Midwest Live! Sunday Recaps
9:05 (16u): SW Iowa Select Black 64 vs Team Iowa Elite 29
Both teams came into this game win-less, so something had to give. What resulted was utter domination, especially in the second half, from the SW Iowa guys. It was actually, though, a Nebraska guy who was the best player on the floor. Michael Harding, a sophomore guard from Omaha’s Millard South was scoring at the rim and from beyond the arc en route to 14 points. Down low for SW Iowa it was Trever Melby who was getting it done, the Logan-Magnolia sophomore was solid as a rock in the paint and scored a game-high 15 points.
Matt Ockey
10:10 (17u Platinum Championsip): Kingdom Hoops Navy 71 vs Iowa Barnstormers Black 66
What a fantastic game this turned out to be, but for a while it seemed it would be a dud. The Kingdom Hoops squad, which featured five Class of 2019 guys (unsigned seniors) came out on fire, firing on all cylinders on both sides of the ball, by halftime they led 39-28. An 8-0 run to start the second half for Kingdom Hoops saw the lead swell to 19, it appeared this was going to be a rout. Then the ‘Stormers woke up, and after a flurry of points of turnovers (many of which resulted in Kaiden Phillips dunks) and some timely jumpers, this game got close. The ‘Stormers threatened on several occasions to get over the hump in the final few minutes, but instead ran out of gas. Kingdom Hoops held on for the narrow win behind 18 points from Hoover senior Adam Jackson, Gilbert junior Matt Ockey was again really good, he scored 15. The ‘Stormers were led by Phillips, he scored 13, Wisconsin product Joshua Dilling (Oshkosh) also scored 13.
Will Henricksen
11:15 (17u Gold Championship): Team Iowa Elite 74 vs Showtime Hoopers 68
If it wasn’t for Marion’s Will Henricksen going ballistic late in the first half, this one might have had a very different result. The Showtime Hoopers squad was good, and had a trio of guys from other state’s that were game-changers, but the biggest game-changer on the floor in this one was Henricksen. The 5’10 junior canned seven 3s and poured in 27 points to help his team cap an undefeated weekend in Omaha and win the 17u gold title. Surprisingly, Henricksen’s 27 points wasn’t even a game-high, Showtime Hoopers stretch-four Taurean Holtam (Rock Island, IL) was unstoppable in the first half while scoring 23, he ended the game with 28 points.