Summer basketball came just in time as the weather turned warm this past weekend around the state.
In Chattanooga the balls were bouncing and the action was hot as the Chattanooga Elite Classic tipped off with great success for the host squad.
In 17 and under action The Elite slipped past South Fulton (Ga.) 58-54 to bring home the 'ship behind 15 from Marquis Tipton (Brainerd).
Tipton would prove to be the go to guy as he drained the charity tosses at the end of the game to seal the victory for the Elite after a huge 3 from Tre Tiller (Chattanooga Central) put them up for good.
Wendell Graham (Brainerd) and Tracy Thompson (East Hamilton) chipped in with 12 and 11 for the winners.
In the 16 and under age division the Chattanooga Elite produced another strong run winning their semi-final game over the Tennessee Wizards by a wide margin setting up a showdown with South Fulton in the title clash.
The Elite started slow going into the break down but came out ready to play with a 9-4 run taking their first lead at 32-31 on foul shots from Isaiah Shropshire (Brainerd).
A back and forth affair culminated with a Ryan Montgomery (Chattanooga Central) bomb from the corner to knot things up at the end of regulation tied at 52 each.
The Elite came out strong in the overtime period taking the lead behind a couple of deep three's from Bradley McCurdy (Bradley Central) before falling short at the end 58-55 taking home the silver.
Shropshire led the scoring with 16 and Montgomery chipped in with 13 in the tough loss.
In 15 and under action the Elite outlasted the Tennessee Legends 40-33 behind 15 from Kendall Watson (McCallie) and 10 from Malik McConnell (Red Bank) in semi-final action.
Bo Hodges (Station Camp) took scoring honors for the Legends with 15 as well.
