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Go Hard or Go Home City Tournament - February 25, 2022

Event: Go Hard or Go Home City Tournament

Organizer: Nathaniel Peters

GAME 1 Class 2024: Extra Step - 50 vs P.H.A.S.E. 1 King Heights - 26

Extra Step jumped out to a 25 to 19 lead in the first half in a strong half-court trap that promoted a lot of turnovers and got them the early double-digit lead. . They were led by the high energy of #23 Zack Ibrahim. Zack got his team out the gate with his effort on both sides of the ball scoring 4 points, 1 assist, 1 rebound and 3 steals before the end of the first half.

New Step started the game with their 1-2-2 half-court press but P.H.A.S.E. 1 Academy was able to cut the lead to within 5 points after they switched into their 2-1-2 half-court defense. P.H.A.S.E. 1’s work on the defensive glass combined with finishing their layups at a high clip brought them within 5 points. P.H.A.S.E. 1 got a lot of help from #9 Chance Ricketts with 7 points and #40 Yash Kumar who got 4 rebounds going into the half.

Top Performer:

#23 Zack Ibrahim, Extra Step - 11pts, 2ast, 4rbs, 5st, 1to

Players To Watch:

Extra Step #4 - 6pts, 4rb, 3st
Extra Step #7 - 9pts, 2ast, 4rb, 3st, 1to, 1bl
P1KH #9 Chance Ricketts - 7pts, 2ast, 4rb, 2st, 1to
P1KH #16 Travis Hook - 6pts, 2ast, 5rb, 1to
P1KH #40 Yash Kumar - 8pts, 5rbs, 1st, 1bl

GAME 2 - Class 2026: Northern Kings - 69 vs Northside Sonics - 10

At the end of the first period, the Northern Kings were led by a 22 – 5. The Sonics started the game with 4 players but even when the remaining 3 players arrive they still weren’t a match for the Kings. The King's half-court trap kept the Sonics out of sync and forced the guards to over-dribble for the majority of the game. The Sonics play 2-3 zone to try and slow the Kings down but the Kings rebounding and transition overwhelmed the smaller Sonic team. The final score of Northern Kings 69 to 10 Northside Sonics 10 was due to the relentless full-court pressure for the entire game. The Sonics' short run in the last minutes of the game gave them enough points to hit double digits to finish the game.

The Northern Kings have a very balanced team with #24 Jaime Phillips putting together the most well-rounded stat line and earning him the game's top performer.

Top Performers:

#24 Jaime Phillips, Northern Kings - 11pts, 5ast, 4rbs, 3st, 1to

Players To Watch:

#56 Rowan Leven, Northern Kings - 14pts, 1ast, 6rbs, 2st
#7 Bernand Serrand, Northern Kings - 12pts, 1ast, 1rb, 2st
#23 Jaylin Roach-Boyen,Northern Kings - 10pts, 1ast, 2rbs, 1st
#10 Xavier Walsh, Northside - 3pts, 1ast, 4rbs, 1to

GAME 3: Empower - 50 vs Future Elite - 28

Empower got off to an early start with an 8 point lead in the first 5 minutes. Future Elite buckled down on defense, started taking care of the ball, and got some easy baskets off fast-break layups. In the paint, Future Elite capitalized on the offensive glass with several second-chance baskets

Empower extended their lead in the second half by crashing the glass and not allowing Future Elite to get the consistent rebounding advantage that they had in the first half. Empower also trapped hard which led to a bunch of turnovers. #3 Freddy Awuzie for Future Elites was the spark plug, providing the energy to stuff the stats for a near double double.

With a final score of 50 – 28, Future Elite was not able to hold on.

Top Performers:

#3 Empower Freddy Awuzie - 13pts, 3ast, 8rb, 3st, 1to

Players To Watch:

#8 Manasseh Gyamfi, Future Elite - 15pts, 2ast, 6rbs, 1bl

#30 Andon Altun, 5’8, SG - 14pts, 3ast, 2rb, 2st, 1to

GAME 4: Team Iconic - 45 vs Northside - 23

From the jump, this did appear to be an even match-up. Team Iconics core of Mikwasi Prince, Nathan Asamoah, Malik Gittens, and Davian Drodge overwhelmed the Northside Sonics with their speed and quickness. Team Iconic applied relentless full-court pressure defense and filled the basket quickly with their transition game.

Top Performers: