From Staff Reports

It was Championship Sunday at the Conrad Memorial Tournament and we were able to take in all three title games in the 9th, 10th, and 11th Grade divisions.  As expected each was well-played and came down to the wire.

9th Grade Championship

The final in the ninth-grade division came down to Skill Center Elite and the Gainesville Stampede.  While SCE was somewhat expected to be here, the Stampede was a bit of a surprise.  The first four minutes of the 16-minute first half was pretty much a feeling-out process by both teams as the score was tied at just 6-6.  Over the next four minutes, SCE would outscore the Stampede 15-5 and take a 21-11 advantage.  At that point, the Stampede did the opposite of their name, slowing down the pace and scraping away at the lead bit by bit.  They would get the margin down to six, 25-19, at the half.

SCE continued to cling to a two-possession lead for the eight minutes of the second half, leading 36-32 at the point.  The Stampede was undeterred and took advantage of some hectic play on the part of SCE that produced points at the other end.  With 5:30 left in the game, the Stampede took its first lead since early in the contest at 39-38.  The Stampede would build on its lead and with 2:10 left to play led by four at 47-43.  SCE would not back down and with the margin still at four, Braylen Moore converted a three-point play with fourteen seconds left to get to within one, 54-53.  The Stampede called a timeout to set its offense against the press.  SCE got the traps it was working for but the Stampede were able to move the ball out of them.  With four seconds left to go, Juwan Scippo of the Stampede slipped behind the defense to score to put the Stampede up three.  SCE was unable to get a get look at a three-to-tie and the Stampede head to Gainesville with a 56-53 win.

Scippo paces the Stampede with 12 points according to the official scorer’s sheet.  Era Olmedo added nine points.

For SCE, Moore led all scorers with 16 points while Brody Church finished with 10 points.