers' charge. Jenard Fleming (23 points), Tyrone Hanson (17) and Mike Davis (20) topped the Panthers' effort in defeat.

Juice All-Stars 57 Louisiana Stars 52

Riding the hot shooting hand of guard Zack Lewis (22 points), the Louisiana Stars appeared poised to grab a slot in the final against the G.C. Ballers. Lewis connected on five three-pointers to stake the Stars to a 35-23 lead early in the second half. The Stars led by as many as 13 points in the second half, but the Juice All-Stars embodied sort of a nine-lives personality at this years Rumble. Therefore, it could have been too surprising when Juice erased another double digit deficit and emerged victorious. Trailing 38-25 following a Demond Carter Trey, Juice used a 19-6 run to deadlock the game at 44 with 7:16 remaining. Neither team played very crisply from that point on, but Juice took the lead for good at 53-52 on a three-point play from Vernon Teel with 1:38 remaining. In fact, Louisiana went scoreless over the game's final 3:08, but that was as much a byproduct of poor shot selection as anything else. Carter missed a baseline runner with :41 remaining, while the Juice's Malcolm Grant (16 points) countered with a pair of free throws with 38 ticks left on the other end to push the cushion to 55-52. Carter (10 points) then came down and hoisted up an impossible off balance three that missed wildly with 30 seconds left. Teel scored in transition on the other end with :20 remaining to cap the scoring and send Juice on to the championship game.

CHAMPIONSHIP

G.C. Ballers 74 Juice All-Stars 63 (see accompanying article for details)