Championship Saturday was a great way to finish the Tennessee Prep Hoops Nashville Fall League. A buzzer beater, some outstanding performances from some of the best young players in the mid-state area and a great feeling in the gym as the hoops season tips off in earnest on Monday all around the state.
North Carolina 77
Tennessee 74
Will Harris (Hume Fogg) knocked down a three at the buzzer lifting North Carolina to a 77-74 victory over Tennessee in the opening game of Championship Saturday at the Tennessee Prep Hoops Nashville Fall League.
Harris, who would finish with 12 points, stepped up and drained the game winner helping his team finish the season at 3-2.
Joshua Joy (DCA) led North Carolina in scoring with 22 points while Harris and Tyler Soffiantino (Wilson Central) each added 12 in the close victory.
Billy Hughes (Hunter's Lane) led Tennessee, who finished the season at 1-4, with 17 points.
Braxton Blackwell (CPA) added 13 and Jalen Hunter (Goodpasture) and Yalen Reed (Lighthouse Christian) each finished with 11 in the heartbreaking loss.
Clemson 75
Vanderbilt 64
Donya Burnett (Riverdale) notched 23 points and Brandon Cook (CPA) dropped 22 of his own as Clemson slid past Vanderbilt in the 4th place game at Championship Saturday.
With the win Clemson finished the season at 3-2.
Cameron Gordon (Shelbyville) played another outstanding game adding 19 points to the winning cause. Kessler Bell (FRA) finished with 11 markers in the victory.
The Clemson effort overcame two very strong performances from Yale commitment Jack "The Natural" Montague (Brentwood) and Jalen Lindsey (CPA).
Lindsey led all scorers with 33 points, while Montague finished with 25.
Kentucky 94
Duke 78
Zach Hodskins (Ravenwood) led a crew of five double digit scorers as Kentucky breezed past Duke in the 3rd place contest 94-78.
Hodskins, who finished with 22, was assisted in the scoring column by up and coming sophomore Rob Marberry (FRA) with 18, Briley Glass (Loretto) and Austin Dole (Harpeth) each finished with 15 points and finally Josh Erickson (DCA) added 10 in the victory celebration.
Bud Cannon (FRA) was big for Duke scoring a team high 24 points. Joining Cannon in the score book, Austin Gee (Ezell-Harding) added 21 points and Sam Rhoten (Goodpasture) finished with 12.
LSU 91
Georgia Tech 90
Connor Brandon (Wilson Central) scorched the twine for 28 points and high school teammate Malcolm St. Louis (Wilson Central) pitched in with 27 as LSU held on for dear life and snuck away with a 91-90 victory over Georgia Tech.
A back and forth affair the entire game, Tech launched a three for the tie but settled for a put back to achieve the one point defeat.
Belmont commitment Craig Bradshaw (CPA) led all scorers on the day with 29 points while improving big man Tom Kaiser (MBA) finished with 24 points of his own.
Will Jennings (Nashville Overton) finished with 13 points in the loss.
Florida 78
Wake Forest 63
Caleb Chowbay (Mt. Juliet) led all scorers with 18 points and garnered league MVP honors leading Florida to a 78-63 victory and capturing the Tennessee Prep Hoops Nashville Fall League crown.
Chowbay, who will attend Belmont next fall, was outstanding scoring from inside and out and getting his teammate plenty of open looks.
Parker Howell (CPA) and Easton Cline (Station Camp) each finished with 13 points for Florida which concluded with the leagues best record at 4-1.
Incoming freshman Jalen Duke (MLK) and Chance Bouldin (FRA) contributed 11 and 10 points respectively in the championship victory.
Brad McClung (Station Camp) was high man for Wake Forest with 14 points on the afternoon.
Braxton Bonds (CPA) added 12 points and Ricky Bowser (Franklin Classical) finished with 10.
Championship Saturday Top 10 Scorers
Jalen Lindsey (CPA) 33pts
Craig Bradshaw (CPA) 29pts
Connor Brandon (Wilson Central) 28pts
Malcolm St. Louis (Wilson Central) 27pts
Jack Montague (Brentwood) 25pts
Bud Cannon (FRA) 24pts
Tom Kaiser (MBA) 24pts
Donya Burnett (Riverdale) 23pts
Brandon Cook (CPA) 22pts
Zach Hodskins (Ravenwood) 22pts
Joshua Joy (DCA) 22pts
All-League Teams and final scoring leaders will be announced on Thursday.
