12U Championship: Atlanta Celtics 58, DCA 2023 Elite 48

The Atlanta Celtics and DCA 2023 Elite were pitted against each other in the 12U Championship game Sunday afternoon. The eye-test would mark these two squads pretty evenly matched in size, skill and speed. This proved to hold true for most of the first half. Marquis Hood, who had been having a solid tournament, had 8 points at the half for DCA. Christian Burnette added 7 to the mix to bring DCA within six at the half. Isaiah Collier, slasher for the Celtics, dropped in 13 points early in the game to get the Celtics going. Kendall Evans and Ja’Mari Arnold each helped out with 6 points. In the second half, the Celtics made several attempts to stretch their lead, but offensive rebounds kept DCA in it. Seth Fitzgerald found his rhythm at the right time, pounding the offensive boards and scoring off of put backs. He would finish with 18. In the end, Isaiah Collier proved to be too much for DCA to handle. He got to the rim with ease, finishing through contact and knocking down free throws. Collier finished with 23 points. Celtics players flexed high basketball IQs and managed the clock late in the game. DCA managed to pull to within five, making it 44-49 with 1:50 left on the clock. A few turnovers would eventually cost them the game. Ja’Mari Arnold ended the game with clutch free throws and 15 points for the Celtics.

13U Championship: MC Warriors 64, Wellington Wolves Blue 49

Ryan Davis’ 26 points wasn’t enough to get the Wellington Wolves past the MC Warriors. He kept them close with 16 of them coming in the first half. The score was 21-24 after the break. While the scoring for the Warriors was pretty spread out through one, a few key players emerged as offensive threats in the second. Fourteen of Massiah Morris’ 17 points came in the second half. Morris took advantage of his trips to the free throw line, while also finding his groove beyond the arc. With the score 44-49 with just under 2 minutes to play, Morris hit a dagger from deep that the Wolves would never recover from. Jacari Lane, Oscar Hayes, and Rayland Woods all found ways to put 13 points on the board for MC Warriors. Ryan Davis added 10 more points in half number two and finished with 10 boards but didn’t have much help offensively. Kamari Haston managed 5 points and 7 rebounds in the loss.