Hard Work Final: Friday Game Recaps

17u: Iowa Dynasty 63 vs Full Package-Dmitri 49

This was an athletic and even skilled squad from Illinois that the Iowa guys came up against, but the poise and skill of Dynasty ultimately prevailed. After being down four at the break (the Illinois squad hit six first half 3s), the Iowa guys came out red-hot in the second half. A 7-0 run turned into a 16-2 run, and at that point it was a 10 point lead for Dynasty. They cruised to a comfortable win from there. There's a lot of different pieces that could make this Iowa Dynasty team threatening as they move into the final 32 of the 17u platinum bracket; Max Lampe is an agile and savvy 6'7 big-man who passes as well as any big we've seen since Cordell Pemsl back in 2016. Joey Goodman was dropping dimes all over the floor, he's poised for a breakout season at West. Cedar Rapids Prairie forward Garrett Pietnok has added some muscle and was using it to advantage en route to a game-high 18 points. For Full Package it was Nick Pavlovic who utterly impressed; the quick, slick and savvy playmaker scored 10 first half points before running out of gas in the second due to lack of numbers on his team. Still, he's an impressive rising senior point guard in Illinois. 

17u: Iowa Mavs-Husiman 73 vs Minnesota Heat-Sheehan 69

Wisconsin product Caleb Flatten-Moore started strong and ended strong in this riveting 17u gold division game, his game-high 19 points were critical in the win. But perhaps no one was more important that Davenport North rising senior Sam Wellman, who canned four second half 3s to help get his Mavs team back into the ballgame after being down 10 at the break. Wellman then went on to exploit the extra attention on him to drive past opponents and drop dime after dime to mostly Flatten-Moore. The Mavs were down 10 at half and finished the game extraordinarily strong. they're a tough and hungry group with all the tools to make a deep run in the gold division 17u bracket.  

16u: Team Factory Gold 67 vs Peoria Area Elite 58

On paper, this was supposed to be a blowout; it was the top-seed, favorites to win it all vs the 64th-seed squad. But this was not that kind of game. The guys from Peoria were skilled, athletic and tough. they held their own throughout the entire game. Even late in the second half the game was still somewhat in question. It seems this Peoria squad, led by super sharpshooter Devon Vanderheydt, who scored a game-high 18 points, was poised to make a deeper run than this. The guys from Nebraska earned the win, though, just like they have been all spring and summer long. They're the top-seed for a reason. Chucky Hepburn, a 6-foot point guard from the Omaha area, might be the most talented floor general in this event. He sat out the entire second half with apparent foot issue, but it was Omaha Burke wing Greg Brown that shined the brightest in this one. The 6'4 rising junior was dropping dimes, canning 3s and getting to the rack and was the most aggressive player from Nebraska in this one. If Hepburn can stay healthy, there's no reason this Team Factory squad shouldn't win a title here in Minneapolis.