VIRGINIA BEACH—Alright, if the first two days of the Grassroots Finale have been any indication for how the next three days will unfold, we’re going out on a pretty good note here in Virginia Beach. Here’s a look at some of the action I saw on Thursday. 

Edwards fuels a late surge

Zyere Edwards led a double-digit comeback for PSB Atlanta on Thursday afternoon. The dynamic guard has been a standout at HoopSeen since March, and he’s ending the season with a bang in Virginia Beach. 

With PSB facing a sizable deficit, Edwards poured in 17 of his 27 points in the second half to help dig them out of their hole. He caught fire from the 3-point line draining five in the second period. 

Aside from a propensity to catch fire from distance, Edwards plays pestering defense and routinely makes tremendous passing reads. 

Camarion Johnson continued his great weekend with 19 for PSB Atlanta in the win. 

The game of the day

Florida Pro topped Team Loaded 757, 63-62, in the best game I saw on Thursday. 

Koree Cotton continues to make waves here at the beach with another good outing under his belt. The 6-foot-5 guard led the way for Florida Pro again with 20 points. He’s certainly picking the right weekend to play as well as he has been. 

AJ Clark was the spark for a late surge by Team Loaded with 11 second-half points. His athleticism was evident during warm-ups, and he flexed it in the game when he soared for a pair of momentum-changing dunks. 

PK Flash makes it rain again

As a team, I can’t say that there’s a better shooting group than PK Flash. I mean everyone on this team is lights out. On Wednesday night, Andrew Maddalon caught eyes with his seven-made 3-pointers. 

On Thursday, the entire team went for 13 of them in a win. Thomas Cardiero and Patrick Haigh hit 3 a piece. While five more guys hit at least one. 

To make a long story short, this is a team to try to run off the line. It might not work because of well they cut and pass, but two is less than three, so try giving that a shot. 

Quick Hitters

Destin Logan started his Thursday by knocking down 5 3-pointers for TSF Elite en route to a game-high 19 points. He’s a prime candidate to have a stockrising weekend. I’ve already been asked about shooters by coaches several times this weekend. Logan’s a guard with good size, and he can reliably shoot it, clearly. He picked up an offer from Austin Peay at the end of the day.

No Guts No Glory wing, Isaiah Otyaluk does it again. He’s quickly becoming one of the must-see players of the weekend. On Wednesday night, he impressed with his rim protection and defensive upside. On Thursday morning, it was his offensive game that shined with 25 points on five-made 3-pointers. This is a name for all coaches to get eyes on. 

While we’re on the subject of No Guts No Glory, Jakel Powell closed his night with a 33-point barrage. Powell has steadily gotten better over the course of his weekend, and his Thursday night performance could be an indication that he’s gotten warmed up and is ready to be one of the stars of the weekend. Powell has amassed several offers and interests throughout July. With more games like Thursday night's under his belt, his list should get even longer. 

Boo Williams Select found themselves in a war with Virginia Supreme Elite. Guard Kaleb Brown was the separator for this Boo Williams squad though. He led the way with 19 points and gave the team a steadying presence in terms of ball handling. 

Kollin Claridy helped turn a Tennessee Tigers halftime deficit into a blowout win with an 18-point second half. Claridy was the shot in the arm the team needed and was the catalyst for a dominant second half for the Tigers.