High IQ Fall League: Championship Day Game Recaps
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This past Sunday was the conclusion to the two month High IQ Fall League in Chicago. Here is a recap of the Elite 8, Final 4, and Championship games from this past weekend. Elite 8 Recap Clark Atlanta (Fire)…
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Continue ReadingThis past Sunday was the conclusion to the two month High IQ Fall League in Chicago. Here is a recap of the Elite 8, Final 4, and Championship games from this past weekend.
Elite 8 Recap
Clark Atlanta (Fire) vs Coppin State (Curie)
This game was a battle of styles. Cassius Brooks Cassius Brooks 6'0" | SG Curie | 2021 State IL started the game with a quick 5 points as Curie jumped out with a quick double digit lead. The young and very talented Fire team got back in the game using their length on defense to slow down the quick and hectic pace. Star big man Javonte Taylor asserted himself offensively as he took advantage of Curie scrambling defense. Taylor had mismatches on the perimeter as well as in transition. Smaller defenders could do nothing to stop him. Phillip Berryhill and Reggie Ward Reggie Ward 6'5" | PF Curie | 2021 State IL did their best to keep Curie in the game. But the length of the Fire proved to be too much as the Fire advanced to the next round.
Stillman (St. Rita) vs North Carolina A&T (Thornton)
This game had the promise of a good guard battle of St. Rita’s Christian Henry and Thornton’s Sean Burress, but what we got was a scrappy physical game. Thornton threw extra bodies down low around the rim to make it difficult for the young Rita big men. Senior wing Brandon Hall asserted himself by getting to the rim often getting fouled. For Rita freshman guard Jaedin Reyna was impressive in this game. He made some shots from deep and handled the aggressive defense Thornton applied. Rita was saved again by Kaiden Space as he was fouled as the time expired taking a shot to tie the game. Space made the free throws to send the game into overtime. In OT Rita scored two quick buckets one off the tip that landed to Reyna for a layup and the next off a missed shot from Thornton where Henry found his big man James Brown running the lane. In the end St. Rita pulled up another close victory and advanced to the Final 4.
Prairie View (Whitney Young) vs Talladega (Longwood)
This game was a rematch from Wednesday in the Final 4 of another event. Longwood would win that game. But this was Young’s retribution game as they jumped out early. AJ Casey and Grant Newell asserted themselves often in this game. Strong finishes around the rim for these guys as Longwood just couldn’t get the game to the rugged pace they are used to. Adam Claybourn and Damarcies Moore did their best to keep Longwood in this one but Young just had it rolling this game. Young wins the rematch.
Hampton (Independent) vs Alcorn State (Bogan)
This game was the Nick Martinelli show. This is another game of clashing styles as Bogan wants to play fast and free. And the Independent team just wanted to take advantage of the mismatches on the court. Yarell Greer got off to a fast start getting in the lane using speed to get to the rim. He got a couple of steals early to give Bogan an early lead. Nick Martinelli would soon take over as he had a height and skill advantage over most of the Bogan players. Martinelli and guard Tavari Johnson made several connections throughout this game as they took a slight lead in the second half and fought hard to stay on top. Darrion Jones and Jalen Houston made some shots in the second half but it wasn’t enough as the Independent team got another boost from big man Troy Glover who controlled the glass and Bogan didn’t have much of an answer for him. Team Hampton would get the win with a 33 point performance from Nick Martinelli Nick Martinelli 6'6" | SF Glenbrook South | 2022 State #235 Nation IL .
Final Four
Prairie View (Young) vs Stillman (Rita)
Another battle of #1’s with top freshman James Brown (St. Rita) against the best junior in Illinois AJ Casey (Whitney Young). This battle didn’t turn out the way we expected as this was another slow paced scrap fest. Rita took the early lead in the half mostly from the outside shooting of Jaedin Reyna. There wasn’t a lot of scoring in this game with the score 16 – 10 at half .Grant Newell and AJ Casey made some big plays for Young in the second half to give them the lead. As the score remained close. Rita took some tough shots down the stretch that missed and Young advanced to the championship game.
Clark Atlanta (Fire) vs Hampton (Independent)
Fast paced game with the Fire jumping out early with scoring from Darrin Ames Darrin Ames 6'1" | PG Kenwood | 2023 State #99 Nation IL . Team Hampton had more of the same as Tavari Johnson and Nick Martinelli duo led the charge for this squad. Matas Buzelis made some strong plays in this one with a couple of threes and put back layups at the rim. Team Hampton had a big contribution from guard Eli Aldana as he put his team over with his scoring knocking down several threes and attacking the rim in transition. The Fire made a run behind Javonte Taylor, but in the end Martinelli was too much of weapon to contain. As Hampton got the win and moved to the Championship game to face Young.
Championship Game
Hampton (Independent) vs Prairie View (Whitney Young)
Young got a huge lift from guard Jaehshon Thomas and Daniel Johnson in the championship game. Young had a lead early as they moved the ball well and had a couple players that had the energy to finish plays. Nick Martinelli did as much as he could to keep his team into this one but with tired teammates Johnson and Glover playing their third game in four hrs. They could never get over the hump. Young wins the game and the High IQ Fall League. Jaehshon Thomas was awarded MVP trophy for his strong performance.
In the end I want to send a huge thanks to High IQ members Justin Brim and Julius Hearns who did a great job of bringing a good group of teams together for the fall league. In the pandemic we didn’t think we would see much basketball this school year but they were able to provide it for us.