Georgia Cup I Championship stories
17U: Atlanta Timberwolves 69, Team Forrest 61
The spring has started well for the Atlanta Timberwolves as they beat a big and physical Team Forrest to claim the 17U division of the first Georgia Cup of the season.
The Timberwolves had terrific guard play in the win, getting 19 points from Griffin Neville and 10 points from Jack Kostel. Wing Joseph Staiti pumped in 17 points as he attacked the rim in his typical fashion.
Colin Kahl scored eight and Eli Burress had nine. Nate Dunlap missed Sunday’s action because of injury.
Team Forrest will be a team college coaches will want to see this spring. Marcellus Lockett scored 14 points, capping off a terrific weekend of work. Melvin Edwards opened some eyes with his play, pumping in eight loud points. Trashawn Wilson sacred 15 points and displayed some impressive athleticism in the championship game. - Justin Young
16U Black: Team S.M.A.S.H 55, Montgomery Fire 54
Team S.M.A.S.H completed their comeback to defeat the Montgomery Fire 55 to 54 for the 16 and under Black division championship.
Smash wing Kalib Clinton would foul out just before the end of regulation, finishing with 14 points. But Jaden Hull hit a deep three from the left corner for Team S.M.A.S.H. to send the game into overtime. Max Brown would do the same to send the game into Sudden Death.
Fire combo guard Dezhion Carter handled the bulk of the scoring for the Montgomery Fire, finishing the game with 22 points. Tyree Curry also managed 11 points in the double OT loss. - Bre Singleton
16U ORANGE: Team Forrest 66, Atlanta Tap Out 55
Team Forrest and the Atlanta Tap Out gave us a competitive 16U championship while offering up some memorable highlights. Tapouts ball movement was a thing of beauty, often leading to game-changing points along the way. Paul Lunguana played well in the second half as his teams leading 17 points kept them close. Team Forrest's size was too much to handle as the rebounding margin ultimately tipped the scale in their favor. This game felt like the coming out party of Team Forrest wing Jaylen Jackson as his blend of athleticism and size would routinely standout in transition. Jackson led the way with 23 points in an double-digit championship win. - Tai Young
15U BLACK Iron City Huskies 57, Georgia Go Hard 45
The Iron City Huskies made a strong second half come back to claim a hard-fought championship on Sunday.
Iron City had 21 points from Jaylen Ward and 10 from Malew Lowe. Demarcus Lacey and Christopher Blount added to the defensive efforts, too. The Birmingham-based squad have a nice group that we look forward to seeing more of the rest of the season.
Go Hard was paced by 15 from Dominik Henderson. Henderson was terrific all weekend. Go Hard had eight from Donovan Taylor and six from Cameron Hall. - Justin Young
15U ORANGE: Double Trouble 73, Tri City Elite 2022 66
Double Trouble started their Georgia Cup story with a championship on Sunday afternoon. A balanced team-effort helped hold off a very good Tri City Elite squad. Tre Phelps led the way with 15 points and hit three three-pointers in the win. Michael Richardson scored 10. Jaquez Thornton and Jameel Rideout each scored nine in the win, too. For Tri City Elite,
Patrick Burke finished off his outstanding scoring weekend with 19 points in the loss. He posted monster scoring numbers throughout the event. Jalen Coleman scored 18 points in the game. - Justin Young
14U BLACK: Georgia Stars Bravehearts 66, Promise Elite (Redmond) 56
Georgia Stars Bravehearts beat Team Promise Elite (Redmond) 66-56 to win the 14 and under black division of the Georgia Cup I tournament on Sunday.
Tyler Parker led the Bravehearts with 21 points mainly off of strong baskets in the paint. Ja’Ryan Wallace also contributed 11 points through drives and crucial free throws down the stretch. The Bravehearts excelled defensively pressuring the ball and scoring smoothly in transition throughout the game.
Talal Ansah scored 12 points for Promise Elite through a mix of inside baskets and jump shots with Tyson Delacy also contributing 8 points and was able to get inside frequently resulting in multiple attempts at the free throw line. - Chase Crawford
14U ORANGE: North GA Warriors 60, Montgomery Fire 54
Two undefeated teams met on court 4 to square off in a game that that didn’t give each other many opportunities to pull away. Both teams spent the first half trying to establish a momentum as the two groups defenses didn’t bend or break early on. A late first half run cut into the double-digit deficit that the North GA Warriors were in as they went into halftime.
