SUWANEE, GA – Defense and chemistry was the foundation of Stackhouse Elite’s weekend the Norman Parker Showcase.

The Gwinnett-based organization executed both to perfection throughout, which led to them advance and winning the 17U championship on Sunday at Suwanee Sports Academy. Stackhouse beat the Atlanta Xpress 66-33.

It was the second time both programs met on the weekend. On Friday, Stackhouse won 73-52.

“When we do what we do over the course of time, we call it working the game, we feel we can live with making shots,” Elite coach Stackhouse Jerry Stackhouse said. “That was a top five team nationally.”

Both teams started out slow. They were feeling each other out and trying to see who was going to blink first.

Stackhouse’s crew started clicking after several trips up the floor. It started with Ahmad Caver knocking down a 3-pointer and then it opened up the scoring gate from there. He was distributing the ball and found open teammates. Then Brandon Ingram got into the mix hitting some shots and getting to the line, which was the difference in the game. Ingram finished with a team-high 13 points. Caver added 10 points. Ayinde Russell chipped in with 10 points in the win.

For every missed opportunity on one end for the Xpress, turned into a scoring one for the Elite. Stackhouse’s team was 9-of-10 from the charity stripe in the first-half. They finished the game 19-for-21. Those numbers are hard to beat when teams are unable to score on the other end.

The Xpress’ Tookie Brown tried to keep the game within reach. Brown attacked the basket and managed to finish but was unable to get loose. He was constantly met with multiple defenders. The Mississippi State commit finished with 12 points, most of which came in the first half.

Danjel Purifoy picked up the scoring load in the second half. He managed to score 11 points. The Xpress just could not get into a rhythm or through the Elite’s defense.