SUWANEE, GA – The 17U Nike Memorial Day Classic championship was a battle of endurance. Better yet, which team had the will to put fatigue in the backburner for a chance to win the title?

Playing in their consecutive game within 30 minutes of each other, Upward Stars found away to hold off a rested Game Elite team 62-55 on Sunday at Suwanee Sports Academy. This was the Stars second consecutive MDC having won the title a year earlier.

“We had to work hard and dig deep for it,” Stars guard Tyreece Brice said. “We knew we could win.”

Upward had to find something within itself to win because they had less than an hour to rest after playing a hard fought semifinal game against the Southern Kings. Game Elite advanced to the finals after a forfeit by Team Sizzle because of flight conflicts. So, conventional wisdom would think that Game Elite would have the advantage and the legs.

At first it started out that way, the Cobb County-based organization started building a nice lead. Then Upward went to their bench, who looked fresher, to make its compact. The Stars were able to find balance and continuity as a number of players found the opportunity to get in the score sheet.

DeMetre Rivers led with a team-high 14 points. Brice added 12, which included some relentless moves to the basket. PJ Dozier and Dantez Bennamon added nine points apiece.

This scoring depth was the key to the Stars success because the only player in double-figures for Game Elite was Jaylen Brown, who scored a game-high 20 points.