Montgomery Fire came out with a two point lead and as both teams swapped points throughout the third quarter, tension began to build up more as those once easy to the rim drives were met with more contact. Neither team had their best showing from deep thus making every possession around the rim more crucial than the next. Things heated up towards the end of the third quarter as a flurry of threes’ were swapped between the two groups, bring us all to a 43 to 41 Montgomery Fire lead to start the fourth. Dezhion Carter did all he could for the Montgomery Fire as four made threes gave him the team high in points.
North GA Warriors execution and timely shot making was the difference in this one as their offense resulted in several wide open opportunities. The key to their run was a late quarter push from James Trowell as he chipped in 5 points after a quiet second and third quarter. His interior play along with the 12 points from Tristan Youngblood and 13 from Same Gailey led the North GA Warriors to their first ever GA Cup Championship. - Tai Young
Cleveland, GA
13U BLACK: Gwinnett Hawks 49 , Triple Double 37
The Gwinnett Hawks beat Triple Double 49-37 to win the 13 and under (Black) division of the Georgia Cup I tournament on Sunday.
Nathan Daniel led the Hawks in a balanced scoring attack with 10 points from the interior and free throws while Corey Brown added 9 points as well showing his ability to drive and also shoot the three-point shot. The Hawks dominated offensively from everywhere and overcame a tough press break to pull away late in the game.
Caleb Underwood scored 16 points for Triple Double and proved to be a versatile player in all areas of his game. Jaxson Bell scores 9 points as well and was able to get to the free throw line several times in the game. - Chase Crawford
13U ORANGE: Team Nonstop 45, Alabama Dream 35
Team Nonstop beat the Alabama Dream 45-35 to win the 13 and under (Orange) division of the Georgia Cup I tournament on Sunday.
Luke Flynn led Team Nonstop with 15 points and was vital to all of their offensive sets, hitting several three point shots in clutch moments while Rickardo Jackson’s defense on the Dream’s leading scorer proved to be crucial in turning the game around in Nonstop’s favor. After being down for most of the first half, Team Nonstop’s defense prevailed ultimately serving as the catalyst in their run to victory.
Joseph Moore led all Alabama Dream players with 13 points and used a dominant post presence to provide offense for their team. Jordan Johnson also contributed 11 points and played well in transition. - Chase Crawford
12U: Team Elite Proteges 69, Tri-City Elite 47
Team Elite Proteges beat Tri-City Elite 69-47 to win the 12 and under division of the Georgia Cup I tournament on Sunday.
William Simmons led Team Elite Proteges with 15 points and dominated in transition, showing his ability to get to the rim frequently. Jared White also contributed 14 points and displayed an all-around play style with a mix of layups, threes and time spent at the free throw line. Team Elite Proteges did a great job of getting out in transition as well as defending the interior to separate themselves from their opponent.
Tyler (#21) led Tri-City Elite with 12 points and used his impressive speed to beat defenders down the court to score while Jordan (#8) contributed 9 points mainly from the interior. - Chase Crawford
11U: All-In Elite 56, Georgia Stars 46
All-In Elite held off a fourth quarter comeback by the Georgia Stars to clinch the 11 and under Georgia Cup championship by a score of 56 to 46.
Daverin “Deuce” Geralds dominated the paint all game for AIE. He finished with 10 points and a ton of boards, both offensive and defensive. Harlim Perine also had it going, adding nine points and several steals.
Omari Barnes forced the issue in the second half for the Stars, scoring 16 of his 21 points in quarters three and four. The Stars weren’t able to come up with enough scoring down the stretch to keep up with AIE. - Bre Singleton
10U: Mississippi YoungStarz 48, ATL Blue Chips 28
The Mississippi YoungStarz were in control for most of the 10 and under championship game versus the ATL Blue Chips. The YoungStarz would go on to win 48 to 28.
Christopher Sanders led the YoungStarz with 12 points, the majority of them coming in the fourth quarter. Bryson Bolton wasn’t far behind with 10 points. But the star of the game was the team’s defense, which stifled the opposition, making tough to come by buckets.
The Blue Chips’ London Coggans has a strong performance despite being banged up throughout the matchup. He finished with 11 points in the loss. - Bre Singleton
9U: Tru Elite 54, All-In Elite 27
Tru Elite knocked off All-In Elite 54 to 27 to take home the gold trophy in the 9 and under division of the Georgia Cup on Sunday.
Brielen Craft and Tru Elite turned defense into offense with their aggressive pressure through the game. Craft has a ton of steals on his way to 22 points. Bleu Lewis also got in on the action with 12 points in the win.
Noah Owens led All-In Elite with 8 tough points, most of them coming in the paint. Owens inspired a big second half run by All-In Elite. Melo Morgan did the majority of his scoring from the free throw line, finishing with 6 points in the loss. - Bre Singleton
